Toward a Latina Feminism of the Americas: Repression and Resistance in Chicana and Mexicana Literature

Chapter 4. ACTS OF DAILY RESISTANCE IN URBAN AND RURAL SETTINGS: THE FICTION OF HELENA MARIA VIRAMONTES

acts of daily resistance in urban and rural settings: the fiction of helena maría viramontes Chapter 4 [I]t is third world women’s oppositional political relation to sexist, racist, and imperialist structures that constitutes our potential commonality . Thus it is the common context of struggles against specific exploitative structures and systems that determines our potential political alliances. chandra talpade mohanty crossing borders The fiction of Helena María Viramontes is involved in the unique praxis of third world feminisms as it simultaneously examines multiple issues.1 As one of the most socially and politically conscious writers of today, Viramontes presents global concerns in her short stories and proposes international coalitions through her narratives. The short story “Cariboo Café” (in Moths and Other Stories) crosses borders literally, figuratively , and formally; it expands the borders of a Chicana/o world linking with other communities of the Americas. The work of Chandra Talpade Mohanty helps to frame this discussion. In “Cartographies of Struggle,” the introduction to Third World Women and The Politics of Feminism, Mohanty carefully avoids presenting her work as an overarching theory for third world feminist politics. She stresses throughout that her writing is an “attempt to formulate an initial and necessarily noncomprehensive response” to the questions she poses (3). 66 toward a latina feminism of the americas I cite the work of Mohanty because she asks important questions that lead to a critical dialogue about third world feminist politics. Mohanty continues with the following questions, critical for the ensuing discussion: “Which/whose history do we draw on to chart this map of third world women’s engagement with feminism? How do questions of gender, race, and nation intersect in determining feminisms in the third world? . . . What are the methods used to locate and chart third world women’s self and agency?” (Third World Women, 3). The question of a foundational text or history of third world feminism is often debated. Eurocentric and Anglocentric scholars place their histories at the forefront of feminist thought. The project of many, then, has been to challenge that centricity and examine their own history of women’s struggles for liberation in their respective countries and communities . Along with the examination of the intersections of gender, race, and nation, we must look at class and sexuality. These factors articulate third world feminisms because the method of third world feminisms is to confront many issues simultaneously .2 For third world women, resistance is a daily practice , and that practice is living theory. That practice is not only theorized, but the materiality of oppression becomes the focus of the discourse. Two of the sites which Mohanty names as being third world are Latin America and U.S. “minority” populations. Viramontes brings together these two sites by introducing Latino immigrants into her narratives. She presents not only the U.S./ Mexico border, but also the contemporary situation of many Latino immigrant communities in the United States. In California, the site of Viramontes’s narratives, Proposition 187 passed overwhelmingly in 1994. It (had it not been overturned by the federal courts) would have disqualified any undocumented persons from public education, health care, and other social services.3 This measure surely would not have “saved our state,” as its proponents declared, by solving California ’s economic problems. It promised to turn children into informers against their parents. Doctors and educators would acts of daily resistance 67 have been forced to report anyone suspected of being in the United States without legal documentation. All people of color, particularly Mexicans and Central Americans, as the targets of this proposition, would have been under suspicion. An accent , olive complexion, or Spanish surname would have been all one needed to become suspect automatically. It is ironic that people rally to deny basic human rights to the undocumented and yet are unaware of or in denial about how our government is largely responsible for creating the situation. Although the proposition was challenged before and after its passage , the conservative Right was anxious to propose such a law at the federal level, and it had widespread support. Viramontes’s work addresses these controversial political and social issues. While 187 was never enacted into law, its repercussions persist more than two decades later. With California ’s legacy of anti-Mexican sentiment, Proposition 187 did much damage by insinuating that immigrants should not be recipients of basic human rights. Viramontes recognizes the experience with colonization...