Research Proposal

Home , Latinx

LATINX WOMEN NAVIGATING THEIR IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE

UNITED STATES

A Project

Presented to the faculty of the Graduate and Professional Studies in Education

California State University, Sacramento

Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

EDUCATION

(Multicultural Education)

Jasmine C. Cazares

SUMMER 2020

Jasmine C. Cazares

LATINX WOMEN NAVIGATING THEIR IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE

UNITED STATES

A Project

Jasmine C. Cazares

Approved by:

______, Committee Chair Margarita Berta-Ávila, Ed.D.

Date

iii

Student: Jasmine C. Cazares

I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this project is suitable for electronic submission to the Library and credit is to be awarded for the project.

, Graduate Coordinator Albert Lozano, Ph.D. Date

Graduate and Professional Studies in Education

Abstract

LATINX WOMEN NAVIGATING THEIR IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE

UNITED STATES

Jasmine C. Cazares

Finding one’s identity as a minority in the United States can be difficult for some, but it can be especially difficult for someone who is considered a double minority.

Latinx women in the United States are considered a double minority because they not only face obstacles for simply being women, but also because of their ethnic group.

Latinx women have many intersectionalities that can positively or negatively impact their identity such as language, generation, how they identify, the stark differences between what is happening at home and at school, and how people of their own community/friend group/family view them (Acevedo-Polakovic et al., 2014). Latinx women face many negative influences on their identity such as stereotypes, microaggressions and racism, and gender role expectations. These influences of identity can make it difficult for a

Latinx woman to navigate her identity in the United States. Through their struggles,

Latinx women have found ways to resist.

This project seeks to give Latinx women the opportunity to build relationships with other Latinx women and discover what impacts their identity and how via a weekend long retreat. Not only will the women learn about what impacts identity and

how their identity is impacted, but they will also use what they learn about their identity and apply it to their own identity. The women will then be given the opportunity to tell their own stories about navigating their identity, but also share how they resisted any negative influences. This will give the women the chance to learn from one another and help other Latinx girls and women in developing strategies to resist negative influences, thus creating change in the Latinx community.

, Committee Chair Margarita Berta-Ávila, Ed.D.

Date

DEDICATION

To the Latinx women all across the United States who are in the process of discovering

who they are.

To my family and friends who have patiently supported me throughout this journey.

vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to show my gratitude to Dr. Margarita Berta-Ávila for your guidance throughout this process. I could not have completed this project without your knowledge and support. Thank you to all the professors in the Multicultural Education MA program: it was your classes that not only enlightened me but also pushed me into creating a project for Latinx women.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Dedication ...... vi

Acknowledgments...... vii

List of Figures ...... x

Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1

Background ...... 2

Need for the Project ...... 7

Statement of Problem ...... 10

Purpose of Project ...... 11

Theoretical Frames...... 12

Profile of Researcher...... 16

Definition of Terms...... 19

Summary ...... 20

2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ...... 22

Introduction ...... 22

Part I: Latinxs and the Their Navigation of Identity in the Context of the

United States ...... 23

Part II: Latinas and Their Navigation of Identity in the Context of the

United States ...... 34

Part III: Latinx Women’s Resistance and Transformation ...... 46

Summary ...... 60

3. METHODS ...... 63

Introduction and Overview ...... 63

Curriculum Analysis ...... 67

Conclusion ...... 93

4. LATINAS NAVIGATING THEIR IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF

THE UNITED STATES RETREAT ...... 95

Unit Overview ...... 95

Phase One: Building Relationships ...... 95

Phase Two: Identity ...... 107

Phase Three: Listening Circle ...... 116

5. REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS ...... 126

Introduction ...... 126

Impact, Values, and Effectiveness ...... 127

Recommendations ...... 129

Next Steps ...... 131

Closing ...... 132

Appendix ...... 134

References ...... 135

LIST OF FIGURES

Figures Page

1. Theme worksheet ...... 100

2. My name reading ...... 107

3. Esperanza’s identity chart ...... 108

4. Participant identity chart ...... 109

5. Closing chart ...... 120

xi 1

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Latinxs may find themselves struggling to understand their own identity in the context of the United States. Unfortunately, Latinx women may go through a much more complicated navigation of identity compared to Latinx men because they are a double minority. Latinx women are located along two different identity markers that are essential to who they are, but Latinas are not only women and members of an ethnic group, they are more than a sum of their parts (Jaramillo, 2010), meaning they have more to offer in this world and there is more about them other than their gender and ethnicity.

Many Latinx women in the United States may have similar experiences that bring them together, but many may also have such different experiences that they feel they do not fit in with other Latinx women or their Latinx community. The intersectionality within the

Latina community is what makes the community so unique. Unfortunately, there may be a conflict of straddling two cultures: The White United States culture and the culture of their family or other Latinxs around them (Mercado et al., 2019). Often times, when two cultures clash, challenges rather than alignment for those within the cultures. This conflict of identity that Latinx women experience may be due to feeling unwelcomed by their own community or feeling unwelcomed by White America. For some Latinx women, the various factors possibly influencing their realities/identities are language, generation, how they identify, the stark differences between what is happening at home and at school, and how people of their own community/friend group/family views them

(Acevedo-Polakovic et al., 2014). Though Latinx women may face struggles when navigating their identity, Latinx women have created resistance to traditional labels and stereotypes and transformations for themselves, particularly in creating spaces for themselves to be able to talk with others, dialogue with others, and obtain strategies with others to better navigate their identity in the context of the United States. Due to the latter, this thesis project is about bringing Latinx women together through a weekend- long retreat specifically made for them to not only discuss issues that impact their identity, but to also empower Latinx women and bring them together through a series of workshops and lessons.

Background

Due to being involved with two different cultures, Latinx women may struggle navigating their identity in the context of the United States. Bonifacio, Gushue, and

Mejia-Smith (2018) explained that Latinx women experience two marginalized identities based on their ethnicity and gender, and it is important to acknowledge that intersection of these identities puts them at a disadvantage and at risk of discriminatory experiences that may influence their identity. A strong ethnic identity is positively associated with concurrent levels of self-esteem amongst Latinx adolescents (Barstow, 2015).

Identity Negotiation

Latinx women are part of two different cultures; thus, they may feel a need to negotiate their own identity. Our identity is composed of two different main categories.

First, there is social and cultural identity, which may be related to culture, profession,

3 religion, social class, gender, sexual orientation, family role, etc. Then there is our personal identity, which is our personal self and the way we differentiate ourselves from the group (Ting-Toomey, 2015). Both social and cultural identity and personal identity form who we are as a person. Each individual’s complex identity has group membership, a relational role, and individual self-reflexive implications (Ting-Toomey, 2015).

Negotiating one’s identity is the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages between two or more people and can have a negative, neutral, or positive impact on the various socio- cultural group-based or unique personal-based identity images of other (Ting-Toomey,

2015). This is how groups are formed and different alliances are chosen. When two or more people agree on “who is who” in their relationships, people are expected to act accordingly and be faithful to the identities they have chosen and agreed upon. Latinx women may need to ask themselves how they define themselves culturally, whether it be by ethnic cultural heritage or by national identity or both and how they relate to others in the United States (Liu, 2015). Identity is not something that is given but is built upon during social interactions (Berger, 1973). Ting-Toomey explained that negotiating one’s identity is when “individuals in an intercultural situation attempt to assert, define, modify, challenge and/or support their own and others’ desired self-images” (as cited in

Liu, 2015, p. 28). Latinx women may negotiate what they want to become, what they might become, and what they are afraid to become, but often become what others want them to due to the heavy influences of social factors and identity construction related to social interaction (Hecht, Warren, Jung, & Krieger, 2005). United States Latinx women

4 must figure out how to maneuver between United States culture and their Latinx heritage.

Learning how to maneuver through two contrasting cultures can lead to cultural adaptation (Acevedo-Polakovich et al., 2014). Acevedo-Poakovic et al. (2014) explained that cultural adaptation to one’s heritage culture is labeled enculturation, occurring unconsciously, and cultural adaptation to non-heritage culture is termed acculturation.

Within White United States culture, Latinx women might find themselves constantly negotiating their identity. They may feel they need to be the stereotypical Latinx woman or do anything they can to not be a stereotypical Latinx woman. Latinx women may negotiate their identity amongst their own Latinx community and may do things to fit in amongst Latinx family and friends. Latinx women may negotiate identity well into adulthood because they have not yet examined their own intersectionalities that make their identity unique to White Americans as well as to their own Latinx culture.

Influence of social factors. Being Latinx and a female is a double-edged sword.

Within the United States, Latinx women may experience racism and stereotypes and may be judged based on their resistance to assimilation. Latinxs are at a disadvantage compared to the dominant social group. Being a member of a minority group means you face inferior treatment and opportunities (Melville, 1980). When one faces microaggression or blatant racism, maintaining a stable sense of identity may be difficult.

Latinx women face racial microaggressions, microassaults, mincroinsults, and microinvalidations, which work as a domino effect that also impacts stereotypes and how

Latinx women maneuver in the context of the United States, specifically White spaces.

An example of a White space Latinx women may struggle maneuvering in is higher education. Latinx women may encounter problems not only with White feminism and women’s studies, but also with Latino men (Villanueva, 1999). Villanueva (1999) explained that Latino Studies/Latin American Studies and Women studies had not given

Latina teaching serious attention. Within Latino Studies and Latin American Studies,

Latinx and Chicanx men may show some resistance to Latinx women due to Chicanx and

Latinx feminism in resistance to the male-dominated cultural nationalist movement of the

1960s and 1970s (Villanueva, 1999). Latinx women continue to fight for representation in Women’s Studies because token gestures by professors and universities do not mend the exclusionary practices of Latinx women. Within the feminist movement, Latinx women and other women of color are not accepted or are often overlooked because feminism focuses on White women. Not only do Latinx women face hardships that can influence their identity in White spaces such as higher education, but they can also struggle with navigating their identity due to experiences that occur within their home, culture, and community.

Latinx women may struggle with identity due to being a minority within their own community. Many Latinx families have distinct gender-role expectations for men and women (Sanchez, Vandewater, & Hamilton, 2019). Latinx girls and women are expected to meet gender norms related to marianismo, which focuses on the family.

Marianismo consists of being home centered; partaking in caretaking duties; and being chaste, submissive, and dependent (Sanchez et al., 2017). Sanchez et al. (2017) discussed

6 the five pillars of marianismo: Family pillar, virtuous/chaste pillar, self-silencing pillar, subordinate pillar, and spiritual pillar. The subordinate pillar focuses on the belief that

Lantinx women should show obedience and respect to Latino men. Within their own ethnic community, Latinx women are seen as inferior and are asked to maintain the marianismo gender role attitude.

Latinx women have diverse experiences based on their “racial, ethnic, and cultural oppression, class domination, and gendered subordination of different forms,”

(Covarrubias & Revilla, 2003, p. 4). Latinx women have unique experiences as social beings in the United States that influence their identity. The factors of one’s identity work as a domino effect. For example, one’s family and culture can have an effect on friends, language, religion, interests, traditions, and celebrations, all each having an effect on one’s identity.

Resistance, resiliency, and transformation. Though being twice a minority may create a struggle within Latinx women, it can also create a form of resistance to traditional labels and stereotypes, thus effecting their identity. Barstow (2015) found that due to the microaggressions many Latinx women experience, the solidarity between some

Latinx women strengthen their ties to their Latina identity. Knowledge of shared cultural values and traditions promotes a collective identity (Barstow, 2015). Fortunately, Latinx women have been able to find resilience and transformation. Latina women have used forms of group therapy to not only discuss their struggles with identity, but to empower one another.

Though Latinx women may struggle with identity negotiation, they have found ways to resist and transform through group therapy. They are creating their own definition of what it means to be “Latina.” Through group therapy, Latinx women can provide a space for one another to not only discuss their struggles with identity, but also create an alliance with one another and create a resistance to traditional labels and stereotypes.

Need for the Project

As ethnic minorities, Latinx women are often subjects of racist violence and cultural imperialism for centuries (Covarrubias & Revilla, 2003). Covarrubias and

Revilla (2003) explained that the macro structures of capitalism, racism, sexism, and heteronormativity have a direct impact on the micro level, such as Latinx women. The macro structures of domination can create specific relations of power, which can result in different forms of oppression and privilege for different individuals. Latinx women have unique and different forms of oppression, as well as privilege amongst different groups.

United States Latinx women must decide how to maneuver through United States mainstream culture and their Latinx culture, and they must decide how these contrasting cultures might influence their sense of self (Acevedo-Polakovich et al., 2014). Johnson

(1997) called this navigation and adjustment to life in the United States, the “ring of fire.”

It can be difficult for Latinx women to assimilate due to physical appearance, language, and surnames. Latinx women who are able to get past the barriers and are able to assimilate are then faced with internalized racism and may be criticized by White

Americans and their own community (Johnson, 1997). An example of the latter is Latinx women who attend predominately White institutions of higher education may take on the attitudes and behaviors of the White university culture, which can cause distress because these values may conflict with the Latinx community’s values (Cano & Castillo, 2010).

When trying to fit into the White American culture, Latinxs may not be welcomed, but also may not be welcomed by their own Latinx community. Though Latinx women face difficulty navigating their identity in the context of the United States, they have found ways to resist and transform.

With that said, though Latinx women may face struggles, the research has proven that Latinx women have found ways to come together and resist and transform.

Rodriguez (2010) discussed the significance of storytelling as a means for survival and liberation and explained that storytelling must take place in collective spaces of transformation. Rodriguez (2001) found the importance of providing a space for only

Latinx women because the bi-cultural existence can be difficult for therapists and patients who are not Latinx. Within these groups, topics such as racism, sexism, racial identity, role of family, and other issues relevant to Latinx women can be expressed. In research conducted by Allen (2011), the study design was based on the Participatory Action

Research (PAR) framework to give Latina girls a voice and power. The group met once a week and each group session consisted of activities focused on four general themes: self, relationships, understanding of meaningful events and coping, and vision for the future. The girls who participated in the program discussed the benefit of establishing

9 new relationships with other Latina girls and were able to hear others’ experiences and perspectives. The young Latinas also learned coping skills for managing stress and other difficult life situations. The group also helped the young Latinas build self-esteem and self-knowledge. Though Allen (2011) focused on Latina girls, the research proves the benefits group sessions/therapy has on Latinas as a whole. Other research (Nuñez, 2004) did not specifically look at group therapy amongst Latinx women but examined how

Latina-based sororities influence ethnic identity development. Through observations, surveys, focus groups, and interviews, the researcher found that ethnic identity was influenced by participation in a sorority because it provided a familial environment, encouraged pride in culture, and promoted the empowerment of women (Nuñez, 2004).

Nuñez’s study further proves the need for Latinx women to be a part of a Latina group because it can empower and transform them. The literature has found group therapy or simply having relationships with other Latinx women is a form of community building only benefitting Latinas and gives them a sense of self and belonging as well as an opportunity to form their identity (Barajas & Pierce, 2001; Lázaro, Verdinelli, & Cohen,

2012; Revilla, 2004; Rodriguez, 2001). The reason there is a need for the retreat is because Latinx women may at times feel alone or isolated within their community and when in spaces outside their community. Not all Latinx women conform to the definition of “Latina” because there are so many intersectionalities within the Latina culture.

Statement of Problem

And we got to prove to the Mexicans how Mexican we are, and we got to prove to

the Americans how American we are, we gotta be more Mexican than the

Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time. It’s

exhausting. Damn. Nobody knows how tough it is to be a Mexican American.

(Abraham as cited in Quintanilla, Esparza, Katz, & Nava, 1997, 59:37)

Latinx women may struggle when they try to be a part of the dominant White

United States culture while also being a part of their family’s country of origin’s culture.

Latinx women may get a sense that they are neither from the United States nor are they from their family’s country of origin; ní de aquí, ni de alla. As the literature (Barajas &

Pierce, 2001; Lázaro et al., 2012; Revilla, 2004; Rodriguez, 2001) mentioned, Latinx women can benefits from attending an all-Latinx women group therapy. Latinx women can use group sessions to connect with other Latinx women from similar cultural backgrounds. Within group therapy, Latinx women can create their own community to discuss the various aspects of their identity while feeling supported. Latinx women will have a place to voice and discuss not only the hardships they have faced, but also their process of self-discovery, growth, integration, and healing (Rodriguez, 2001). Due to the hardships Latinx women face when navigating their identity in the context of the United

States, it is not only important, but necessary for Latinx women to have a space where they feel free. The purpose of this thesis project is to create a retreat for Latinx women to discuss the navigation of their identities in the context of the United States. Within that

11 space, not only will women dialogue with one another about their struggles in society, but they will also discuss ways they have resisted and shown resiliency.

Purpose of Project

The purpose of this thesis project was for Latinx women to understand their positionality between two cultures and realize the strength they innately have straddling two cultures. The research shows that Latinxs in general struggle with constructs of identity due to the stark differences in the White American culture and the Latinx culture.

Due to the fact that Latinx women are considered a double minority, they possibly face a greater extent of identity struggles compared to Latinx men and White Americans.

Within the weekend long retreat, multiple workshops will take place. These workshops will give the women an opportunity to dialogue with one another about their realities and experiences in the context of the United States. The dialogues will be about the various factors that influence their ethnic and personal identities. For some women, such influential factors may be generation, language, how they decide to identify, microaggression, navigating through White spaces, and the stark differences between what was happening at home and at school. Some factors may influence one’s identity, but personal experiences also provide a good stronghold for who they are. This retreat is an opportunity for Latinx women to discuss their resiliency, passion for their work, cultural brokers, struggles, etc. that helped shape their identity.

The goal of this retreat in a relaxing and comforting space such as a cabin is for

Latinx women to come together and openly tell their stories of their navigation in context

12 of the United States. I wanted to create a free space for Latinx women to discuss what it is like being a Latinx woman in the United States; thus, I will create a Latinx women’s empowerment retreat. The retreat will take place away from the CSUS campus to make participants feel more at ease. Having a retreat in an academic institution can be uncomfortable for women of color. The retreat will begin with “get to know you” activities. The reason for this is because the literature explains that one must gain trust from a Latinx woman before expecting her to share her story (Lázaro et al., 2012).

Meditation will also be used throughout the retreat. Once relationships are built, women will then tell their stories of being a Latinx woman living in the United States.

Facilitators will use Freire’s dialogical and problem-posing approach to give participants the opportunity to identify, discuss, and construct their own ideas or issues (Thomas,

1987). The literature discusses the difficulties Latinxs face when being enculturated or acculturated and stresses the importance for Latinxs to build communities. The purpose of the retreat is to create a space for women to discuss the intersectionalities between

Latinx women in the United States. The research has proven that group therapy has nothing but positive impacts on Latinx women and their identity.

Theoretical Frames

This project investigates how maneuvering through the United States as a Latinx woman affects Latinx women’s identities through the lens of Latin@ critical (LatCrit) theory and critical race (CRT) theory.

Critical Race Theory

Critical race theory (CRT) is the view that race is not biologically grounded and natural, but is socially constructed and used as a means to maintain the interests of the

White population that constructed it (Curry, n.d.). Critical race theory works towards the elimination of oppression in all forms: race, class, gender, social power, and knowledge

(Delgado, 2015). Racism is endemic, institutional, and systemic, and a force that maintains all social constructs (Alemán & Alemán, 2010). CRT activists and scholars study transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power. The purpose of CRT is to question the “very foundations of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, enlightenment rationalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law”

(Delgado, 2015, p. 18). CRT makes an effort to understand how those impacted by systemic racism are impacted by cultural perceptions of race and how those individuals represent themselves in order to combat prejudice (Purdue University, 2020).

CRT focuses on counter-storytelling, a methodological tool used to give people of color a voice to express their narratives in regard to marginalized narratives. It is a way for marginalized groups to reclaim, recover, and provide a space for the voices of disenfranchised people (Alemán & Alemán, 2010). It is a way for those who are oppressed to reveal and interrogate dominant stories of racial privilege. Racialized narratives make it hard for Latinx women to navigate based on the dominant frame, and I wanted to create a space for them to share their counter narratives to say what their reality

14 is and what they had had to endure. Group members at the retreat will find that not all

Latinx women are the same and will see how the intersectionalities shape one’s identity.

CRT also discusses the continuity in racism and how it is not acknowledged; therefore, diversity action plans are ineffective. Racism controls the political, social, and economic realms of American society and is an inherent part of civilization, creating the privilege of White people over people of color. CRT focuses on the idea of interest conversion. Interest convergence is when change benefitting people and communities of color only occur when those interests also benefit White people (Delgado, 2015). Both

White elites (materially) and working-class Whites (physically), large segments of society, have little incentive to remove racism (Delgado, 2015). Many women, not just

Latinx women find that with today’s feminism and the #MeToo movement. For example, though the #MeToo movement found much success, women of color did not share in its success because of race (Leung & Williams, 2019). Latinx women are often left out of today’s feminist movement because White feminists focus mainly on White, middle-class women’s needs rather than also including the needs of women of color such as a focus on poverty and violence. White feminism does not focus on the intersectionalities of all women. Through the retreat, Latinx women can discuss how maneuvering through White spaces or interacting with White Americans affects their identity and whether they found their intersectionalities hinder or benefit them when finding their own identity.

LatCrit Theory

In 1995, Latin@ critical theory (LatCrit) was created based on CRT, and this project is based on LatCrit theory. Due to CRT, LatCrit scholars felt freer to put forward their own unique perspectives (Delgado, 2015). The Latinx community has unique experiences and LatCrit highlights and examines those experiences. LatCrit theory responds to the historical presence and sociolegal invisibility of Latinxs in the United

States by highlighting Latinx concerns and voices in legal discourse and social policy.

LatCrit serves as a theoretical frame for social transformation. Elizabeth Iglesias (1997), a legal scholar in LatCrit, defined LatCrit as:

Exploring how Critical Race Theory might be expanded beyond the limitations of

the black/white paradigm to incorporate a richer, more contextualized analysis of

the cultural, political, and economic dimension of white supremacy, particularly

as it impacts Latinxs in their individual and collective struggles for self-

understanding and social justice. (p. 178)

Delgado (2015) explained that LatCrit has focused on issues such as immigration, language, rights, bilingual school, international colonialism, sanctuary for Latin

American refugees, and census categories for Latinxs. Latinx women have such unique experiences due to colonization and immigration to the United States and the way they are treated by White Americans. Latinx women also face machismo in the Latinx community, unique to other ethnicities. Mixing both the White American culture and

Latinx culture can be a challenge or benefit for Latinx women.

Though LatCrit is a branch of CRT, both are used during this project. Living in the United States, Latinx women have to deal with different forms of oppression due to their ethnic background. CRT focuses on counter storytelling, which is what the Latinx women will have the chance to do during the retreat. Latinx women will discuss the struggles of being a Latinx women navigating in the context of the United States.

Profile of Researcher

As a Latinx woman, I struggled finding my identity well into my adult years.

Growing up, I did not suffer through the same hardships as my Latinx peers and even cousins. My mother was born in the United States and my father is a documented immigrant. Both of my parents worked in the fields and truly struggled at one point in their lives, but both found better opportunities. My father’s job currently pays well, but it is hard labor, and he usually works six to seven days a week outdoors. My mom is a supervisor but was once a single mother working three jobs. Through their hard work, I eventually had my own car and bedroom, and my parents were able to pay for my college education. I am a very privileged Latinx woman. Growing up, I experienced traditional female-based norms. My family follows many Mexican traditions, but we are also acculturated. Mostly Spanglish is spoken in the home, we are not devout Catholics, we eat traditional Mexican food, and we also participate in American traditions. We are a mix of both cultures.

As a young girl, I found myself purposely acting like I did not speak Spanish. I copied and pretended I had a life like the Disney Channel girls. I found myself

17 embarrassed due to my father’s outdoor job that had him coming home from work dirty.

I hated that family was always first and I could not be out with friends late at night because I had to attend family parties. I saw the differences and still see the differences between what my sisters and I were allowed to do compared to our brothers. I was not allowed to be in cars if my friends were driving because they did not have enough driving experience, I had to clean before the weekend started if I wanted to attend school games or dances, I was not allowed to go to parties, and more. My brothers, on the other hand, spent the night at girls’ houses, were given contraception, left whatever time they wanted wherever they wanted, and did not have to do chores, etc.

Upon entering college, I did not know where I fit in. I was uncomfortable in

White spaces, and I started to learn about the oppression of people of color and my raza, specifically. I started connecting what I was learning to past experiences of teachers and the way they treated me or talked to me. I started to notice the microagressions I faced in my everyday life. This is when I began speaking up for my people and other oppressed people of color. I began to focus and that is the reason I chose my profession of teaching and chose to work in “tougher” schools that had large populations of African American and Latinx students. The feeling of isolation made me question who I was: am I really

American and do I fit in?

Unfortunately, many Latinx women did not believe I had the right to speak on the

Latinx culture, that I try to be “Pro Latinx,” but did not know the Latinx struggles/experience. I was told that because my parents had good jobs, owned a home,

18 and were able to afford my education, I do not know what it is like to be a Latinx woman.

At one point, a Latinx woman told me that because I do not speak Spanish properly, do not have an accent, and am of lighter skin that I am an easier pill to swallow for White

Americans. At the same time, I was also experiencing microaggressions in the workplace, being called “the Mexican princess,” by women assuming I have a bilingual credential, being asked if my parents were here illegally, and being talked down to by

White women. I found myself not knowing where exactly I belonged and who I was. I knew I did not belong to White America but felt rejected by my Latinx community. I found myself trying to overcompensate to prove that I am Latinx enough, that I do identity with the Latinx culture and did not want to accept those intersectionalities that made me unique. After reading research and books for Latinx women, I found there are many women like me have struggled with finding their identity while trying to navigate in the United States.

My experiences as a Latinx woman have influenced me to create this space for other Latinx women. There were times when I felt alone when struggling to find my identity and that I was the only one who felt this way. After reading books and research and talking to other Latinx women, I realized I was not alone. I wanted to create a space for Latinx women to be able to tell their stories as well as learn from others.

Definition of Terms

American

Some people refer to the entire American Continent as “America” and refer to the

people living on the entire American continent as “______American.” In

this research, to identify whether a person born in the United States is “American”

or “Mexican American, Cuban American, etc., I refer to people who were not

born in the United States as “Mexican” or “El Salvadorian,” for example.

Afro-Latino/a

I use this term when referring to people of African descent, with origins from

Latin America and the Caribbean.

Black/African American

When referring to Black or African Americans, I identify the race of someone

who is Black but non-Latino.

Chicana/Chicano

A person of Mexican origin who was born in the United States.

Hispanic

The United States first used this term in the Census Bureau in the 1970s, and it

was created to identify people in the United States who have ancestral ties to

Latin American countries, Spanish-speaking Caribbean nations, and Spain. This

term was created by an outside group of people to identify a group of people to

which they did not belong. This term “Hispanic” is only used when quoting

someone/something.

Intersectionality

People’s overlapping identities and experiences that have disadvantages by

multiple sources of oppression: race, class, gender, identity, sexual orientation,

religion, identity markers, etc.

Latina/Latino/Latinx

A person who is of Latin American heritage. Latinx is a gender-neutral term

sometimes used in lieu of Latino or Latina.

Machismo

Behaviors among males in the Latino culture.

White

When using this term, I am describing a White non-Latino.

Summary

Chapter 2 focuses on examining the literature regarding Latinx women in the context of the United States. The literature is studied from a macro level to a micro level.

Part one focuses on Latinxs as a whole and their navigation of identities in the context of the United States. General stereotypes and their impact on politics and the Latinx educational experience in the United States are analyzed. The literature moves to the micro level and focuses specifically on Latinx women and the navigation of their identities in the context of the United States. The literature focuses on the unique

21 stereotypes and gender roles Latinx women face and the impact they have on their educational experience and feminist experience, thus impacting Latinx women’s identity.

Due to the stereotypes and gender roles impacting Latinx women’s everyday lives, Latinx women have shown resiliency and transformation, which is what part three of the literature review focuses on. The last part of the literature review focuses on Latinx women creating relationships through group therapy where they discuss issues that impact their lives and identity and discuss how to overcome those issues and build community. Next, Chapter 3 consists of the methodology used to design the curriculum through the lenses of CRT and LatCrit. The goal of this project is to create a space for

Latinx women to feel comfortable discussing issues that occur in the Latinx community and struggles they themselves face. A Latinx women’s empowerment retreat was created, and Chapter 4 presents the curriculum in detail.

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction

The purpose of this literature review is to further analyze the research that exists regarding Latinx women and their identities and the spaces they create. To do so, the literature is divided into three sections. The first section focuses on Latinxs in general and their identity in the context of the United States. The purpose of starting at this section is to understand that Latinxs as a whole all have similarities in the way they are treated and viewed in the United States. The second section builds on the first section, but solely focuses on Latinx women and their identity in the context of the United States.

Latinx women can overlap with the Latinx population when it comes to identity and the various issues that can impact their identity. But, Latinx women also face unique issues that only impact them and that can affect their identity in different ways compared to the general Latinx population. The last section of this literature review then focuses on forms of resistance to traditional labels and stereotypes Latinx women experience and the spaces they create in response. Due to distinct differences, Latinx women have created forms of resistance in the past and even to this day. Latinx women have also created spaces for themselves to discuss obstacles that have impacted their identity.

Part I: Latinxs in the United States

Latinxs and the Navigation of Their Identities in the Context of the United States

Many different generations of Latinxs live in the United States, and depending on how long one has been in the United States or how long a family has been in the United

States, one may experience situations or issues that other generations of Latinxs have not faced. Hence, not all Latinxs face the same problems that can impact their identity in a negative or positive way. The question, “Who am I?” is a question many adolescents ask themselves. According to Padilla (2006), identity development can be especially difficult for ethnic groups with low social prestige, which is often the case for immigrants and their children. A possible explanation as to why it is more difficult for Latinxs is because their school, work, or community values; beliefs; and behaviors may be different from the ones they practice in their home. Ethnic adolescents want to construct their own identities without the ethnic and racial biases enforced by their parents, grandparents, teachers, peers, and others (Padilla, 2006). Constructing divergent identities can then create issues amongst adolescents. Whether a Latinx is acculturated or enculturated can really affect how he or she feels regarding his or her identity. Two different studies by

Padilla (2006) and Acevedo-Polakovich et al. (2014) determined there is an influence of ethnic identity depending on if one is first-, second-, or third-generation and how enculturated or acculturated the individual is. Judging by Padilla’s (2006) and Acevedo-

Polakovich’s (2014) research, it can be hard to be accepted in either culture when active in both the Latinx culture and White United States culture. Padilla (2006) examined how

24 the macrolevel and microlevel social conditions that lead to child rearing practices result in the socialization of two cultures. Padilla (2006) explained that first-generation students born in a Latin American country have more cultural continuities between their parents and themselves. Second-generation Latinx students born in the United States with immigrant parents are the cultural and linguistic bridge between their parents and the host society. These students learn about their culture without the support of the environment. For these students, pop culture eventually influences their behavior. Third- and later-generation students, whose parents were born in the United States, see their culture as a benefit rather than a liability. These students are loyal to their ethnic heritage, but not as knowledgeable. Out of the generations in the Latinx community that

Padilla (2006) mentioned, second-generation students seem to struggle more with balancing two cultures than first-generation and third-generation students. Padilla (2006) proved that not all Latinxs face the same issues when constructing their identity.

Acevedo-Polakovic et al. (2014) also found similar results. Acevedo-Polakovic et al. suggested that people generally fall into one of four categories related to enculturation and acculturation: assimilation, individuals who have become proficient in the second culture and discard their heritage culture; separation, when an individual lives in a second culture, but retains their heritage culture and does not become proficient in the second culture; integration/biculturalism, when an individual becomes proficient in the second culture while also retaining their heritage culture; and marginalization, when an individual does not become proficient in the second culture, but also rejects their heritage

25 culture. The study used quantitative measures on 124 Latinx youth where 64% of the participants were female. Acevedo-Polakovic et al. (2014) found that the relationship between enculturation and asset variables is only positive among individuals with low acculturation levels and is a negative among highly acculturated individuals. Those who were highly involved with both cultures tended to report lower levels of leadership and social responsibility. The research proves the importance of accounting for both ethnic and United States identity among Latinx youth living in the United States. These results show that it can be difficult to be involved in both White United States culture and Latinx culture. It is possible that individuals are not feeling welcome in either culture or may feel like they are not enough for either culture. This struggle of acculturation and enculturation can be due to wanting to fight the stereotypes Latinxs face. Latinxs face stereotypes from various sources such as media, politics, and more, and it can greatly impact how one views themselves.

General Stereotypes of Latinxs

Stereotypes not only impact the way others view a group of people but can also impact how that group of people views themselves. According to the Oxford dictionary of Philosophy (as cited in Blackburn, 2016), a stereotype in the “ethical and political contexts is some features supposedly true of central examples of the class apply to all members” (p. 148). Stereotypes are passed through word of mouth and media such as television, movies, etc. Many cultural stereotypes about minority groups exist within

United States society. Stereotypes of Latinxs are constantly being maintained through

“mass media, public discourse, and personal prejudices” (Lopez, 2013, p. 100). The stereotypes Latinxs face impact others’ perceptions and attitudes toward Latinxs. One area where it is prevalent is in media. Many people use different forms of media, and when Latinxs are presented in negative ways in the media, it can impact the way people view Latinxs.

Latinxs are considered one of the fastest growing groups among the United States population, and it is estimated that by 2050, one in every three Americans will be Latinx

(Lopez, 2013), but unfortunately, they are extremely underrepresented in television. In the late 1990s, Latinxs made up 3% of the television population (Mastro & Behm-

Morawitz, 2005). In mass media, Latinxs are portrayed in a negative stereotypic image.

For example, in television and movies, Latinx women are portrayed as maids, housekeepers, and nannies, and Latinx men are portrayed as gardeners and farmers. Both

Latinx men and women are portrayed as gang members or “cholos.” Latinx women are also portrayed as submissive and obedient women who are willing to do anything for their families and jobs (Lopez, 2013). When Latinx men are portrayed as criminals, it is usually a male of youthful unkempt appearance who is dishonest and aggressive by nature (Mastro & Behm-Morawitz, 2005). The Latin lover is well groomed with professional attire but has a heavy accent with sexual aggression and is hot tempered.

The female Latinx harlot is also sexually aggressive and hot tempered, but dresses unprofessionally and provocatively (Mastro & Behm-Morawitz, 2005). Within the media, Latinxs are given racist names. Lopez (2013) explained that societal stereotypes

27 of Latinxs are reflected in the public discourse through the use of different racist names such as “illegal aliens,” “wetbacks,” and “beaners” to describe the Latinx minority group.

These names dehumanize Latinxs and can lead to people using violence against them.

When Latinxs are being negatively represented on television, it helps fulfill important identity needs of the dominant culture by preserving the status quo (Mastro & Behm-

Morawitz, 2005). Rather than challenging dominant ideology, stereotypes reinforce the dominant ideology.

How Latinx Stereotypes Influence the Politics in the Context of the United States

Many politicians and political parties have used stereotypes of Latinxs to try and make political points, but also to encourage fear among United States citizens. Latinxs have been seen as gang members, drug dealers, etc. on television, and politicians have used these stereotypes to describe Latinxs while using it as a reason Latinxs are ruining the country. When the United States was founded and in the 200 years after that, 80% of

United States citizens were Whites of European descent; today, according to the United

States Census Bureau, the percentage of non-Hispanic Whites has dropped down to

60.4%. The United States Census Bureau is now projecting that the United States will be

“majority-minority” between the years of 2040 and 2050 (Poston & Saenz, 2019). The shift is creating somewhat of a panic amongst politicians and some others. Latinxs have been a target for harassment in the United States for quite some time and it has gotten worse since President Trump has taken office. Latinxs are treated as either villains or victims of the immigration system. Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas

28 accused “illegal people” of rushing in “because they’ve heard that there is a bowl of food just across the border” (“Latinos in the United States,” 2015, para. 2). Some people are against the Latinx population growing because they are afraid Latinxs will be tied to their homelands and bring with them corruption and crime. As previously mentioned, politicians and others also blame the rising Latinx population on immigration, when in reality, even if you were to deport all undocumented immigrants, the Latinx growth will not stop happening, due to Latinx births. Unfortunately, some politicians are passing laws to make college more expensive for undocumented students, thus making it harder for Latinxs.

The status of ethnic minorities and the rights they are guaranteed or not guaranteed is a major topic of debate in the United States. When announcing his candidacy in June 2015, President Donald Trump referred to some Mexican immigrants as “rapists.” In his 2016 presidential announcement, President Trump said:

When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best, they’re sending

people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us.

They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I

assume, are good people. (Mark, 2018, para. 3)

Many other major actions on immigration have occurred under the Trump administration.

The Trump administration ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides work authorization and temporary relief from deportation to approximately 690,000 immigrants who were brought to the United States as children

(Pierce & Selee, 2017). The administration has also reduced refugee admissions to the lowest level since 1980 when the resettlement program was created (Pierce & Selee,

2017). In 2018, the Trump administration ended the designation of Temporary Protected

Status for nationals of Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan and implied that Hondurans and

Salvadorans may also lose their work authorization and protection from removal (Pierce

& Selee, 2017). Under the Trump administration, Immigration and Customs

Enforcement (ICE) has detained more than 52,500 immigrants a day (Rappleye &

Seville, 2019). These detainment centers are under poor conditions and often are referred to as “hieleras” or “iceboxes” due to the freezing temperatures. Not only are they freezing temperatures, but they are overcrowded and filthy. A lawyer for Trump’s

Justice Department argued that the government should not be required to provide migrants with basic necessities such as blankets, toothbrushes, and soap (Dickerson,

2019). Donald Trump’s candidacy and victory has impacted Latinxs greatly, specifically

Latinx youth.

Trump’s election as President of the United States may have a lasting impact on the youth of today. When presidential administrations promote policies, offer rhetoric, and lay out agendas for the future, this can greatly impact adolescents’ experiences of the world and affect their social and political attitudes, behaviors, and sense of identity

(Wray-Lake et al., 2018). In a study, researchers Wray-Lake et al. (2018) examined 562

Latinx youth in Southern California who were first- or second-generation immigrants from seven high schools in one metropolitan school district that enrolled predominantly

Latinx students. Students were recruited through classrooms selected in partnership with school staff. A majority of the students, 84%, were qualified for free and reduced meals and 29% were English learners. The study documented reactions to Trump’s immigration politics using open-ended responses. Students were surveyed as part of a multisite longitudinal survey focusing on the development of civic engagement. At the end of the survey, students were then presented with open-ended questions about their reactions to the election, reasons for these reactions, and any changes to their attitudes and behaviors (Wray-Lake et al., 2018).

The research team created a coding scheme by examining a random selection of responses, generating a list of codes from the data, and combining them into a coding scheme (Wray-Lake et al., 2018). The researchers found that 40% of youth expressed views about immigration in their election reactions, and 96% of immigration-related responses were critical of the President’s approach (Wray-Lake et al., 2018). Themes found in immigration-related responses contained feelings of being afraid and or anxious; expressing anger, contempt, and or disgust; recognizing and experiencing racism; offering pro immigrant narratives; and increasing civic engagement (Wray-Lake et al.,

2018). The research team found that findings aligned with the social contract theory and brought to mind that many Latinx youth are feeling marginalized and threatened by government and identified injustices in the rights and protections afforded to their racial/ethnic communities. The findings of this study show the magnitude of negative reactions to Trump’s immigration platform. Many of the Latinx youth surveyed felt that

Trump’s immigration policies were not fair or equal and were not meant to protect them.

The respondents felt fear, anxiety, anger, contempt, and disgust due to the feelings of exclusion due to racism under the Trump administration (Wray-Lake et al., 2018). Wray-

Lake et al.’s study can also be used to represent the negative effect the Trump administration has on Latinxs as a whole. Latinxs are being negatively impacted by the

Trump administration and his followers. Due to the negative stereotypes within the media, politics, and other sources, Latinxs educational experiences in the United States can be impacted.

The Latinx Educational Experience in the United States

When entering higher education, Latinxs identity can be impacted because they are entering predominately White spaces. The Latinx educational experience can be much different than a White person’s educational experience because Latinx are not the majority and may not find representation in the curriculum. Berta-Ávila (2003) explained educated Latinx students enter the schooling system with a sense of displacement. The hidden curriculum produces racist practices in schools and classrooms that create knowledge and behaviors of Latinxs. Through class, gender, academic success, and or failure, schools pit Latinxs against each other, producing Latinx students who do not question injustices or inequalities they experience as individuals or as a community (Berta-Ávila, 2003). On college campuses, students of color help White students become more racially tolerable, create unique class dialogue through their diverse points of view, and prepare students to gain employment in a multicultural, global

32 economy (Yosso, Smith, Ceja, & Solorzano, 2009). Yosso et al. (2009) argued that universities endorse diversity to the extent that it serves White students; students of color enrich the experience and outcomes for White students. Using CRT, Yosso et al. (2009) studied 37 Latinx college students through the use of storytelling to explain their experiences at three different predominantly White, elite institutions. Yosso et al. (2009) found that Latinx students experienced racial microaggressions at the university level.

The racial microaggressions were aimed at Latinx students’ language, culture, immigration status, phenotype, accent, and surname and included three types: interpersonal microaggressions, racial jokes, and institutional microaggressions. Latinx students see such microaggressions as a rejection of their presence at the university

(Yosso et al., 2009). The students in the study represented Latinx students on college campuses across the country; they are navigating a negative and hostile campus racial climate in which they undergo unpleasant rejection, yet shocking, and racial assaults.

Other studies, like Torres and Baxter Magolda (2003), found that those who were heavily raised and involved in the Latinx culture or born in a Latinx American country create communities of their own where they feel safe. However, these students who once felt like the majority may see themselves as a minority once on predominantly White campuses (Torres & Baxter Magolda, 2003). Torres and Baxter Magolda (2003) used a constructivist approach with all first-time freshmen at an East Coast university who self- identified as having Latinx backgrounds. Latinxs made up 5% of the undergraduate population and 3% of the freshmen class. Ten students volunteered, and eight were born

33 in the United States. Interviews were used to gather information as they discussed self- identification, cultural orientation, family influence, and the college environment.

Torres and Baxter Magolda (2003) discovered that the environment students grew up influenced how they ethnically self-identified. Those who came from a diverse environment had a strong sense of ethnicity and were more likely to enjoy diversity around them. If the students were from areas where the majority were Latinxs and they did not see themselves as a minority, then they saw themselves as a minority on predominantly White campuses. Their sense of identity did not create assimilation, but rather created a stronger tie to their ethnicity. Latinx students who came from predominately White environments identified with the majority culture. In Torres and

Baxter Magolda’s (2003) research, the authors also found that college students with parents who participated in culturally relevant activities identified with their ethnic identity. Torres and Baxter Magolda’s (2003) work found that first-generation students, students born in the United States with parents born in a different country, felt alienated in the college environment. Surprisingly, Torres and Baxter Magolda (2003) found that first-generation students in the United States had stronger ties to their country of origin but found a clash with their culture of origin. Torres and Baxter Magolda (2003) explained the finding may be due to some type of retreat or escape during the developmental process. First-generation in the United States Latinx students experience cultural dissonance compared to later generations who seem to be more active in recognizing the influence of their ethnicity and also in wanting to express their ethnicity.

Though the research has shown that third-generation students and those highly acculturated in White United States culture tend to fit in, Berta-Ávila (2003) explained these students must remember that Latinxs are being silenced to maintain White domination. When one is practicing the dominant culture, one can possibly be playing a role in their own oppression (Berta-Ávila, 2003). Though heavily acculturated and non- acculturated students maneuver through college differently, bringing or not bringing with them their cultural background, they do experience racial microaggressions on college campuses (Yosso et al., 2009).

Latinxs’ identity is influenced both positively and negatively. However, because

Latinx women are a minority in both culture and gender, they may have more negative impacts on their identity compared to a Latinx male.

Part II: Latinas and the Navigation of Their Identity in the Context of the United

States

Latinx women have distinct influences on their identity that other Latinxs do not have. A dominant influence on identity is culture, but who creates cultures? Culture is made by those in power, which is men (Anzaldúa, 1987). Anzaldúa explained that within the Latinx culture, a woman can take one of only three routes: the church to become a nun, the streets as a prostitute, or the home to be a mother. At a young age, Latinx girls are given mixed messages by their mothers on who to be: “strong, or submissive, rebellious, or conforming?” (Anzaldúa, 1987, p. 40). Anzaldúa (1987) explained that because the Latinx culture wants to protect women, in reality it shackles women. A

Latinx woman living in the United States may not feel safe within her own culture or the

White United States culture. Anzaldúa (1987) teaches her readers that Latinx women are alienated from both their family’s culture and the dominant culture, essentially being caught between two different worlds. Some studies have found a connection between positive ethnic identity and psychological well-being, a sense of belonging, self-esteem, and prosocial attitudes, as well as positive educational outcomes and academic success in

Latinx girls (Sanchez et al., 2019). According to research, Latinx adolescents and young adults will try to remain loyal to traditions that promise them to nurture, support, and continue ties to the extended family and their origin country, but they will also feel a pull and allegiance to the country whose language, culture, and peer groups they now belong to (Quinones-Mayo & Demsey, 2005). Adolescents who find themselves in a home or school context where different values, beliefs, and behaviors are practiced may find challenges with balancing two cultures, and they may feel they need to choose one over the other or that they do not belong with either (Padilla, 2006). As Anzaldúa (1987) stated, “Woman does not feel safe when her own culture, and White culture, are critical of her; when the males of all races hunt her as prey” (p. 42). Latinx women face many different stereotypes in the context of the United States.

Latinx Women Stereotypes in the United States

Not only do Latinxs as a whole experience stereotypes in the United States, but

Latinx women experience them on an even larger scale because they are a double minority. Women start to receive messages about what it means to be a girl at a young

36 age from different sources such as family, peers, schools, and the media (López &

Chesney-Lind, 2014). Young women are constantly receiving messages on how they should feel, think, and act, and these messages focus on young women’s sexuality and how they should express themselves and act around others. Such messages are consistent with traditional gender scripts, which impose that women should know little about their own bodies and are inexperienced sexually, heterosexual, and modestly attractive (López

& Chesney-Lind, 2014). Women who protest the traditional gender scripts are seen as being sexual and run the risk of being labeled as “bad” or a “slut.” Unfortunately, race, ethnicity, gender, and class impact the classification of girls as either “good” or “bad.”

Often times, White females are associated with the idealized image of womanhood of being good, innocent, and virginal. While on the other hand, young women of color are often categorized as hypersexual, manipulative, violent, and sexually dangerous (López

& Chesney-Lind, 2014). Such stereotypes shape how young women of color view themselves, how they relate to others, and how others relate to them (López & Chesney-

Lind, 2014).

López and Chesney-Lind (2014) studied Latinx girls and how stereotypes impact them by looking at 19 “high-risk” Latinx girls who attended a charter school in a large urban area. The researchers also worked with eight clinicians to find out how they viewed Latinx women/girls. In this study, CRT was the framework used due to the fact that it considers racial and ethnic minorities’ numerous identities. In the study conducted by López and Chesney-Lind, the researchers studied how “high-risk” Latinx women are

37 often seen as hypersexualized “hoochie mamas,” exotic bombshells, gang members, domestic workers or teen mothers in movies, news, or in music videos (López &

Chesney-Lind, 2014). Though Latinx women have had more positive representation in the media, they are represented as the “other” and can be more sinister when the dominant group perceives the “other” as a threat. Within schools and juvenile correctional facilities, people who work among Latinx girls/women often rely on their stereotypes of the Latinx community to help guide their practice, leading workers in these areas to unintentionally discriminate against Latinx women (López & Chesney-Lind,

2014). The research found that the Latinx girls resisted the dominant representations of

Latinx women being submissive, but instead took pride in Latinx women’s bodies and independence. The girls were aware of the negative stereotypes, but showed they are prepared to resist it, “They see us as the worst of everything . . . always pregnant” (López

& Chesney-Lind, 2014, p. 534). The response of the clinicians confirmed how the Latinx girls believed others saw them. The clinicians believing teen pregnancy is a part of

Latinx culture, with one clinician saying “You know, pregnancies, they (Latinos) don’t see anything wrong with teen pregnancies” (López & Chesney-Lind, 2014, p. 534). The clinicians also believed the Latinx girls to be passive when it came to relationships with boys/men. The clinicians relied on gender and racialized stereotypes of young Latinx women. Though the study used a purposeful sample, the researchers did not ask the

Latinx girls about their interactions with clinicians or observe their interactions. Though the responses were described in detail, the method of coding was not described in

38 sufficient detail. The research proves that many people in the United States use their gender and racialized stereotypes of Latinx women to judge them, but the research also shows the resiliency of Latinx women.

Marianismo in the Family and Culture and the Impact it Has on Latina Identity

Not only do Latinx women face stereotypes, but they also face gender roles within the family and culture. Since early colonial days, the Latinx culture has been heavily influenced by Catholicism. It is not rare to see many Latinxs pray to la Virgen Maria (the

Virgin Mary). Catholicism influences gender roles in many Latinx families (Sanchez et al., 2019), meaning it is common for Latinx women to be taught to be more like the

Virgin Mary; this is called marianismo. Marianismo means to be pure, celibate until marriage, and inherently good, which includes being submissive and dependent. As a wife or mother, marianismo means self-sacrificing. Castillo, Perez, Castillo, and

Ghosheh (2010) introduced five pillars of marianismo. The first pillar is the family pillar, which stresses the importance of a woman’s role to maintain family cohesion. The virtuous/chaste pillar is how a Latinx woman must practice abstinence until marriage in order to not bring shame to the family. The subordinate pillar is to be submissive and show obedience to Latinx men by respecting the Latinx hierarchical family structure.

The self-silencing pillar is the belief that Latinx women should not be confrontative when it comes to interpersonal relationships. The last pillar is the spiritual pillar, which is the belief that Latinx women should be the spiritual leaders within the family by being

39 responsible for the religious education of the family. Marianismo can have a negative impact on adolescent Latinx girls and Latinx women.

The marianismo Latinx women/girls experience within their family and culture can impact their identity, especially while living in the United States where White women may not face all the obstacles Latinx women and other women of color may face. As previously mentioned, Latinx girls/women have distinct gender-role expectations among their Latinx families (Sanchez et al., 2019). In their study, Sanchez et al. (2019) examined how Latinx girls culturally gendered experiences affect their ethnic identity.

Two schools in Central Texas in primarily low-income Mexican-origin neighborhoods were selected by means of convenience. Two hundred seventy-seven Mexican American girls ranging from ages 11 to 14 years old participated. The girls were given a survey, and a part of the survey assessed the extent to which they believed they should participate in traditional gender role expectations. The researchers addressed the following research questions:

(a) What is the nature of the relationship between the five pillars of marianismo

and ethnic identity among low-income early adolescent Mexican American girls?

(b) What is the magnitude of the relationship between marianismo, ethnic

identity, and mental health, respectively, and total lifetime substance use

(cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana)? (c) Is the relationship between marianismo

and substance use moderated by ethnic identity? (d) Is the relationship between

marianismo and substance use moderated by mental health? (Sanchez et al., 2019,

p. 328)

The survey also contained questions regarding the different aspects of ethnic identity.

They were also given three questions regarding lifetime substance abuse.

Sanchez et al. (2019) found that gender role attitudes and ethnic identity were linked inseparably amongst low-income Mexican American early adolescent girls. The pillars of marianismo that focused on interdependence of family and women as the spiritual leaders of the family have a positive impact on Mexican American early adolescent girls’ identity (Sanchez et al., 2019). Findings that were surprising is the pillar focusing on Latinx women being expected to be celibate until marriage in order to not bring shame to her family had a positive impact on ethnic identity. The authors explained that this could be because to adolescent Latinx girls, it is a way to ensure positive acceptance from their family and greater ethnic identity fulfillment (Sanchez et al., 2019). The pillar that showed it negatively related to ethnic identity was the self- silencing marianismo pillar, which is the belief that Latinx women should be forgiving and not express their needs. Unlike many other schools, this particular group of young

Latinx girls were in an environment where Latinxs made up the majority, which can be a reason the adolescents had a strong connection to their culture of origin. The adolescents are less likely to be challenged by a dominant ethnic group and less likely to experience discrimination, thus impacting their ethnic identity positively.

Marianismo can also create depressive symptoms on Latinx women, which can also impact aspects of identity. The purpose of a study conducted by Piña-Watson,

Castillo, Ojeda, and Rodriguez (2013) was to analyze how marianismo is related to the depressive symptoms of Mexican American women with family conflict as a mediator.

One hundred seventy Mexican American women who were college students at a

Hispanic-serving institution were sampled. The researchers used the acculturative family distancing (AFD) theory, which suggests that during the acculturation process, cultural values such as marianismo beliefs evolve over time at different rates for children and their parents, which can create an acculturation gap (Piña-Watson et al., 2013). When

Latinx women do not agree with marianismo beliefs, a conflict amongst their family can be created along with possible depressive symptoms. The women were given a questionnaire regarding their demographics, the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, the

Marianismo Beliefs Scale (MBS), and the Family Conflict Scale. The purpose of the study was to examine marianismo beliefs; although the study participants held marianismo beliefs, their actions and behaviors could contradict those beliefs. Since the women attended a Westernized institution, it is possible the women showed acculturated behavior, but cognitively enculturated, which can lead to bicultural conflict and distress.

The researchers found that when parent conflict was taken into account, marianismo beliefs increased participants’ depressive symptoms. Hence, when the women held traditional Latinx gender roles, beliefs were depressed because of their conflict with parents (Piña-Watson et al., 2013). It makes sense that there would be conflict between

42 parents and Mexican-American women because the Latinx culture stresses the importance of “familismo” and the “self-sacrificing Latinx woman,” thus creating a negative effect on their mental health. The struggle Latinx women face when practicing marianismo in the White United States may be more apparent within education.

The Latina Experience in Education and the Workspace in United States

White spaces, such as the higher education setting, can impact a Latinx woman’s identity distress. Similar to Acevedo-Polakovic et al. (2014), who wrote about enculturation and acculturation, Cano and Castillo (2010) focused on the same concepts specifically related to Latinx women in higher education. Due to the fact that the amount of Latinxs in postsecondary education has increased, but the graduation rates of Latinxs have not, Cano and Castillo (2010) looked at stressors that many Latinx women attending college may experience. Latinx women may feel a strain with the cultural differences between their home environment, representing their family and cultural values, and the university environment, representing White United States cultural values. Once a Latinx women is in a predominately White institution of higher education, she may go through an acculturative process in which she might adopt attitudes and behaviors of the university culture. These attitudes and behaviors may conflict with her community and home values, thus causing distress amongst Latinx women who are college students

(Cano & Castillo, 2010).

In the quantitative study, Cano and Castillo (2010) used questionnaires and behavior acculturation and enculturation scales, as well as a white attitudinal

43 marginalization scale on 214 undergraduate and graduate Latinx women. The study found that low-income, low-behavior enculturation and high white attitudinal marginalization were critical predecessors of distress. Latinx women attending college who do not identify themselves as someone who practices behaviors in the Latinx culture are also at a higher risk of distress. The results of the study indicated that one cannot assume a Latinx woman in college will feel integrated into the academic setting just because she is acculturated. The distress the Latinx women face in college can have an impact on and bring worry about personal identity issues. Latinx women exclusion does not just stop at the higher education level but can trickle into the workplace.

Another White space from which Latinx women are excluded is the workplace.

Flores (2011) focused her research on elementary schools, where most teachers are White women and Latinx women are excluded. The article compared Latina teachers who work in schools where over 70% of the teachers are Latina and three other schools where 20% of teachers are Latina. The study took place in a Mexican immigrant city called Santa

Ana, California, which is in Orange County. Using ethnography, the study focused on ways Latina teachers are alienated in social interactions with White women teachers through subtle racist interaction forms that occur daily in the school (Flores, 2011). The study focused on three questions:

“What happens in the workplace when there is a token representation of Latina

teachers working amongst white women in Latino schools?” “Conversely, what

happens when Latina teachers enter a work site where teachers are also Latinas

and where students, parents, staff and surrounding community are also ethnically

and culturally similar?” “Do Latina teachers’ experiences vary according to

racial/ethnic composition of teachers at the school site?” (p. 314)

Data were collected by interviewing 20 Latinx teachers and through 45 hours of participant observation collected through the 2006-2007 school year (Flores, 2011). The interview consisted of open-ended questions that focused on two topics: motivations for entering the teaching profession and workplace experiences. The researcher (Flores,

2011) found that in White-dominant schools, there was a strain of relations at work.

Latina teachers felt they had to hide their cultural heritage or radical Latinx political views. Latina teachers kept to themselves in the workplace and were met with hostility when collaborating with one another and creating cultural events for the students. Latina teachers had to defend their Latinx culture, history, and politics. Due to the lack of teacher support for community events in a White-dominant school, Latina teachers served as network and community liaisons, meaning they had an extra workload (Flores, 2011).

Latina teachers in White-dominant schools felt social exclusion and isolated. The Latina teachers identified subtle snubs toward Latinx staff by White teachers in the teachers’ lounge in White-dominant schools. The teachers’ lounge was segregated with Latinx staff sitting with Latinx custodians, lunch ladies, and teacher aids while White teachers sat with other White teachers (Flores, 2011).

The Latinx-dominated schools were a very different atmosphere compared to the

White-dominated schools. The Latina teachers at the Latina dominated schools felt

45 satisfaction working there (Flores, 2011). Due to the fact that there were many other

Latinx teachers, many Latinxs found mentors within their school sites and often shared ideas without being criticized. The Latina teachers felt accepted and appreciated. Due to the fact that the schools were Latina-teacher dominated, there was more opportunity for the Latina teachers to come together. Latina teachers wanted to give back to the community and worked together in creating activities for Latinx parents and children within the community. The research shows how excluded Latinx women can feel in

White spaces, but also shows what Latinx women can do together when Latinx women are not only satisfied and happy but creating positive change. Latinx women have also felt isolated in spaces meant for all women, such as the feminist movement.

The Latina Feminism Experience

Since the beginning of the feminist movement, there has been a gap between

White feminist and people of color, specifically women of color. Feminism is believed to benefit White middle-class women. Women of color have suffered a long history of exclusion from the feminist movement and have not been able to relate because they experience racism, sexism, and intersectional bias (Remedios & Snyder, 2015). In

Chicanas/Latinas advanced intersectional thought and practice, Baca Zinn and Zambrana

(2019) explained that despite the strong presence of Chicanas’ contributions in multiracial feminist writings and activism, they are often lost in the category of “women of color” or “African Americans and other women of color” (p. 678). Latinx women may also feel isolated from Latinx ideology due to the “machismo” in the Latinx community.

Latinx women are not only fighting for an important role amongst the family and home, but they are also fighting for a more important role within the workplace and education.

Though Latinx women have struggled, Latinx women have been working going against the marianismo beliefs through their thoughts and actions, thus taking on feminist beliefs, which is a form of resistance. They have often used their struggle to resist and create transformations for themselves, specifically by creating spaces for themselves where they create relationships with other Latinx women through dialoguing with others and by creating strategies to better navigate their identity in the context of the United States. It is important for Latinx women to find various ways to come together and resist the negative impacts on identity many of them face in the context of the United States.

Part III: Latinx Women’s Resistance and Transformation

Latina Resiliency Through Feminism

The development of feminism concepts can begin during adolescence when an individual is also developing a personal sense of identity because they are cognitively maturing in ways that permit an understanding of societal ethnic and gender inequalities

(Manago, Brown, & Leaper, 2009). While personal identity is forming, it intertwines with their growing awareness of societal inequality. Positive identity formation can be challenging for devalued social groups. For Latinx girls, the challenge can be due to media portrayals as sexual objects and being seen as academically and athletically inferior to boys (Manago et al., 2009). Awareness of initialized gender inequality and the willingness to join with women and oppose the inequality may help girls develop a

47 positive personal identity. When women fail to recognize the institutional sexism and blame themselves rather than discrimination, they may be vulnerable to psychologically detrimental effects of sexism. On the contrary, women who are aware of initialized sexism and who have a feminist identity have been shown to have increased psychological well-being (Manago et al., 2009).

In their study, Manago et al. (2009) analyzed concepts of and identification with feminism among Latinx adolescent girls and whether a feminist identity is related to positive well-being. Latinx adolescent girls and women are establishing their identity while simultaneously belonging to two socially devalued groups. Considering that Latinx adolescent girls and women may experience more incidences of discrimination compared to White girls and women, they may be more aware of initialized inequalities and may be more likely to support feminism as an ideology opposing these inequalities (Manago et al., 2009). Latinx girls and women may have a unique feminist experience as a result of cultural values and may define feminism differently. In the study conducted by Manago et al. (2009), the researchers addressed two primary research questions: Latinx adolescents’ understanding of feminism and why they do or do not endorse feminism, and the second question evaluated the prevalence and correlates of feminism among

Latina adolescents. As part of a larger study on girls, 600 girls were surveyed regarding their gendered experiences. Out of the 296 of the girls who identified as

“Latina/Hispanic”, 35 of them were randomly selected from Grades 9-12 to yield the sample of 140 Latina adolescents. Participants wrote answers to two open-ended essay

48 questions asking about their definitions and opinions of feminism as part of a larger survey. The survey included questions about demographic background, family, and peer life, self-concepts, and views regarding school achievement, gender roles, and sexism.

The results found that older adolescents were most likely to define feminism in terms of differences in status between men and women, and younger adolescents defined feminism in terms of possessing feminine qualities. The result could be because older adolescents may have more experience with the word “feminism” (Manago et al., 2009).

When Latinx girls defined feminism as equality or female empowerment, the majority of them took on a feminist identity (Manago et al., 2009). One result that may be especially unique to Latinx girls/women is a common appreciation of feminine qualities in conceptions of feminism. The Latinx girls in the sample conveyed beliefs of female empowerment rather than passive acceptance of an inferior status (Manago et al.,

2009). They also conveyed beliefs of the importance of supporting other women. In the results, the Latinx girls combined marianismo’s honoring of womanhood with the values of gender equality. Manago et al. (2009) discussed the fact that previous research has suggested girls who have mothers who are not employed outside the home hold more traditional gender attitudes; however, in Manago et al.’s (2009) study, they found the opposite. Their findings suggest Latinx girls with stay-at-home mothers endorsed feminism. Latinx feminism is a way to uplift Latinx women. Latinx women can participate in Latinx feminism through a Latinx women’s empowerment group. Latinx women have also shown resiliency within higher education.

Latina Resiliency in Higher Education

Though many studies discuss the struggles Latinxs and Latinx women face in the institution, Martin (2010) focused on the resiliency Latinx women showcase at the institutional level. Martin (2010) followed the educational journeys of 17 academically achieving, low-income, and first-generation Latinx women college students at three different institutions. The researcher gathered data through semi-structured group interviews held on the three campuses with individual interviews with selected students from each institution. After the interviews, the researcher found the women had many strengths. The women saw college as a life-changing opportunity not just for them personally, but for their siblings, cousins, and community. The first theme Martin (2010) found was that families inspired academic drive, but parents were unable to provide guidance since they were unfamiliar with the academic world. The second theme was that Latinx women were both dependent and interdependent. Since Latinx women could not rely on their parents for help academically, they negotiated on their own before high school. Though the Latinx women showed independence, they were also interdependent with their families. The women did not see themselves separately from their families.

Another thing essential to their success was staying rooted to their community and authentic to who they are.

Latinx families wanted their daughter to become educated without acquiring the norms and culture of the dominant population. Due to teachers, friends, and programs that helped the women’s educational pathways, the family’s social capital was also

50 expanded. However, Martin (2010) found that the growing development of scholastic capital was useless if the student could not integrate her experiences into her cultural world in a meaningful way. Martin (2010) found there are advantages for Latinx women who attend a women’s college or a strong women’s studies program possibly because the

Latinx culture is highly male dominated. The researcher (Martin, 2010) found that women gravitated towards education about women’s issues, women’s health, birth control, and women’s rights. This study shows the benefits of Latinx women learning about themselves as Latinx women and how it can have a positive impact on their identity.

The Need for a Latinx Women Empowerment Group

Healing circles. Due to the fact that Latinx women experience a double oppression as marginalized women and as people of color, Latina women must have a place to be able to discuss the process of self-discovery, growth, integration, and healing soul wounds of oppression (Rodriguez, 2001). As previously mentioned, the Latinx culture stresses the importance of collaboration, collectivity, community, and family.

This view is much different than the United States culture view, and such cultural views can clash and create specific problems that impact the identities and wholeness of Latinx women living in the United States in a bi-cultural existence. Cultural issues can create a dilemma for many therapists and patients (Rodriguez, 2001). As a result of this dilemma, it is important to provide a space for Latinx women to experience and explore their own unique, individual process within the support, comfort, and familiarity of the extended

51 family, the group, the primary cultural tenet of the Latina experience (Rodriguez, 2001).

Hence, healing circles can be very effective with this specific population. Issues of racism, sexism, racial identity, role of family/extended family and self, acculturation, language, fear of emotional expression, and role of spirituality are all topics relevant to

Latinx women. Culturally relevant group work offers a chance to begin to create a new support network for Latinx women (Rodriguez, 2001). These groups give Latinx women a different type of support system that provides the opportunity to network and bond with other women, along with individual psychotherapy. According to Rodriguez (2001), spiritual group meetings have been historically used within the Latinx community to confront and heal psychological, emotional, and physical ailments. Other research has expressed why there is a need for group therapy for Latinx women.

Cognitive behavioral therapy and narrative therapy. Tovar (2016) found that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and narrative therapy (NT) could prevent the development of an anxiety disorder in Latina women that sometimes came about from trying to perform well in White spaces such as higher education classrooms while honoring the expectation to remain loyal to their family. The program is a culturally relevant program focused on Latinas’ cultural-specific and mental health needs so they can take action to address their psychological well-being (Tovar, 2016). Tovar (2016) explained that each group would be led by a female counselor with a background in working with Latinx women, and Latinx women in college were recruited through college faculty. The group would have no more than 12 Latina students. The program

52 will last the number of weeks in a school calendar (semester, quarter, etc.) for two hours per week. Each session will have warm-up exercises, relaxation exercises, verbal check- ins, and launch into the material of the day. Group members will set goals and all group members will help one another achieve their goals. The group leaders will assist members in “reconstructing faulty thinking and to empower themselves to create positive narratives that will enable them to internalize to improve their friendships and their lives”

(Tovar, 2016, p. 47).

Due to the fact that remaining congruent with their cultural identity while navigating the college experience is the main goal, narrative therapy will be used.

Through the narrative therapy approach, the leaders of each group aid the Latinx women in telling their stories, identify the problems they are experiencing, and focus on the negative obstacles that have hindered them from having the life experiences they want to have. The purpose of the group is for women to rewrite their personal stories, building a version that is constructed to empower them to succeed and reduce some of the stresses they are facing (Tovar, 2016). Through hearing each other’s stories, the women will understand they are not alone in their struggles and will feel empowered by their own self-discoveries. Though the researcher (Tovar, 2016) did not implement her program and focused on anxiety of Latina students, she discussed the need for Latinx group therapy. Tovar’s (2016) research pertains to this current project and can be used as a guide. Not only is group therapy needed for Latinx women, but it is also successful.

Supportive relationships. Creating a group for Latinx women to discuss their identities can lead to great success. In different situations, studies have found success in

Latinxs due to community building or a form of group therapy. Berta-Ávila (2003) revealed that conscientization, reflection, dialogue, and transformation call into question individual reality, and they can occur through dialogue, so Latinxs can see themselves as subjects of their own reality. Latinxs must work towards transformation and self- determine their roles in society (Berta-Ávila, 2003).

In a different study, Barajas and Pierce (2001) observed the positive and negative consequences of assimilation. Assimilation can be damaging to one’s sense of identity, self-esteem, and racial ethnic minority. Barajas and Pierce (2001) enlisted 45 Latinx college student mentors and 27 high school students as participants. Through questionnaires, interviews, and observations, Barajas and Pierce (2001) found that young

Latinx women are able to maneuver successfully through and around negative stereotypes of Latinxs by maintaining positive definitions of themselves and through supportive relationships with other Latinx women. By building a community of Latinx women, Latinx women will be able to successfully navigate college. Though Barajas and

Pierce (2001) did not observe an empowerment group, they saw how successful and important it was for Latinx women to have positive and supportive relationships with other Latinx women.

What a Latinx Women’s Empowerment Group Looks Like and the Benefits of It

Before creating a women’s empowerment group for Latinx women, one must honor the complexity and sociocultural contexts of Latinx women’s lives. Lázaro et al.

(2012) explained how empowerment feminist therapy can successfully integrate multicultural concepts for clients who experience oppression. Many Latinx immigrant women face problems that are not personal or individual but are organic consequences of socio-cultural stressors such as discrimination, cultural role conflicts, immigration trauma, language barriers, and lowered levels of financial, education, and medical resources (Lázaro et al., 2012). Lázaro et al. (2012) discussed the steps to gain a Latinx woman’s trust in therapy. The first step is to create a relationship. Rather than following procedures, show interest in the client. A therapist should openly share his or her own style and values. The goal of the therapist is to assist the client in understanding the external factors influencing his or her life. Though this specific study only examined one-on-one therapy, a Latinx women’s empowerment group can be looked at as group therapy, and these same steps can be applied.

In her work, Revilla (2004) discussed a group of women she encountered at a

Chicana/Latina conference at the University of California, Los Angeles. The conference had a turnout of 500 participants; it offered free childcare, workshops, entertainment, spoken word, food, and a space for women to come together and converse. The conference theme was “The Fire in Our Spirit Continues the Flame of Collective

Revolution” meaning, their internal passion, the ability to motivate themselves and create

55 change. The purpose was to raise consciousness, create dialogue, build solidarity, and provide a safe space for Latinx women (Revilla, 2004). Revilla (2004) decided to focus her study on the significance of the organization, its goals, and its effect on its participants. The data were collected over a five-year period using participant observations, one-on-one interviews, and focus group interviews. The researcher decided to focus on one particular woman, Carmen, because her story touched on three important themes: the experience of marginalization, a belief in revolution, and the commitment to love. Carmen felt marginalized in college, helped create a safe space as a student activist, and developed a commitment to social justice and to surviving higher education (Revilla,

2004). The researcher observed Raza Womyn, conducted a 10-week case study on one member, and led a focus group interview with the entire organization. For three academic years, the researcher attended two- to three-hour weekly meetings with the

Raza Womyn and participated actively in all planned Raza Womyn events.

The impact the Raza Womyn group had on Latinx women was positive. Many of the women in the group discussed how in joining male and female Chicano/a organizations, they experienced sexism and homophobia. Being able to connect with other women from similar cultural backgrounds was enough to help members feel like they have a place in the university. Carmen explained that an organization such as Raza

Womyn was meaningful to her because it created a space for her to discuss different aspects of her identity, allowed her to organize for social change outside the university such as in her community, and allowed her feel supported to do so. Within that space, the

56 women educated one another about race/ethnicity, class, gender sexuality, and more through love. Revilla (2004) explained that when Latinx women enter college and come from disadvantaged backgrounds or a marginalized community, they take part in a process of resistance to oppressive practices and environments within the institution.

Though higher education can be liberating to some Latinx women, it can also be oppressive to some; thus, they can create tools for their understanding. Raza Womyn is an example of the hardships of learning and teaching that take place in the private and safe spaces that these Latinx activists occupy. The group of Latinx women that Revilla

(2004) studied is an example of the commitment people are willing to put forward for social justice and to engage in love and revolution.

It is not only important for Latinx women in White spaces to have an empowerment group, but also for women who are heavily involved in traditional Latinx marriages/families. Marrs Fuchsel (2014) evaluated the “Sí, Yo Puedo” empowerment program for immigrant Latinx women. This program once focused on domestic violence, but now it is designed to not only raise awareness on domestic violence, but also to promote self-esteem and understand healthy relationships within a cultural framework.

These women met weekly for two hours for 11 weeks. The purpose of the study was to examine 16 immigrant Latinx women and four staff members in two different follow-up groups that were conducted six months and then one year after the completion of the 11- week program. Five qualitative questions were created and used as the primary

57 instrument for collecting data on the participants’ experience after completion of the curriculum/program.

1) Have you noticed any changes in how you feel about yourself since the group

ended? If so can you describe those changes? 2) Have you noticed any changes

in your current relationship since the group ended? If so, can you describe those

changes? 3)Have you noticed any changes in how you perceive or think about

your current relationship since the group ended? If so, can you describe those

changes? 4) What has been your experience with your family member since the

group ended? 5) When you think of the word empowerment, what do you think it

means? Do you feel empowered? If so, how have you become empowered?

(Marrs & Fuchsel, 2014, p. 287)

The majority of the participants said there was an improvement in self-esteem, feeling and thinking better about themselves, and feeling more secure and confident since they participated in the program. They also reported an improvement in their romantic relationships.

Rodriguez (2001) examined how collaborative creation of a psychospiritual group process that is culturally relevant can empower United States-born Latinas and help them with soul reclamation and healing for this population of women. The purpose of

Rodriguez’s (2001) work was to create a sacred space for Latinas to discuss their issues and learn spiritual tools to facilitate a strong sense of self to help them. The researcher was a spiritual mentor for five young Latinx women between the ages of 23 and 26 born

58 and raised in urban communities and all were college graduates. It was an eight-week process that included topics such as family, relationships with men, creativity and careers, body esteem/sexuality, spirituality, issues of identity, and self-assessment. These topics were all agreed on by the women. The women also agreed to use a journal throughout the time, which included self-reflection, observations, thoughts, meditations, symbols, images, and new spiritual teachings. Each session also included spiritual components such as spiritual teachings and principles that contained meditation, affirmation, rituals, prayers, music, movement, and artistic expression. Each session started with the women forming a circle and meditating. During each session, an altar was created and the women placed different objects on it to represent the four elements: water, fire, earth, and air. The researcher did this to create a sacred space that offered a sense of trust, support, and knowledge that divine energy was at work, shifting the energy for a more elevated state to encourage the depth of soul healing within the group.

Rodriguez (2001) explained that the Release Ritual was the most popular amongst the participants. The women were led through a short meditation where they reflected on an emotion, behavior, way of thinking, or situation they had been holding on to. After the meditation, the women were instructed to write in their journal whatever they chose and to end with an affirmation of release. Then, they placed a red candle in the middle of the circle with a vessel filled with water. Each woman entered the center of the circle and spoke out loud her release statement and affirmation. During that time, the other women in the circle sent support and love to the woman in the center.

To promote body esteem, the researcher (Rodriguez, 2001) brought in a Latina dance teacher who promoted body awareness through movement. The teacher used music and dance so the women could experience their bodies through the cultural history and biology held in their bodies. The reason the researcher used dance as a form of counseling and therapy is because it is a place Latinas can desahogar, meaning everything gets released from the body, soul, and heart (Rodriguez, 2001). Through this session, the women opened up about issues of sexual abuse and negative self-image. The spiritual orientation section of the group process included Jungian, humanistic, and cognitive training. The women shared dreams, experiences, and personal stories that helped them start their process of deep soul awareness and healing. The results discussed were that the women had little to no experience exploring their personal spirituality. Rodriguez

(2001) explained that the women loved the rituals. The group was a great success that continued.

Though Rodriguez (2001) did not go into a deep explanation on how the women felt after the group sessions, she explained what it created for the Latinx community, proving that the group sessions were a success. The group sessions provided the women with the tools to become more aware of themselves on psychological, emotional, and spiritual levels. The most critical result of the project was the creation of a model and an organization form, DEALMAS LATINAS, which has continued and been geared towards the Latina community. These women are a part of creating something that did not exist

60 before. It continues the legacy of resistance for Latinx women by creating safe and sacred spaces to uplift themselves and their community.

Rodriguez (2001) explained that giving Latinx women a free space to have discussions with other Latinx women can be successful, help Latinx women see the intersectionalities within their own community, and help the women feel empowered. A

Latinx feminist group can be beneficial to Latinx girls, Latinx young women, as well as

Latinx older women who are in their careers and married with children. It is a space for

Latinx women to come together and discuss issues they face as well as to resolve problems together and create a change within their own community.

Summary

Latinxs in the United States face many issues that impact their identity. The generation to which a Latinx person belongs has an effect on how acculturated or enculturated one is and can negatively or positively impact their ethnic identity

(Acevedo-Polakovich et al., 2014; Padilla, 2006). Acevedo-Polakovich et al. (2014) and

Padilla (2006) found that not all Latinx adolescents face the same issues with identity, but their issues with identity depend on how enculturated or acculturated they are.

Stereotypes from media and politics more heavily impact a Latinx’s identity because stereotypes affect the way they view themselves and the way the world views them.

Stereotypes have an effect on Latinxs’ identity as well as an impact on the political climate in the United States. Politicians use stereotypes of Latinxs to bring fear to United

States citizens. Not only are these stereotypes used to push an agenda and bring fear, but

Latinxs face fear because of the negative stereotypes and hate they receive (Wray-Lake et al., 2018). Latinxs are also affected when in White spaces such as the university. When in a space that is dominantly White and dominated by the United States culture, Latinx student may feel they need to choose between their country of origin’s culture and the

White United States culture. Latinxs as a whole struggle with identity, but for Latinx women, it might be more challenging.

Unfortunately, Latinx women may have a harder time maneuvering their identity in the context of the United States. Latinx women and Latinxs in general have many things in common when it comes to situations that can impact their identity, but Latinx women have distinct differences because they are a double minority. Latinx women face gender stereotypes that negatively impact them that Latinx men do not. They receive stereotypes due to being Latinx and because they are women.

Not only are Latinx women facing stereotypes, but they also face family expectations, marianismo. Latinx women are expected to be submissive, dependent, chaste, and family oriented (Sanchez et al., 2019). Latinx men do not face this problem.

They are told to practice cultural behaviors and beliefs that are different from Latinx men and White women. As a result of the family expectations of marianismo, Latinx women may have more difficulty compared to Latinx men on college campuses. Latinx women may feel identity distress when trying to balance two cultures while attending college.

Latinx women attending a university may feel pressured by family to be family oriented while still attending school. Due to the distinct differences Latinx women have compared

62 to the general Latinx population, it is important for Latinx women to be able to come together with other Latinx women.

Latinx women have experienced sexism and exclusion in spaces with men; thus, it is important for Latinx women to come together and have a safe space alone (Baca Zinn

& Zambrana, 2019). It is beneficial for Latinx women to practice group therapy so they have other Latinx women to bond with (Rodriguez, 2001). Within this group therapy,

Latinx women can discuss issues they face within their family, work, school, etc., issues of racism, sexism, and more that are unique to Latinx women. Through group therapy,

Latinx women will be given the tools to help them become more aware of themselves psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually (Rodriguez, 2001). Studies have shown that

Latinx feminism can help Latinx women create a form of resistance to empower one another and create safe spaces to express issues they face in the United States and within their own culture. Forms of resistance through empowerment groups is important for all

Latinx women no matter what age.

Chapter 3

METHODS

Introduction and Overview

The purpose of this chapter is to present an overview of the retreat, outlining and detailing the application of The Latinx Women’s Retreat. The focus of the Latinx

Women’s Retreat is for a group of Latinx women to dissect and understand how living in the United States has impacted their identity. The principles of LatCrit theory are used to ground the various phases of this retreat. The retreat will have a steady progression with three different phases. The first phase focuses on building relationships amongst the women in order to make them comfortable. The second phase is for women to think about their own identity and how it is impacted by others as well as how others view it.

The next phase of the retreat, possibly one of the most important phases of the retreat, is for the women to participate in a listening circle where they will discuss with one another their own experiences of navigating their identity in the context of the United States. In the last session of the retreat, the women will go over next steps. At the end of the retreat, the women will create a chart of the difficulties they faced, how they resisted, and what strategies they can use to better help other Latinx women.

Theoretical Frame

As previously mentioned, this project is written using LatCrit and CRT. Through the retreat, the Latinx women will examine their own identities through the lenses of

LatCrit and CRT. The retreat is not only for the women to understand how they navigate

64 their identity in the context of the United States, but to also learn how to resist negative influences on their identity. LatCrit is a cousin of CRT; unlike CRT, it embraces issues often ignored by critical race theorists such as “language, immigration, ethnicity, culture, identity, phenotype, and sexuality” (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001, p. 311). LatCrit focuses on Latinx’s complex identities and addresses the intersectionality of racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression. LatCrit recognizes the coexistence of various identities and their consistent social interaction in the lives of human beings (Valdes,

2005). LatCrit theory started off with two principles—anti-essentialism and anti- subordination. Anti-essentialism implements critical and self-critical mappings of the

“dimensions, layers, and inter-connections of ‘different kinds of subordination’” (Valdes,

2005, p. 157). Within LatCrit, anti-subordination makes sure that critical analysis and exchange focuses on social justice practices to resist and reform any systems of social and legal oppressions. The women attending the retreat not only focus on how Latinx women are treated and the impacts of their identity, but also how to change their own community. LatCrit has already created a tradition of analyzing gender and addressing the concerns of Latinas (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001). LatCrit addresses the concerns of

Latinas by acknowledging both internal and external relationships in or with today’s society. The reason Latcrit is being used throughout the whole process is due to its focus on resistance and reform. Throughout this retreat, the women will examine each other’s complex personalities, which they will discuss and dissect. The women will learn about what impacts their identity and how. Through the analysis of their own identity, they will

65 learn how they have resisted the outside forces that have tried to influence their identity throughout their lifetime and how they can resist. The women can learn from one another’s resistance dialogue and create strategies to create change within their own community.

As a Latina woman, I found myself intrigued by LatCrit. As a Latinx woman who does not speak Spanish well, having grown up in a Latinx community and not feeling accepted by my own Latinx community, but also not accepted by White-

Americans, I liked what LatCrit focused on bringing to light. LatCrit focuses on those unique experiences of Latinxs. As a Latinx woman, I felt invisible, and LatCrit responds to the historical presence and sociolegal invisibility of Latinxs. The reason LatCrit theory will be used during the retreat is because the Latinx women in the retreat will have unique identities. LatCrit offers a transformative response to racial, gender, and class oppression (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001). Within the retreat, the women are not only discussing their hardships as Latinx women but also going over how they resisted and strategies to help other Latinx women, thus bettering the Latinx community. During the time of the listening circle, the women will begin to examine their own forms of resistance where they are now and where they would like to be.

The Forms of Resistance

Through the progression of the retreat, the women will better understand their own identity and how it is impacted by their community, family, and culture. Within the retreat, the women will discover what form of resistance they fall under and will

66 contemplate what form of resistance they want to reach. Solórzano and Bernal (2001) discussed the different forms of resistance/behaviors in which students may participate.

The first behavior is reactionary behavior, which is not a form of resistance.

Reactionary behavior is when one does not critique his or her oppressive conditions and is not motivated by social justice. Though this retreat may interest women who are motivated by social justice, there is the possibility that some women in attendance fall under this category of resistance. Solórzano and Bernal (2001) described this as a student who may act out during class and not question why they are acting out.

Another behavior is self-defeating resistance, which refers to individuals who may critique the oppressive conditions but have no interest in social justice. This person is someone who does not practice transformational behavior and instead helps re-create oppressive conditions. An example is a Latinx woman who critiques the gender roles within their culture but does nothing to change it and instead practices those gender roles within her own family. The next behavior discussed is conformist resistance, which is when one is motivated by social justice but does not critique the systems of oppression.

These individuals want to better themselves and others, but rather than blame the social conditions, they blame themselves, their families, or culture. For example, a Latinx woman attending the retreat may only blame herself, family, or culture because of her struggle with creating her own identity when in reality, both her family and culture are also influenced by social conditions. A goal for a woman like this at the retreat would be to understand how her identity has been impacted by her social conditions. The last form

67 of resistance is transformational resistance; this is when one critiques the system of oppression and is somewhat motivated by a sense of social justice. Though it is not guaranteed, many of the women who willingly made an effort to try and participate in the retreat may fall under the last form of resistance. When there is “a deeper level of understanding and a social justice orientation, transformational resistance offers the greatest possibility for social change” (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001, p. 319).

Transformational resistance framed within the principles of a “CRT and LatCrit framework allows one to look at resistance among Students of Color that is political, collective, conscious, and motivated by a sense that individual and social change is possible” (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001, p. 320). Women who fall under the last category of resistance will be most likely to create social change amongst their community.

Due to the fact that the Latina women participating in the retreat come from different walks of life, they may be participating in the various forms of resistance unknowingly. The goal of the retreat is for the women to recognize the oppressive systems and how they impact them and their identity. The hope is the Latina women who attend the retreat do have an interest in social justice, but if they do not, the retreat will help them become more social justice oriented.

Curriculum Analysis

Retreat Location and Participants

The retreat will take place in Napa, California because there is a possibility many of the participants will be from Sacramento. The reason it will not take place on a

68 university campus is because the university is a White space and may also be a space that causes anxiety for some participants. With that being said, participants should feel comfortable enough to tell their stories. Napa is an acceptable location for the retreat because it offers nature trails with a scenic view. Cox et al. (2017) explained there is evidence that when interacting with nature, there is greater well-being and lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Though the retreat is only a weekend long, the scenic views can improve the women’s mental state of being.

Selection Criteria

Since the retreat will consist of a small group of 8-10 women, the women will be selected on specific criteria. For a woman to be considered for selection she/they must be a Latinx woman. To spread the word of the retreat and to get different women, a form was made which includes the criteria (see Chapter 4). The form asks for each woman’s age, occupation/major, family’s country of origin, and their generation in the United

States. The form will be passed out to sororities, clubs with a large number of Latinx students of all ages, and in classrooms of Latinx professors. The form may also be passed out in workspaces and if one wants to spread the word and tell a friend, they could take more copies. For example, I may ask Dr. Margarita Berta-Avila, a professor at

California State University, Sacramento to pass out the form to whom she believes would be interested in the retreat. I may also have colleagues or friends of my own that would benefit from the retreat and may also give them a form. One thing that must be avoided is having a friend group attend the retreat. The goal is to have Latinx women from

69 different walks of life attend the retreat. In the form, the women will be asked why they want to attend the retreat. Thus, the hosts of the retreat will gain some knowledge about the women and what is motivating them to attend. When choosing the women, the hosts of the retreat will make sure there are women of different generations in the United

States, women whose country of origin includes multiple Latin American countries, bilingual women, monolingual women, women of different types of occupations/majors, and those of different age groups. The short answer in the form regarding why they want to attend may also better help the host narrow down whom to choose. The hosts may find in their answers what form of resistance the woman falls under and may purposely choose women that fall under different forms of resistance. The goal of the retreat is to bring diverse women together.

Phase One: Building Relationships

The first phase of the retreat is to gain the women’s trust. Before the women start sharing their personal thoughts with one another, they first have to gain one another’s trust and create relationships. Diaz- Lázaro, Verdinelli, and Cohen (2012) explained the ways in which empowerment feminist therapy can successfully integrate multicultural concepts for clients who experience oppression. Many Latinx immigrant women face problems that are not personal or individual but are organic consequences of socio- cultural stressors such as discrimination, cultural role conflicts, immigration trauma, language barriers, and lowered levels of financial, education, and medical resources

(Diaz- Lázaro et al., 2012). Diaz- Lázaro et al. (2012) discussed the steps for gaining a

Latinx woman’s trust in therapy. The first step is to create a relationship. Rather than following procedures, show interest in the client. A therapist should openly share his or her own style and values. The goal of the therapist is to assist the client in understanding the external factors influencing his or her life. Diaz- Lázaro et al. (2012) found that empowerment feminist therapy can be effectively used as long as therapists take into consideration the complexity and cultural context of Latinx women’s lives. Though their specific study only examined one-on-one therapy with Latinx immigrants, a Latinx women’s empowerment group can be looked at as group therapy, and these same steps can be applied when discussing the effects of navigating the context of the United States on one’s identity. Not only will the group of women attending the retreat build relationships with one another, but also with the facilitator. The facilitator will not only facilitate, but also participate in the activities of the retreat.

Day 1, Session 1: Welcome and Dinner. The first session of the retreat will be a dinner. The women will arrive at the location in the late afternoon and will need to settle in by unpacking. After the women are settled in, they will have an opening dinner with one another where simple introductions will take place including names, age, occupation and why the women made the decision to participate in the retreat. The facilitator will explain the goals of the retreat, which are to examine how Latinx women navigate their identity in the context of the United States. By exploring the identity of Latinx women, we will learn the different struggles that different Latinx women have gone through, but also ways they have resisted society, cultural, or family expectations when forming their

71 own identity. The dinner is meant to be an introduction but will also help move the women to the next step which consists of creating a vision board.

Day 1, Session 2: Vision Boards. A vision board is created with a collage of future goals. In Burton and Lent’s (2016) work, the authors explained that creative approaches are grounded in research that uses all senses. The job of a counselor in a therapeutic session is to provide opportunity for their clients to gain awareness. A counselor can do this though props and counseling tools in a not only effective but also creative way (Burton & Lent, 2016). In the creation of the vision boards, the women will be given creative tools such as magazines, markers, glue, and other craft tools to start the process of awareness that will occur throughout the retreat. Using creative techniques such as vison boards assists clients in areas such as “academic challenges, conflicting relationships, developmental transitions, stress, low self-esteem, and goal settings”

(Burton & Lent, 2016, p. 53). Vision boards specifically help clients identify, define, and clarify what they really want in life. Vision boards are used to inspire clients and help them focus on goals and through the identification of goals to help clients feel empowered (Burton & Lent, 2016).

Many of the women will not know what exactly will occur during the retreat but will know it entails discussions regarding navigating Latinx women’s identity in the context of the United States. The vision board helps them create personal goals for the retreat, as well as personal goals the women may have. What do the women want to get out of or expect from the retreat? This will also later help the hosts understand the goals

72 and better prepare them for future retreats with other women. The facilitator will explain what a vision board is as well as show the women an example; they will be given supplies for their vision board (see Chapter 4). The creation of the vision boards will not focus on past problems; the women will use this time to concentrate on the future and feel positive about what is occurring (Burton & Lent, 2016). Setting and creating goals is focused on what the client has as desired outcomes and what is most important to the client. The facilitator may learn from the vision boards what outcome the women want out of the retreat. A vision board helps aid in merging subjective thoughts with external concrete images while helping one learn about themselves (Burton & Lent, 2016).

Through the creation of the vision boards, the Latinx women will use the time to truly think about what they want out of the retreat, including what they want to learn about themselves or what they do know about themselves along with how to better help their identity.

The women may be seeking something from the retreat that the host(s) may not know about, so using the vision boards will give the women the opportunity to create their own goals for the retreat. The vision boards are not only to create retreat goals for each individual, but to also build relationships. Burton and Lent (2016) explained that through the use of creative approaches, the counselor not only engages the client in the counseling process, but also warrants clients to enter into a counseling relationship.

Burton and Lent (2016) also explained that the use of vision boards helps aid communication between the counselor and the client.

Within the retreat, the vision board will help facilitate communication amongst the women as well as between the women and facilitator. Since the women will be working amongst each other during the creation of their vision boards, they will have the opportunity to dialogue with one another. The facilitator will then explain that the goal during the creation of the vision board is to get to know one another. The women will be asked to learn a random fact about three women on the retreat. The conversations during this time will be organic, and the facilitator will not step in. The purpose of the facilitator not stepping in during this time is so the women can become comfortable with one another rather than immediately talking about identity. Bonding between the women can be as simple as helping one another look for supplies for their board. When the women are done creating their boards, they will then present them to everyone one by one. The vision board is an opening for the retreat and is supposed to set the tone for the rest of the retreat. When the women present their boards, they will discuss what they put on their boards and why; this is an opportunity for the women to become a little more open with one another. The women will come back to their vision boards later in the retreat to see if they reached their goals.

Day 1, Session 3: Real Women have Curves (Brown, Atlas & Cardoso, 2002).

The vision boards will then lead to watching a film together called Real Women Have

Curves (Brown, Atlas & Cardoso, 2002). As previous work has mentioned, it is important to build a relationship with Latinx women before starting some form of therapy. One way many people bond is through watching movies together; this will give

74 the women another opportunity to bond with one another. The movie will also give the women the chance to see a film that focuses on a Latinx woman navigating her identity in the United States. The movie Real Women Have Curves (Brown, Atlas & Cardoso,

2002) is a film about a Chicana who lives in East Los Angeles with her working-class family. According to Guerrero (2012), one of the major themes in the film is the pursuit of education. In the film, the main character Ana wants to attend college. Her mother does not want her to attend school, but rather wants her to work in her sister’s shop to help the family financially.

Guerrero (2012) also mentioned the theme of gender and societal issues. Ana is called a “whore” by her mother because she lost her virginity before marriage. When

Ana is called a “whore” and slapped by her mother, Ana’s response is: “A man should appreciate a woman for what’s in her mind and not what’s between her legs” (Brown,

Atlas & Cardoso, 2002). The last reoccurring themes in the film (Brown, Atlas &

Cardoso, 2002) that Guerrero (2012) mentioned are body image and self-identity.

Throughout the film (Brown, Atlas & Cardoso, 2002), Ana’s mother constantly mentions

Ana’s weight, damaging her self-image. It is obvious throughout the film that Ana struggles with overcoming a negative view about her weight. The reason Ana’s mother constantly harasses Ana about her weight is because she believes no man will see Ana as fit to be a wife. Throughout the film, Ana is not the only one who suffers with weight; the women she works with in the sewing factory as well as her sister also do. The women make expensive dresses they sell at Bloomingdales for $18 while Bloomingdales

75 sells them for $600. The women who discuss their weight constantly have to make dresses that are never made in a size bigger than seven. Guerrero (2012) explained that

Ana imagines the women that buy these dresses to be wealthy and slender and oblivious to how the dresses are made.

The final scenes of the film show the women of the sewing shop about to reach their goal of the amount of dresses; in celebration, the women strip their clothes, revealing their hips, stomachs, stretch marks and scars while dancing to Latin music

(Brown, Atlas & Cardoso, 2002). The women reached their goal, they overcame their shame and pride, and they worked together as women. During this time, Ana’s mom walks out of the factory in disgust. This symbolizes the conflict between first-generation

Latinx women and second-generation women (Guerrero, 2012). The women in the family represent second-generation Latinx women who see the United States “as the land of opportunity, growth, self-expression and freedom” (Guerrero, 2002, p. 92). Ana’s mom sees the United States as taking her daughters down a negative path and pulling them away from her and the family values.

While watching the film, the women will be given a graphic organizer (see

Chapter 4) to illustrate common themes they found while watching the film, such as the pursuit of education, gender, societal issues, body-image, and self-identity. The graphic organizer has three sections. The first section asks the women what themes they found within the film. The second section is divided into three so the women can write three examples of the themes within the film. The last section focuses on what message the

76 women in the retreat received from the film. After the film, the women will discuss with the group common themes they found throughout the story; each woman will take a turn.

The facilitator will go over the struggle Ana went through and feeling like living a double life. The reason it is important for the women to discuss the themes is because connections can possibly be made. The struggles Ana goes through regarding her identity are struggles many Latinx women can relate to. This film is to help the women start thinking about their own identity. The women may be able to relate to the feeling of not belonging or not being accepted in either culture or the feeling of having to choose one culture or the other. The facilitator will then ask the women if they saw themselves in one of the movie characters and why. This will give the women the chance to think about their own identity, who impacted it, and how it was impacted by outside factors.

When the women discuss what characters in the film they relate to and how, they do not have to go into detail. The reason is this exercise is to give the women the opportunity to start thinking about their own identity to prepare them for later activities where they will go into greater details and dissect certain impacts on their identity. This movie activity then leads to the next activity to get the women to think about their own identity and how they view it is impacted by others.

Day 2, Session 1: Journal Reflection. The last session of relationship building will also be the opening of the identity sessions. This session will include more relationship building through mindful walking and also give the women the opportunity to start thinking of their identity through a journal entry. Not only are there physical

77 benefits to walking, but mindful walking can help someone emotionally and mentally.

As previously mentioned in Cano and Castillo’s (2010) work, being a bicultural Latinx woman can create distress amongst Latinas. The researchers found that the cultural differences in higher education that often reflect White American cultural values conflict with Latinx women’s cultural values and can create distress. In Teut et al.’s (2013) work, the researchers explained that several studies have proven that mindfulness training and physical exercise have demonstrated effects in reducing symptoms of distress.

Mindfulness is a meditation practice derived from Buddhism (Teut et al., 2013). The researchers created an easy-to-follow training program that combines mindfulness and walking (Teut et al., 2013). The researchers described mindful walking as walking while mindfully observing and focusing on bodily sensations while staying focused on one’s

“moment-to-moment experiences without being lost in unhelpful or distressing thoughts triggered by the experience” (Teut et al., 2013, p. 2). If participants did experience such thoughts, they are to divert their attention to their breathing. Before the walk, the women will be given a series of questions taken directly from the “Facing History and Ourselves

Organization” (n.d.), “Exploring Identity” lesson, so they can think about their answers while on the walk.

When the women have reached their destination for the walk, they are to answer the questions in their journal, which will give women the time to reflect on their own identity. The women will not answer the questions out loud; the journal entry is meant to prepare the women for the listening group towards the end of the retreat, which is when

78 the women will answer the questions out loud. This walk and journal entry is not only a bonding moment and a time to reflect on their own identity, but it is meant to relax the women and make them more comfortable for what is to come later.

Phase Two: Identity

Now that the women have started moving to build relationships with one another, the next phase will solely focus on identity. As the literature has mentioned, ethnic identity and how enculturated or acculturated one is dependent on many factors

(Acevedo-Polakovich et al., 2014; Padilla, 2006). Latinx women face stereotypes from non Latinxs and face marianismo within their own culture. When Latinx women are in predominately White spaces, they may struggle with feelings of exclusion, but once surrounded by their own culture, they may also feel isolated (Flores, 2011). Feelings of isolation heavily impact their identity such that some women may not feel Latina enough, while also feeling like they do not fit in with White United States culture. Phase Two will specifically focus on influences of identity and how it is created while Phase Three specifically focuses on identity. Phase Two is meant to get women to think about their own identity and what influences their identity. The next two sessions of Phase Two are lesson plans that have been adapted from an outside resource called “Facing History and

Ourselves,” an identity unit. The unit is about identity and community and was created for sixth-grade social studies students. The unit is divided into 10 lessons; I adapted parts from four different lessons. I also will be using the questions asked during the lessons throughout my own sessions. Though the unit is written for sixth grade, it will be

79 beneficial to anyone who has not analyzed their identity or learned about identity in school. The topic and discussing identity with others may be new to the women attending the retreat.

In the Session 2 lesson “Who am I?”, the warmup main activity, and follow- through activity were taken from the Facing History and Ourselves Organization (n.d.).

With the permission of the Facing History and Ourselves Organization, I adapted and took lessons from their website (see Appendix). Unlike the identity unit, during this session in the retreat, the women will make an identity chart for Esperanza (the main character of a story) and discuss it together (Facing History and Ourselves Organization, n.d.). The women will also make their own identity chart and discuss with the group why they put what they put in their identity chart. In the next session, the women will watch a video on the short story “The Bear that Wasn’t.” This session was adapted from Facing

History and Ourselves Organization (n.d.). Unlike on the website, the women will not read the story, but watch it to see the animation that goes along with it. Some of the connection questions for “The Bear that Wasn’t” on the website will be also be taken and used the during the retreat. Both of these lessons will be used during the retreat, but unlike the website’s lessons, there will be more discussion amongst the women. The journal entry during the mindful walk will be used during the listening circle. The journal entry questions were taken from a lesson on the Facing History website. The questions used throughout the identity unit on the Facing History and Ourselves

Organization (n.d.) are the questions used during the retreat. The questions used are to help further discussion in the sessions.

Day 2, Session 2: What Defines Me? The first session focuses on how the women define themselves and what makes them who they are. The purpose of this session is for the women to describe who they are and what is a part of their identity. In this lesson, the women will create an identity chart. An identity chart is another creative tool that can start the process of awareness (Burton & Lent, 2016). In Usborne and

Sablonnière’s (2012) work, the authors discussed personal identity as the personal values, goals, attitudes, behavioral styles, and characteristics that create each individual. One’s personal identity is what makes up a person and represents the set of goals, values, beliefs, and characteristics that one has created or internalized. It is essential for one’s psychological well-being to know one’s personal self (Usborne & Sablonnière, 2012).

Usborne and Sablonnière (2012) recently described self-concept as having a knowledge component as well as an esteem component and there is a positive association. The knowledge component is composed of the characteristics or traits that makes one unique; it answers the question “Who am I?” The esteem component is when one evaluates their own personal characteristics and answers the question, “Am I worthy?” When one has clearly defined self-knowledge, it is associated with feeling good about the self (Usborne

& Sablonnière, 2012). When this theory was tested, the findings affirmed “that the self- concepts of people with high self-esteem were consistently characterized by greater clarity than the self-concepts of those with low self-esteem” (Usborne & Sablonnière,

2012, p. 439). Using the identity chart as a creative tool can help assist the women in forming their own identity by considering the many factors that shape who they are as individuals. According to the Facing History and Ourselves Organization (n.d.) website, identity charts can help others deepen their understanding of not only themselves, but groups, countries, and historical and literary figures. The Facing History and Ourselves

Organization (n.d.) website also explains that sharing identity charts with peers can also help build relationships, which will also help the women engage with one another.

The session will begin with the facilitator explaining that society may cast judgment on the women based on their ethnicity, age, clothing, occupation, etc. There is a possibility that the women have judged one another before meeting each other and because of that, as a warmup, the women will write down a random fact about themselves that no one would be able to guess just by looking at them. Then, the women will say the fact out loud. This will then lead the facilitator to then get the women to think what identity is. Together, they will create a starburst chart (see Chapter 4) for a character from a book using words they believe define identity and then create one individually. A starburst chart is when the person’s name is circled in the middle with arrows point out from the center with words or phrases that describe what one may consider to be key aspects of their identity. The women can also write arrows pointing inward with words or phrases others might use to describe them.

After the women state the random facts, the women will move on to reading a chapter from Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street called “My Name,” a

82 chapter about how the main character views her own identity. In the chapter, the young girl Esperanza constantly compares her name to the Mexican culture and American culture. Esperanza also describes what she does not want to be and who she really is. By reading this chapter, the women will realize our identity can be impacted by many outside sources whether we like it or not. Though those outside sources impact us, we still have control of our own identity. The women will then create an identity chart for

Esperanza all together. As mentioned previously, it will be a starburst chart, and the women will take turns saying out loud what goes into making Esperanza’s identity.

Through creating the identity chart, the women will realize everything that goes into creating one’s identity. After creating Esperanza’s identity chart together, the women will then explain to each other how they feel about the chart. Do they feel they connect with Esperanza?

The women will create their own identity chart (see Chapter 4) using the same chart and include all the aspects that make them who they are. To help them create their identity chart, they will be given a series of questions on a handout (see Chapter 4) that may better help them understand what what can be included in the identity chart. The previous sessions in the retreat will have prepared the women for this session because the women will have already thought about their identity and who/what impacts it and answered questions regarding their identity. This session will also prepare the women for the listening circle. The women will think about what outside influences impact their identity. The women will then share out what they wrote on their identity chart. Now

83 that the women have looked at their own identity and defined it, they will then look how others can influence their identity and define it for them. This will lead us into the next session.

Day 2, Session 3: How Do Others Impact Your Identity? As previously learned in the literature, Latinx women face stereotypes in the United States and face gender roles within their community and family (Sanchez et al., 2019). Many influences try to tell Latinx women who they should and should not be. In this next session, the women will watch a short story called “The Bear that Wasn’t.” The reason I chose this story is because it shows the impact others have with how one identifies themselves, it shows that people can shift others’ views. The short story is about a bear who wakes up from hibernation and finds himself in the middle of an industrial complex. Throughout the story, workers and managers tell the bear he is a man and must continue working; each time, the bear says he is not a man, he is a bear. They tell the bear he is a silly man wearing a fur coat and needs to shave. They eventually take the bear to the zoo and even the zoo bears tell the bear he is not a bear or else he would be with them inside the cage.

Eventually, the bear believes everyone and believes he is a man. Once the factory closes, it is winter and the bear starts to wish he was a bear. The bear eventually discards his human items and finds a cave, feeling comfortable again. Through the struggles and hardships, the bear eventually goes back to being himself, something that many people can relate to. After the reading, the women will be given a set of questions regarding the reading.

• Why do you think Frank Tashlin titled this story The Bear That Wasn’t? Why

didn’t the factory officials recognize the Bear for what he was? Why did it become

harder and harder for the Bear to maintain his identity as he moved through the

bureaucracy of the factory?

• What were the consequences for the Bear of the way others defined his identity?

• Whose opinions and beliefs have the greatest effect on how you think about your

own identity?

• How does our need to be part of a group affect our actions? Why is it so difficult

for a person to go against the group? (Facing History and Ourselves

Organization, n.d.)

The women will answer the questions by raising their hand and answering them out loud. The purpose of the questions is for women to relate it back to their own identity and understand how others can influence their identity. The hope is for the women to understand that society can at times take a hold of your identity and try and tell you what/who you are. No matter what society tells you, when you try to conform on the inside, you will still always be your true self and that will eventually come out. Though the women will be raising their hands and answering out loud, the facilitator will take answers from multiple women on one question. This is for the women to find out if those around them thought the same thing or if they thought something different. Whether the women answered questions differently or the same, it will create a conversation. They will then be asked how watching the short story made them feel and what labels or words

85 others may use to describe them. Not only will they understand others’ influence on identity, but they will understand the importance of having to resist those influences to be who they are. The information used in this session will then prepare them for the listening circle. After answering the questions, the women will then move on to the next session. The women will be able to describe in the listening circle who has influenced or defined their own identity.

Phase Three: Listening Circle

Day 2, Listening Circle. The first two phases will have prepared the women for the final phase, which is a listening circle. In the first phase, the women built relationships with one another, which will now help them be open with one another during the listening circle. The second phase focused on identity. The women have thought about their own identity, how they defined it, how others defined it, and what influenced their identity. They will be able to use what they learned in the second phase during the listening circle. This listening circle will be similar to a therapeutic group, but unlike a therapeutic group, it is not ongoing. The conversations will be organic, but to get the women to start talking, they will read their answers from the journal entry they wrote during the mindful walk. The facilitator’s job during the listening circle is to help guide the women, but not lead the conversation. The facilitator will have a set of questions to ask the women to get the women to speak more, if need be (see Chapter 4).

Storytelling. The purpose of the listening circle is for everyone to be given the opportunity to tell their own story, but also to hear the story of other Latinas of different

86 age groups and of different walks of life. The research has proven the benefits of storytelling for Latinas. In Daisey and Jose-Kampfner’s (2002) work, five middle-school teachers worked together creating workshops that combined mathematics instruction, diverse forms of writing, and storytelling about successful Latinas. They did the activity because when 150 Latina middle-school students were asked to “Draw a Latina at Work,”

72% of students depicted women working in factories or doing domestic work, 18% showed women doing clerical work, and 8% portrayed women as teachers. One picture portrayed a Latina as a principal and two drawings were of famous Latina pop stars. The drawings showed the need that these young Latinas had for mentors. With that being said, the 5-step learning cycle was intended to incorporate biographical storytelling, mathematical exploration, discussions of gender and bilingual issues, and writing. The purpose of the project is to help teachers build their Latina students’ self-esteems as well as expand the range of available role models.

Including biographies in instruction has many benefits such as construction of knowledge, vicarious experiences, positive attitudes toward instruction, and emotional growth (Daisey & Jose-Kampfner, 2002). The researchers believe that by using reading and oral storytelling of biographies, teachers may help to empower students by teaching them decision-making and social action skills. Through the biographies, the Latina students may realize that “the way things are” are actually social constructs that benefit some people while hurting others and must be changed.

Though in the listening circle the women may not be reading stories written by

Latina authors, they will be listening to personal stories told by the Latinas around them; this is called narrative inquiry. Hence, the journal entry will not be used until the listening circle. During the listening circle, the facilitator will use Freire’s dialogical and problem-posing approach. Rather than the facilitator using the banking concept, which is feeding the women information, the facilitator will aim to create an interactive communication process. The facilitator has presented the material in the previous sessions and this session focuses on both asking questions and calling things into question, challenging the women (Thomas & Bebbington, 2004). Through this dialogue and problem-posing approach, the process of praxis can occur and empower the women to transform society (Thomas & Bebbington, 2004). The facilitator will ask the women a series of questions to help the women think deeper about their identity (see Chapter 4).

After hearing everyone’s story, the women will find common themes throughout their stories and have similar factors that influence their identity. The facilitator will ask questions to help guide the women into finding the common themes. Through the stories, the Latinx women can feel connected and engage in the stories told by others experiencing dilemmas similar to theirs. The stories and dialogue can help the Latina women understand that things can be different and other than what they are, thus expanding possibilities. Through the stories, they may hear how others around them have resisted society’s standards of what it means to be a Latina.

The Role of the Facilitator

Explanation of expectations. Before starting a discussion, the facilitator will go over the importance of the first two phases and how they prepared them for this last phase, the listening circle. A facilitator must be clear and brief the learners about learning goals, and rules must be set into place. As a group, the women will come up with the expectations and rules, and the facilitator will write them on chart paper. The facilitator will explain that the listening circle with be like a therapeutic group, except not ongoing. It is an opportunity for the women to share how growing up in the United

States has impacted their Latina identity.

Guide not direct. The facilitator will then go on to explain that not everyone’s views are the same as well as the importance of listening and being open minded. The facilitator’s role is not to advocate or influence, rather it is to guide and advance in the group agenda (Gillen, 2004). Facilitators may need to clarify the points being made to make sure everyone understands. The facilitator must also make the conscious effort to stay attuned to the group’s dynamics and body language. When a facilitator is looking at things such as body language, they should be able to find who is holding out when in a discussion. In an article, Gillen (2004) mentioned questions that direct people’s thinking towards the issues. In this project, the facilitator will start off by having each woman read their journal entry. The facilitator will first model herself reading her own journal entry questions. Through reading the journal entry, the women will eventually go into storytelling, and it is the facilitator’s responsibility to keep discussions on track and

89 clarify learning points. The journal entry questions are used to help guide the women into storytelling. The facilitator will also have a list of questions to ask the women if women have not yet gone into storytelling through the journal entries (see Chapter 4).

Empowering techniques. Though the facilitator is not to take charge of the conversation, the facilitator will practice empowering techniques throughout the process group. Empowerment is a process used for increasing personal, interpersonal, or political power so individuals can take action to improve their life situations (Gutierrez, 1990).

Gutierrez (1990) discussed forms of empowering techniques that one can practice and related her techniques to social work, but they can also work within a group setting because the women will come from different backgrounds, and the facilitator must come from a place of understanding. The first technique is accepting the client’s definition of the problem, which is important because many different generations of Latinx women come from different countries of origin. There may be problems that one Latinx woman faces that another may not think is a problem; for example, not being accepted by the

Latinx culture because they do not know how to speak Spanish. When accepting “the client’s” definition of the problem, the worker is putting the client in a position of power

(Gutierrez, 1990). If a woman in the group feels she is facing a problem that other women in the group do not believe is the problem, the facilitator is to not argue with the woman but instead, ask the woman questions for clarification.

The second technique is identifying and building upon existing strengths, which is when the worker gets in touch with the client’s current level of interpersonal power. The

90 facilitator is to point out strengths in each woman along with how she has resisted negative influences of her identity and how she has taken control of her identity. This technique is most efficient when the worker acknowledges that “the client has been involved in a process of struggle against oppressive structures and that this struggle has required considerable strength” (Gutierrez, 1990, p. 151). This can be the case for many

Latinx women living in the United States. The United States has a history of institutional oppression and structural racism that has been a form of social control in order to maintain dominance for Whites in the United States (Wyatt-Nichol & Seabrook, 2016).

As mentioned previously in the literature review, Latinx women are considered a double minority and may struggle within the institution or due to racism that requires a great deal of strength. Another technique Gutierrez (1990) mentioned is engaging in a power analysis of the client’s situation. The facilitator can do this by assessing a woman’s strengths and how she showed resilience when it came to her own identity. The first step is to examine how powerlessness conditions can impact a client’s situation. The second step is to identify possible sources of power in the client’s situation; this can be forgotten skills, personal qualities that could increase social influence, members of past social support networks, and organizations in their communities (Gutierrez, 1990). Identifying possible sources of power will require dialogue between the client and the worker along with consciousness-raising exercises to examine the specific situation or problems shared by other clients who have been in related situations. Teaching specific skills is another technique Gutierrez (1990) mentioned as a way to help the client establish the resources

91 to become more powerful. Gutierrez (1990) mentioned the skill areas often identified when working with women of color include problem solving; skills for community or organizational change; “life skills,” such as parenting, job seeking, and self-defense; and interpersonal skills, such assertiveness, social competency, and self-advocacy. If the worker and the client lack adequate resources, the worker can mobilize resources or information for clients and advocate on their behalf. These techniques can be used to empower women of color on a personal, interpersonal, or political level. Women of color face the experience of “double jeopardy” due to racism and sexism in the U.S. society.

Due to the fact that Latinx women are faced with being a double minority, they need and should have a space to feel empowered, which is the purpose of the listening circle. The storytelling session may be much to unpack for the women and can also be very emotional. After the storytelling, the women will be asked to take the rest of the night to think about the day’s activities and how they can use what they learned thus far to examine how they have resisted, how others have resisted, and strategies for other

Latinx women.

Day 3, Closing

Reflection. The beginning of the last session will be during the women’s last breakfast together when they will have the opportunity to reflect with one another about the retreat. The facilitator will have a series of questions to ask the women:

• What was your experience during the retreat?

• Do you feel the retreat has impacted your current identity?

• Did discussing the struggles you faced while discovering your identity help you

better understand your identity?

• What was your favorite part of the retreat and what did you learn from it?

• What is something you learned from the retreat and will use in your life?

• Did you learn something new about yourself?

Each woman will take turns discussing how the retreat impacted them.

Vision boards. After discussing what they learned, the women will go back to their goals on their vision board and quickly share them again with the group. While sharing their goals, the women will answer whether the retreat met their goals and how, or if it did not meet their goals, then why? Then the facilitator will ask the women if they could add another item to their vision board, what would it be, so the women could reflect on their expectations of the retreat. This is also a great opportunity for the hosts of the retreat to learn and possibly use the ideas presented in the vision boards to better their next retreat.

Identify, resist, and change. The purpose of the retreat is to acknowledge the outside factors that influence the identity of Latinx women in the United States, the struggles one may go through, and how some women have resisted. The women will then be asked how they will use what they learned and use it in society or while interacting with other Latinx women. Rather than answer the question together, the women will create a chart with three sections. The first section of the chart will list difficulties the women faced. The second section of the chart will list how the women

93 have resisted. The last section of the chart will consist of strategies other Latinx girls/women can follow in order to create their own identity. The goal of the retreat is to not only learn about oneself, but to take what they learned and spread it to other Latinas they know. The hope is that this will stop the cycle of negatively impacting Latinx women. The women will be able to better interact and discuss identity with other Latinx girls/women such as their daughters, siblings, relatives, friends, etc.

Conclusion

The entire retreat is divided into three sections. The first section has sessions that focus on the women building relationships. The sessions in the second section focus on the women’s identities. The last section mainly focuses on the listening circle, which is when the women tell their own stories and also listen to others’ stories. In the final session, the women are asked questions to reflect on what they learned about themselves and if/how the retreat changed them. The women speak of strategies to better help other

Latinx women and girls and then decide what kind of action to take with those strategies.

The brainstorming tool used in Day 3, Closing is a great way for the women to take action by giving them ideas. All of the sessions are based on the principles of LatCrit.

My hope is for the women to take what they have learned and use it to help guide other

Latinx girls and women who may find themselves struggling with their own identity. As a Latinx woman, I felt alone and as if I were always questioning how “Latina” I was. It really was not until I started writing this thesis project that I began to feel I had found my place in the world. It can also be difficult to discuss this with other Latinx women

94 because they may not want to see it from your point of view. This retreat forces those who are attending to listen to other Latinx women and truly understand their story.

Chapter 4

LATINAS NAVIGATING THEIR IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE UNITED

STATES RETREAT

Unit Overview

This retreat was designed specifically for Latinx women of different ages, generations in the United States, majors/careers, and countries of origins. The retreat is designed for the women to build relationships while simultaneously discovering the outside influences on their identity through the lens of LatCrit. The women will learn what impacts their identity and how that affects them. The sessions will then lead to a listening circle where the women will share their stories with one another and have the opportunity to ask each other questions. In the very last session of the retreat, the women will review the struggles they faced when navigating their identities in the context of the

United States while also acknowledging the way they have resisted. They will then develop strategies to help other Latinas.

Phase One: Building Relationships

Day 1, Session 1: Early Dinner and Introductions

The women will arrive at the house in the late afternoon. Once the women are settled into the house, they will all go out to a local restaurant together. The first thing that will be discussed is the agenda for the day.

Agenda, Day 1:

1. Dinner with introductions: Brief introductions and goals of the retreat will be

discussed.

2. Vision board creations: Each woman will create their own vision board with

their retreat goals.

3. The night will end with another bonding experience. We will watch a movie

about a Latina living in the United States and the impacts on her identity.

The goals of the retreat will be discussed by the facilitator.

Facilitator: The goals of the retreat are to have you all come together and discuss struggles you may have faced when navigating your identity in the context of the United

States. But, with struggle comes resistance. How did you all resist or overcome your struggles to find your own identity? We will not answer those questions quite yet. The retreat is segmented in three phases. The first stage will be to create relationships amongst one another. The second phase will focus on identity, what is it, what impacts it, etc. The last phase will focus on process group therapy, where each woman will have a chance to tell her/their own story.

At the restaurant, the women will have the opportunity to introduce themselves to one another and dialogue. The facilitator will ask each woman to state her name, age, occupation, and why she decided to come to the retreat.

Day 1, Session 2: Vision Boards

Objective: By the end of this session, the Latinx women in the group will be able to create a vision board using magazines, printed pictures, and other crafts to create a collage about their goals on a poster paper.

Activity: Create a vision board

Materials needed: Magazines, markers, crayons, cut out letters, glue, scissors and other craft items

Time: 1 hour

The purpose of this activity is to use it as an opening for the weekend retreat that is to come. Women may use their vision board to create their goals for the retreat as well as personal goals, and these goals may be met later within the retreat weekend or the women may be given the tools to meet their personal goals they would like to receive from the retreat.

State objective

Facilitator: A vision board, or what others may call a dream board, is a collage of images, pictures, and quotes, to reinforce one’s affirmations. The purpose of the vision

98 board is to get participants to start thinking about their wishes or goals for this retreat.

Through your vision board, you may express your career goals, personal goals, but more importantly goals for yourselves for the retreat. You will be given one hour to work on your vision board and use the materials on the table.

Show examples of a vision board explaining why certain items are on the vision board.

Facilitator example: My vision board has two women talking with each other. My goal in this retreat is to speak and tell my story and not hold back while telling it. I want to feel comfortable enough to tell my own story.

Facilitator: Use this time as an opportunity to get to know one another. During the creation of your vision boards, ask each other questions to better get to know one another. I ask that you at least learn a random fact about three different women during this time. Work with one another to help each other out when creating your vision boards. When you are done creating your vision boards, each of you will present your board to the group. You will discuss why you chose to add certain quotes or images and discuss your goals with the group. We are Latinx women of different ages and come from different backgrounds, the purpose of the boards is to inspire one another. One woman’s goal may inspire another woman in the retreat to add that to her/their goals. You all can ask questions while each woman presents her board. You can ask questions to better understand.

Give women 30 minutes to create their vision boards.

Participants will use magazines and other crafts to start creating their boards.

Share: Before the group of women share their vision boards, model what it looks like to share a vision board. Remind the women to construct strong, open-ended questions rather than questions that have one answer. Example, have you tried reaching these goals in other ways? Each woman will have 10 minutes to speak about her vision board and answer questions.

Participants: Each woman will share what is on her vision board and why.

Closing: Each vision board will be placed on display in the home and we will go back to them at the end of the retreat.

Facilitator: This activity is a bonding activity, but is also to give ourselves goals for the weekend. We will display our vision boards as a reminder of the goals we have all set for ourselves for the weekend. We will come back to them at the end of the retreat to see if we met our goals. Our next activity will be another bonding activity. We will all watch a movie together about a Latinx woman and her identity.

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Day 1, Session 3: Real Women Have Curves

A Source: (Bnuyi, 2011, para. 13, picture 8)

Figure 1. Theme worksheet.

Objective: By the end of this session, the Latinx women will be able to identify common themes in the film and relate them back to their lives.

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Watch: Real Women Have Curves (Brown, Atlas & Cardoso, 2002).

Activity: Using the graphic organizer, the women will discuss the story’s theme and the message they took from it.

Materials needed: Real Women Have Curves movie, graphic organizer, and pencils.

Time: 2 hours

This movie will give the women an opportunity to see and understand how finding one’s identity as a Latinx woman in the United States can be difficult and how the main character in this story resisted her family’s and society’s pressures. The women will use the graphic organizer to further their understanding.

State objective

Facilitator: The story of the film is about a young Latina woman growing up in Los

Angeles with immigrant parents. Many of you might even see yourselves in the main character Ana or in other characters in the film. Watching this film is another opportunity for all of us to bond, but also to identify common themes in the film that we can also relate to our own lives.

Hand out graphic organizer

Facilitator: You will use this graphic organizer to find common themes. The graphic organizer is in three sections. In the theme section, you can write one or more themes you found in the film. In the next session, there are three boxes. In those boxes, you will write examples you found of those themes in the film. You can use all three examples for one theme or use different examples for different themes. The last box is what message

102 did you take from the film. This graphic organizer will be used during the film. After the film, we will discuss what we found as a group.

Follow-up activity

When the film is over, the women will gather in a circle and the facilitator will ask each woman to share common themes they found. The facilitator will explain the theme of self-identity that Ana goes through.

Facilitator: As we saw in the film, Ana seemed to struggle with balancing the United

States culture and the Latinx culture. Ana felt herself living a double life. Ana’s family did not understand why she made the decisions she did when it comes to academics, personal decisions, as well as just the way she spoke. Ana found herself constantly arguing with her family feeling they did not understand, but also felt her white boyfriend did not understand. Many Latinx women living in the United States may have faced similar feelings of not belonging in either the Latinx culture or the United States culture.

Certain themes that might emerge are gender-roles, the need to work rather than go to school, family first, unjust economic realities, and all of these things impact Ana’s identity. After discussing the themes, the facilitator will then ask the women if they saw themselves in any of the characters in the movie and to explain why. The women will not have to go into detail about how they relate to the film due to the fact that they may not be comfortable, but it will give them the opportunity to get to know a bit about one another.

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Facilitator: Did any of you see yourselves in Ana or any other characters and if so, how?

Participants will state whether they saw themselves in Ana or not and if so, how. If they did not see themselves in Ana, they will state why they did not and what made them different than Ana.

Closing

The facilitator will then explain that the weekend will be dedicated to dissecting feelings of isolation and struggle when it comes to one’s identity. Those struggles along with how the women have overcome them will be discussed. The facilitator will close the session by explaining the women will continue building relationships the next day, but also move into the identity phase.

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Agenda, Day 2

1. Journal reflection with mindful walking: This session will bring the building

relationships phase to an end and begin phase two. We will go on a walk together

and while on that walk, take the time to fill out a journal reflection, which is the

introduction to phase two, which is identity.

2. Session two of the day, we will read a chapter called “My Name,” an excerpt

from the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. After reading the

chapter, we will create an identity chart for the main character and will then create

an identity chart of ourselves.

3. The third session will focus on how others define our identity and how that

impacts the individual. We will watch a short clip and be able to relate it back to

our own life.

4. The last session of the day will then focus on phase three, which is the listening

circle, a one-time group therapy session where each of us will be able to talk

about our own story.

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Day 2, Session 1: Journal Reflection

Objective: The women will practice mindful walking and by the end, will write a journal entry to have them start thinking about their identity and how others impact it.

Activity: Mindful walking and journal entry

Materials needed: Composition notebook and pencil

Time: An hour and a half

As mentioned the night before, the women will focus on their own identity as Latinx women in the United States. To get the women to start thinking about their own identity they will go on a walk together and on their own, write a journal reflection.

State objective

Facilitator: Mindfulness is a meditation practice. Mindful walking is walking mindfully, which means focusing on your bodily sensations while staying focused on your “moment- to-moment experiences.” This means not getting lost in unhelpful or distressing thoughts. The goal is to focus on your body sensations and breathing while walking.

Researchers have found that mindful walking reduces symptoms of distress. Before answering the questions in our journal, we want to be in a good state of mind. You will be given a half sheet of paper with questions. When we reach our destination, we will separate and sit alone to answer these questions in our composition journals.

Facilitator will pass the questions to each woman.

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Journal Entry Questions

• What parts of your identity do you choose for yourself? What parts of your

identity do you think are determined by others, by society, or by chance?

• Whose opinions and beliefs have the greatest effect on how you think about your

own identity?

• What dilemmas arise when others view you differently than you view yourself?

• What aspects of your identity do you keep private in order to be accepted? What

aspects of your identity are you willing to change to fit in?

(Facing History and Ourselves Organization, n.d.)

Activity: During the walk, the women will stop at a scenic view. The women will be encouraged to take in the view and find a peaceful spot to write a journal entry.

Facilitator: Now that we have reached our destination, I ask that you take the time to take in the view and answer the questions that have been given to you. When everyone is finished, we will walk back.

Closing: These questions will later come up during the retreat. After the walk, the women will be asked to put their journal entry away until asked to bring it out later.

After the walk, the women will not debrief the questions, rather they will have the time to think about the questions and their answers and go over them during the process group.

Facilitator: Please hold on to your journal entry for a session later on today. The purpose of this activity is to get your thought process started on your own identity. We

107 will continue thinking about our own identity, how we define our identity, and how it is impacted by others.

Phase Two: Identity

Day 2, Session 2: Who am I?

Source: Cisneros (1984, pp. 11-12)

Figure 2. My name reading.

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Figure 3. Esperanza’s identity chart.

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Figure 4. Participant identity chart.

Objective: By the end of this session, the Latinx women in the group will be able to describe who they are by creating an identity chart and explaining it to the rest of the group.

Activity: Read “Who Am I?” by Sandra Cisneros and create an identity chart.

Materials needed: Handouts of the chapter “Who Am I?” crayons, index cards, poster paper, magazines, markers, glue, and other craft items.

Time: An hour and a half

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Since the women do not quite know each other yet, it is possible that they subconsciously cast judgement on the other women who are participating in the retreat.

State objective

Facilitator: It is possible that society has cast judgement on you. One may judge you by the clothes you wear, your ethnicity, age, occupation, etc. We probably cast judgement on one another based on just what we saw.

Warm up: Others may judge you based on your appearance rather than knowing you.

For the women to understand the use of simple stereotypes to judge one another, the facilitator will distribute an index card to each woman. The index card will be used for each woman to write a fact about themselves that no one would know just by looking at them. The facilitator will give an example of a fact about themselves.

Facilitator: Each of you will be given a card and you are to write a fact about yourself that no one can figure out just by looking at you. Do not write your name on the card.

We will all quickly take turns reading our card out loud.

The women will then write a fact about themselves that people could not know just by looking at them. The facilitator will first read her card and then everyone will take a turn reading their card.

Facilitator example: By looking at me, you may not know I am a teacher and I have my master’s degree.

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After the women have stated their fact, the facilitator will explain that our identity is not just composed of what people see, but many factors. The next session will focus on the many factors that make our identity.

Activity:

The facilitator will ask the group what they believe the definition of identity is. On a poster paper, the facilitator will write the women’s answers down. The women will use this definition of identity to understand what goes into creating one’s identity and to create identity charts. The women will silently read “My Name,” an excerpt from the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

Pass out the excerpt for the women to read

After the women read the excerpt, the facilitator will point out the way Sandra Cisneros keeps comparing her name to the Mexican culture and the American culture while also comparing it to her own identity.

Facilitator: At the beginning of the chapter, Esperanza describes her name as being symbolic for her current state; she is sad and wanting to escape, but also feels strong and hopeful. Esperanza discusses gender issues amongst the Latinx community. Esperanza describes that she was named after her great-grandmother who was a wild woman but was forced into a marriage and spent her days “looking out the window.” Esperanza does not want to be like her great-grandmother, trapped. Esperanza is frustrated by the physical difficulty of her name, which makes her different. Esperanza also wants her name changed and feels it does not represent her; she wants her own identity. You may

112 relate to Esperanza. Let’s create an identity chart for Esperanza. Tell me things that you believe make up Esperanza’s identity.

As a group, the women will create an identity chart for Esperanza. They will say out loud words/things that go into Esperanza’s identity. After the identity chart, the women will then create their own identity chart about themselves using the same format. Before creating the identity chart about themselves, the facilitator will pass out questions to help the women think about their own identity.

Facilitator: I will hand out chart paper and other supplies for your identity chart. On your identity chart, you can focus on your gender, age, physical characteristics, hobbies, religion, ethnic group, neighborhood, nation, family, and more.

Share: When the women are done creating their identity charts, they will use them to share with the rest of the group what makes their identity. The women will sit together as a whole group with one woman presenting at a time. They will describe what is on their identity chart and why.

Facilitator: Now that we are done with our identity charts, we will share them with one another by describing what is on the identity chart and why.

When the women complete going over their identity chart, they will discuss what commonalities they have that they believe creates their identity.

Facilitator: Next, we will discuss what we have in common when it comes to creating our identity. Are we finding similar things important?

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Closing: When the women finish describing their own identities, they will transition into an activity that focuses on how others describe their identity.

Facilitator: We have created charts with what we believe forms our identities. Though we believe these things form our identity, there may be other factors. There may also be people such as our family and society who believe they know our identity and have formed it for us. We are going to move on to the next session, which focuses on how others see our identity.

Day 2, Session 3: How do others define your identity?

Objective:

• The women will be able to recognize how their own identity has been defined by

others.

• The women will begin to recognize the relationship between the individual and

society.

Activity: Watch Youtube video The Bear That Wasn’t and answer questions that will help the women understand how their identity is impacted by others.

Materials: TV with internet access, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt106ojXPyE

Time: 45 minutes

The women will learn that they will watch The Bear That Wasn’t in order to provide them with an opportunity to begin to understand how society shapes their identities as individuals.

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State objective

Facilitator: We will be watching a short video that will help us better understand how our identities are impacted by others. We will answer a few questions after watching the video.

The women will watch the video together. As a debrief, the women will be asked the following questions as a group. A woman within the group can raise her hand to answer the questions.

• Why do you think Frank Tashlin titled this story The Bear That Wasn’t? Why

didn’t the factory officials recognize the Bear for what he was? Why did it become

harder and harder for the Bear to maintain his identity as he moved through the

bureaucracy of the factory?

• What were the consequences of the Bear listening to the way others defined his

identity?

• Whose opinions and beliefs have the greatest effect on how you think about your

own identity?

• How does our need to be part of a group affect our actions? Why is it so difficult

for a person to go against the group?

(Facing History and Ourselves Organization, n.d.)

The facilitator will take more than one answer for each question to see if the women had similar answers. If the women had different answers, the women can go into further discussion. For example, some women may find the bear weak minded and believed he

115 should have put his foot down. Other women may see this as society playing a big part when forming one’s identities.

Closing: Each woman will then be asked what feelings came about while reading the story. Next, the women will be asked to think about the labels or words that others use to describe themselves but not say it out loud; they can say it during the listening circle.

This will be used as a way to transition to the next activity, the listening circle.

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Phase Three: Listening Circle

Day 2, Session 4: Listening Circle

Objective: During the listening circle, the women will be able to openly share their stories and explain how living in the United States has impacted their identity.

Materials needed: Journal entry from earlier in the retreat

Opening: Review what the women have done thus far during the retreat.

Facilitator: Our first day focused on building relationships between one another to prepare us for this next session. Building relationships was in hope that you are all more comfortable sharing your own stories with the rest of the women. The second portion of the retreat focused on identity. The sessions that focused on identity were to get each of you to start thinking about your own identity and how living in the United States has impacted your identity, you will be discussing that during this time, as well.

Explain what is to be expected during the learning circle

Facilitator: This listening circle will be somewhat like a therapeutic group; unlike therapy, this will not be ongoing. The purpose of this learning circle is for us to build, share, and express knowledge through open dialogue. You will each have the chance to speak and when the speaker is done, others can ask questions. I ask that you take the time to listen to everyone speak with an open mind. It is possible that some of the women’s views on things may not align with others and it is important to remember that the Latina community is a unique community. Let’s set some listening circle rules and expectations together.

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Using chart paper, the facilitator will call on women to say any rules they believe are necessary during the listening circle.

Activity: The women will be asked to read their journal entries from earlier in the retreat out loud. Women will answer the questions from their journal and the facilitator and the participants will take part in dialogue, reflection, and action using Freire’s problem- posing approach. During the listening circle, the facilitator will examine body language to see who may be holding back.

Facilitator: Using Freire’s (2000) dialogical and problem-posing approach, I will not teach you by telling. I will be asking questions and calling into question to challenge you all. The purpose is to allow the process of praxis. So far in our retreat, we have practiced theory, analyzing our identities. Our next step is our action step. We will take the action to reflect on our identities during the listening circle. We will reflect on not only our identities, but also how we have resisted. The last session of our retreat is dedicated to transformation, using what we learned here to help transform our society.

Possible questions the facilitator can ask the group as a whole.

• How is our identity formed?

• To what extent are we defined by our talents and interests? By our membership in

a particular ethnic group? By our social and economic class? By our religion or by

the nation in which we live? How do we label ourselves and how are we labeled

by others?

• How are our identities influenced by how we think others see us?

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• How do our identities inform our values, ideas, and actions?

• In what ways might we assume different identities in different contexts?

• How do we manage multiple identities? (Facing History and Ourselves

Organization, n.d.)

Possible questions the facilitator can ask an individual:

• Do you accept the parts of your identity that have been determined by others?

• Were there times that others determined your identity and you had to fight it?

• Have people of your own ethnicity not accepted you in the Latinx culture?

• Have United States citizens not accepted you as equal to them?

• Follow-up question: How did it make you feel?

• When have you ever felt not Latina enough or not American enough?

• Have you felt a struggle trying to balance two different cultures? Has that

impacted your identity?

• Are you currently comfortable with your identity now?

• How have you resisted society’s definition of your identity?

• How did you find yourself/identity? Who has supported/helped you through the

process? (Facing History and Ourselves Organization, n.d.)

When the women are done sharing their journal entries, the facilitator will then ask for the women to discuss common themes they found when hearing the stories of the women.

The facilitator will document common themes found by writing them down on chart paper.

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What are some common themes we found in each other’s stories?

As a whole, what do we have in common that has impacted our identities as Latinx women?

How can Latinxs as a whole fight these themes that have negatively impacted our identity?

The conversation should be organic, and the facilitator should not intervene too much.

The facilitator should ask questions and keep the conversations on topic. When each woman has spoken and said her story, the facilitator is to thank everyone for their contribution and for being vulnerable.

Closing:

Facilitator: I understand that we have done a lot of unpacking today and really looked into our identity and how it is impacted by outside variables. We will end this session now and tomorrow go back into looking at next steps and how we ourselves can help other Latinx girls and women.

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Day 3, Session 1, Closing

Figure 5. Closing chart.

Objective: In the final session, the women will create strategies to help other Latina’s with their identity.

Materials needed: Chart paper, vision boards

Opening: Reflection

Before leaving, the women will eat breakfast with each other. During breakfast each woman will take a turn to discuss the impact the retreat had on them. They will discuss

121 what they learned from it and how it helped them personally. Each woman will take a turn speaking.

Facilitator: How did you all feel about the retreat?

The facilitator will have a series of questions to randomly choose from to ask the women:

• What was your experience during the retreat?

• Do you feel the retreat has impacted your current identity?

• Did discussing the struggles you faced while discovering your identity help you

better understand your identity?

• What was your favorite part of the retreat and what did you learn from it?

• What is something you learned from the retreat and will use in your life?

• Did you learn something new about yourself?

Vision boards

After the reflection, the women will go back to their vision boards and answer whether or not they met the goals on their vision board. They will also discuss what they would add to their vision board.

• Let’s go back to our vision boards.

• Do you feel that this retreat met those goals and how? If there were goals the

retreat didn’t meet, please tell us.

While the women reflect on their vision boards, the facilitator will ask the following question:

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Are there new goals that you would like to add to your vision board that you did not think of before?

Activity: The women will then create a chart together; the facilitator will do the writing on the chart. The women will be asked to think back to the listening circle and what they learned about one another. The chart is divided into three sections. The first section focuses on struggles; the women will discuss shared ways they have struggled with their identity. The second section is dedicated to resistance; the women will discuss the ways they have resisted. The last section will be dedicated to strategies of how the women can help other Latinas in navigating their identity.

Facilitator: I want you all to think back to yesterday’s listening circle. I want you all to take the time to think about the common struggles you all went through in regard to your identity and how you all overcame those struggles. I want you to also think about strategies to help other Latinas who may be facing similar struggles in regard to identity.

When the women have been given time to think about their struggles, resistance, and strategies, this chart will be created popcorn style, meaning the women can yell out what they want on the chart while the facilitator creates the chart. The women will go through the chart section by section. The facilitator will then ask in what areas or with whom do the women believe they can use these strategies.

• Where can these strategies be used or with whom?

• Do any of you have anyone or anything in mind?

• How will you take what you learned and use it in the outside world?

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Closing: The facilitator will explain the purpose of creating the strategies and how it will better help the Latinx community.

Facilitator: The strategies that we came up with can now help you help other Latinx girls and women who are in positions that you once have been in. It is a way to change what it means to be a “Latina” and for all Latinx women to have a say on what the definition of

“Latina” is. I hope that you use what you have learned during this retreat out in the world. You will be helping girls/women during a time when you once wanted help, and that is the real change.

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Retreat Form

Latinas Navigating their Identity Retreat

This retreat is specifically for Latinx women. The purpose of the retreat is for the women to discuss and understand the struggles Latinx women go through when navigating their identity in the context of the United States. The retreat will also discuss the forms of resistance that Latinx women participate in, in order to claim their identity. This retreat is for Latinx women of all ages and from different backgrounds. This retreat is an opportunity for you to share your story.

Name:______Age:______

Occupation/Major:______

Generation in the United States:_____

Are you bilingual?______

Origin or region:______

Self Identification ____ Chicana ____ Latina

____ Afro-Latina ____ Indígena

Why would you like to attend this retreat? ______

Email:______

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Chapter 5

REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS

Introduction

Currently in the United States the social, cultural and political landscape is changing drastically. Right now, activists are fighting for Black lives, Latinx families in detention centers, the defunding of police and holding officers accountable, capitalism, systematic racism and more. At the forefront of these movements are young Black and

Brown people. It is Latinx, Black, and Afro-Latinx youth and young adults who are being leaders and fighting oppression. This retreat may have a greater impact now more than ever before in the Latinx community because Latinx millennials and generation z are becoming more pertinent in the United States social, cultural, and political landscape.

The retreat is designed to be intergenerational and because of that the women attending can influence each other. Latinx women may struggle with voicing their opinions due to the backlashes they face for being a double minority, but the retreat may empower the women to become more vocal in the social, cultural, and political landscape.

Being a double minority can be difficult for Latinx women living in the United

States. The reason being, is due to the balancing of two cultures and the impacts it has on a Latinx woman’s identity. The identity of a Latinx woman in the United States has many influences such as; stereotypes of Latinas, gender roles by both the United States and Latinx culture, educational and workplace experiences, White feminism, Latinx feminism and building transformation. The Latinx community, specifically the Latinx

126 women community has very unique experiences and LatCrit focuses and examines those experiences (Delgado, 2015). LatCrit is a theoretical frame for social change and the project not only uses LatCrit theory as the theoretical framework, but also uses Freire’s dialogical and problem-posing pedagogy (Freire, 2000). Freire’s dialogical and problem posing approach explains the importance of dialogue, which leads to action (praxis).

Freire’s dialogical and problem-posing approach can lend itself towards fostering individuals’ communities that can have an impact on the Latinx community.

The purpose of this project is to organize a retreat that engages and addresses the unique experiences of Latinx women in the United States and examine how those experiences and others impact their identity in negative or positive ways. The retreat was designed in three phases; building relationships, what impacts identity and how, and identification of strategies to create internal and external social change.

Impact, Values, and Effectiveness

This project is an attempt for Latinx women to counter the traditional stereotypes and gender roles often assigned and foster an environment where Latinx women can reclaim their voices and name their realities for themselves. The environment fostered will provide Latinx women opportunities for dialogue and reflection that will lend themselves to explore their identities further. More specifically, the retreat will offer the opportunity to dissect what impacts their identity and why. The latter is significant because it gives Latinx women the opportunity to interact with other Latinx women with similar or completely different backgrounds, hear other narratives, as well as tell their

127 own stories, and feel empowered. Through discussion and self-empowerment, the women will discuss forms of resistance with one another and hopefully foster individuals in creating social change within the Latinx community.

According to a Pew Research Center report (Patten, 2016), nearly six-in-ten

Latinxs are Millennials or younger, half of U.S. born Latinxs are younger than 18, meaning there is an even greater need for this retreat for young Latinx women to learn from older generations of Latinx women, which can lead to a greater chance of creating change within the Latinx community. The Nation’s Latinx population is defined by its youth and due to the current socio-political climate, younger Latinxs such as generation z and millennials hold great weight in determining the political future, specifically for the

Latinx community in the United States. Latinx women, specifically, are often leaders of political change by influencing families and communities. Latinx women are acquiring more and more political leadership and influencing American politics. Latinx women are not only the future of the Latinx community, but also of the United States. Through the retreat Latinx women will gain the knowledge needed to understand what influences their identity in a negative and positive way and will be more likely to create political and cultural change. Now more than ever there is a need for a retreat catered to Latinx women. Throughout the history of Latinx feminism, Latinx women have shown their resistance and have fought back in claiming their own identity. Now with more and more

Latinx women in power as well as being vocal about the current socio-political climate, this retreat gives Latinx women the space and opportunity to not only tell their stories,

128 but also to come up with strategies. Through the strategies created at the retreat the women could make social change. Through the retreat recommendations, there may be a higher chance of creating social change.

Recommendations

At the time of creating the retreat I believed I had the most important concepts regarding Latinx women and their identity included, but now that I have taken the time to reflect on the retreat there are sections that can be included to better the project. The women in the retreat may lack knowledge in LatCrit theory as well as Freire’s dialogical problem-posing approach. Throughout the retreat the women are not informed that the retreat is based on the theoretical framework, LatCrit. It would be helpful for the women to understand that LatCrit theory focuses on the invisibility of Latinxs in the United

States. An introduction to what LatCrit focuses on such as the complex identities of

Latinxs will help the women make the connections between the framework and the retreat. It would also be helpful to explain the steps to Freire’s problem-posing approach, so that the women know what to expect from the retreat and explain how each phase incorporates Freire’s problem-posing approach. By doing this not only will the women have some knowledge, but they will understand the goals of the retreat. The women should be given a handout before the retreat takes place in order to understand the framework of the retreat. The handout will explain the focus of LatCrit theory, not only focuses on the issues Latinxs face and the unique identities of Latinxs, but also focuses on social justice in order to resist and reform and systems of oppression. The same

129 handout will include the phases of the retreat and what aspects of Freire’s dialogical and problem-posing approach are intertwined in those phases. The three phases and what they entail should be explained to help the women better understand what to expect at the retreat. By doing this the women will understand that the goal of the retreat is to resist and reform.

The project aims attention how non-Latinx women impact Latinx women and their identity but does not bring attention to how Latinx women can influence the identity of other Latinx women. Within the Latinx community Latinx women may have their own definition of what it means to be “Latina” and may judge other Latinx women for not living up to that standard. I believe it would be eye opening for the Latinx women to also look at themselves and how they can negatively impact other Latinx women and move towards healing and change. In phase two I would add a session where this can be discussed. A handout will be passed out asking the women what the qualities are of being a Latinx woman. Also, questions by the facilitator will be asked such as;

How do you feel about Latinx women who do not speak Spanish?

How do you feel about Latinx women whose family has lived in the United States for multiple generations?

How do you feel about Latinx women who grew up with middle class status?

By asking these questions it can open a discussion on how we as Latinx women contribute to negatively impacting the identity of Latinx women. This can also be done in a continued meet up between the women, which can be next steps for the retreat.

130

Next Steps

This retreat can be used to further research on Latinx girls or the same women who attended the retreat. This retreat can be altered for Latinx girls to see if it can impact younger Latinx girls just as much as it impacts Latinx women. A retreat focused on young Latinx girls with multiple Latinx women as hosts/facilitators will be beneficial and impact Latinas on a larger scale. A retreat catered to younger Latinx girls can have the same sessions, but the girls would work alongside older Latinx women giving the girls role models of successful Latinx women. During the time of the learning circle the

Latinx women will speak first about their experiences making it more comfortable for the

Latinx girls to speak and tell their stories, but also learn from the older generations. After such a retreat it may possibly help Latinx girls fight and counter stereotypes, gender roles, and racism at a younger age and will provide the Latinx girls with the tools to take a hold of their identity. With a retreat dedicated to Latinx girls the girls may not face the same struggles Latinx women faced at a later age. A retreat such as this may give the girls the confidence to speak up and become a part of the social and political climate thus creating social change in the Latinx community. Not only will a retreat geared towards

Latinx girls be impactful but continuing with the Latinx women or the Latinx girls with multiple meet ups after the retreat will increase the chances of social change.

There is the possibility that a onetime retreat might not be enough to not only create social change, but to also create change within the Latinx women attending. Social and political climates are constantly changing, and new problems may arise within the

131

Latinx community or amongst Latinx women and having other Latinx women to talk to and organize with can be beneficial. This retreat can be even more impactful to the

Latinx community if the attendees have more opportunities to meet multiple times with different sessions and more opportunities to have listening circles. By having multiple session not only will women better know each other, but they will not only be able to build relationships but truly bond and support one another. Having a one-day retreat or even something as simple as a meeting that occurs every month, three months, every six months, or yearly. I believe the more times the women can meet with one another the more likely there is to have social change within the Latinx community or within the community they are forming that can have a ripple effect. Researchers can use multiple meetups of Latinx women to examine how impactful it can be not only on the women, but on the Latinx community.

Closing

The ultimate goal of this project is to provide Latinx women with a space to discuss how they navigated their identity in the context of the United States, how they have struggled with their identity, and how they have resisted. This project gives Latinx women the opportunity to tell their own stories, but also hear the stories from others and learn from them. If praxis does occur after the project, the women will not only feel a part of their Latinx community but can also change their community for the betterment of

Latinx girls and women. This project is an attempt to challenge the stereotypes, racism, and gender roles Latinx women face. It is an attempt for Latinx women to take a hold of

132 their identity and resist those struggles, to later teach and help other Latinx women and/or girls.

133

APPENDIX

From: Alissa Parra Sent: Wednesday, June 3, 2020 6:22 AM To: Lauren Dunn Cc: FHAO Support ; Cazares, Jasmine Crystal Subject: Re: [Support] Offline message from Jasmine Cazares [ ref:_00Di0ZLtX._5005A1GEhSI:ref ]

Hi Jasmine, Thanks for reaching out about this. You have our permission to reproduce the lesson in your thesis that'll be available in the California State University, Sacramento's library database. Please be sure to clearly state that this is a Facing History and Ourselves lesson, and include the following credit: © Facing History and Ourselves. www.facinghistory.org.

Also, in the lesson, there is a reference to the reading "My Name" from The House on Mango Street. Keeping in the reference is not a problem, but please note that we can't grant permission for you to reproduce any text from The House on Mango Street.

Please reach out if you have any questions, or if your usage of our lesson changes in the future.

Thanks! Alissa

134

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