The Chicano Movement

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Culture relates to the way of living of people and gives one a sense of identity. It gives one the right to self-definition but often, the dominant communities fails to recognize the minority groups and therefore do not embrace their culture. Does belong to a cultural minority group justify no official recognition from the government? The minority group usually faces some problems such as racism, stigmatization, social injustices and gender discrimination among others. Despite the many challenges that the minority groups face, they have been struggling to gain recognition and power and have therefore formed nationalist movements. This essay will focus on an American minority group, the Chicano Tribe, their problems and the reformation of the …show more content…
The Chicano nationalism was purposed to develop Chicano autonomy, consciousness, and self-determination. The movement challenged the cultural homogeneity of the 1950s and offered an opportunity to the marginal groups to assert a legacy (Cherrie,1993). Gender roles have been clearly defined in the Chicano tribe and feminists have regarded gender roles as territories that need to be conquered.
The identity of the Chicano has always been considered ambiguous because of the mix of cultures between the two countries. For this reason, the Chicanos have been struggling to be recognized in the Anglo-dominated society of the U.S and also to maintain their cultural sense. The dominant culture has been accusing the Chicano of speaking poor Spanish and thus regards the language spoken by the Chicano as illegitimate bastard language (Cherrie, 1993). They feel uncomfortable talking to Latinas in Spanish as they feared their
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They are denied their rights, and this has raised a lot of questions concerning the radicalism and acceptance of the other. There have been clear differences between the Chicano and other races, and they were therefore considered immigrants from Mexico. Gender discrimination was also evident, and womanhood was despised. According to the dominant culture, it was not worth loving a woman from the Chicano tribe (Cherrie, 1993).
Sexism has been an issue of concern among the Chicano as gay men are deemed inferior for not fulfilling the traditional roles of men. These men were more vulnerable to male violence and had been victims of rape and sexual abuse (Cherrie, 1993). The Chicanos have been exploiting their Chicano counterparts, and sexual abuse has been done by the heterosexual Chicano men. Due to homophobia, Chicano gays could not air their grievances. Women have been subjects to domestic violence and sterilization