“The political birthplace of feminism in the United States was the antislavery movement” (3).

 

While I was writing my first journal entry I knew that I was going to be given historcial information about the lives of women of color, and how these events would shape the way of today. Racism as we all know is a terrible event that occurs way too often, this should not come as a surprise when trying to abolish slavery, women were fighting for their rights. The really sad part about this is that white's and women of color were fighting for the same cause but fighting separately.  White women formed organizations to abolish slavery but did not include black women, which I thought was counterproductive, but we have to remember that this was a different time  and place for women of color and women in general. By the 1960's women began to speak up for women's rights while doing so, men didn't like this idea of a women fending for herself. Men still had the mentality that a woman's place was in the house and with the children and to be willing with whatever he had going on, personal or professional life.

 

During the 1860's, those who were slaves would try and escape from their masters, but the repercussions from the escapee getting caught was not very good as you can imagine. Men would escape as a group; whereas, women would escape by themselves with small children. According to the text more men than women would try to flee and I think women tend to think of all the implications of their decisions. I do believe that there was fear factored into women’s decision to try and escape, because of having a small child/children and what could happen if they were caught. Women slaves were denied their right to childbearing the amount of births declined until 1682 when slave-owner’s began putting a slave’s child into their will. Meaning that a child born of a slave shall be slave to the owner, whether the owner was alive or dead to think that a woman could have birth and yet her child does not belong to her.

 

“What is clear is that Mexican-Indian relationships were hierarchical and yet sometimes contested” (116).

 

On the morning of February 15, 1843, Guadalupe Trujillo and her Indian servent Ysabel began to argue over some chores that had not yet been completed. The arguement became heated and led to a physical fight, ending in the death of Ysabel by knife lacerations. Trujillo exclamined to the court than Ysabel was like a sister to her, because Ysabel had been a part of Trujillo's life since Ysabel was an infant. The Justice system in California ruled that regardless of social standing, ethnicity, and race she was not above the law. By the end of the trial, Trujillo was sentenced to 3 years of harsh imprisonment; however, the Superior Tribunal thought a 3 year sentence was too much of a harsh sentence and ruled that she serve one year. After reading this chapter, I felt that Ysabel death did not receive the justice she deserved by the Tribunal ruling. Trujillo saw Ysabel as a slave not a confidant, had Ysabel been Trujillo’s confidant in the household no altercation would have taken place. What I got from the chapter was that Ysabel wanted a little more freedom and simple amenities such as clothes rather than the thin material of clothing she had. This is betrayal on the act of claiming Ysabel was like Trujillo’s sister had that been the case Trujillo and Ysabel would have worked together. This chapter definitely shows the premise of the text Unequal Sisters, because of the element of hierarchical relationships between Mexican-Indian. Ysabel was not treated as an equal by Trujillo with that tension had built up between the two women and the argument exploded into a full on rage resulting in murder.

 

To Earn Her Daily Bread

 

Men have always been the breadwinner in households during the time in this chapter(1830-1840's); women were in charge of household duties such as cleaning and cooking, etc. Women of poor economic status would scavenge different items so that there would be no money spent. Women who sold goods as vendors would make money; however, the money made was not their own, their money belonged to their husband’s. Women kept the house and ultimately the family going during hard times, women had to make do with what was around them and what they already had. Capitalists did not see the labor of housework as a means to valuable income, they saw it as their duty as a woman in the household, to serve their husband. Like today, women who are stay at home mothers or have low-income families do whatever takes to survive and provide for their families without breaking the family budget. The value of women and labor performed throughout history has been underappreciated; even today women are mocked for what jobs they hold. The women discussed in this chapter, provided their husband’s as their assistant to the job the men held. If the husband was a farmer, she would be out there in the fields with him gardening. Why was the labor women provided overlooked and not being distinguished as means for income? It is simply because in the time before and after the era of this chapter, men were dominant over women, women were there to serve their husband’s and not question it. Women who held outside jobs still did the chores performed in the household just with bigger quantities; such as, washing and cooking. Outside jobs brought more money into the household, but as mentioned before, their money was their husband’s money.

 

Too Dark to be Angels

 

“Too Dark to Be Angels” is about a Cherokee Female Seminary that provided education for full-blood, mixed-blood, progressives, traditionalist, and uneducated backgrounds. Though this was a great move to include education to Cherokee females, the “Cherokee National Council was controlled by progressive, and educated, mixed-blood tribesmen, many of whom subscribed to the value system of the upper-class antebellum south” (178). The female seminary did not do anything to uphold the Cherokee culture, which seems kind of odd that a Cherokee seminary school would not want to include Cherokee customs. Those females who were of full-blood Cherokee were looked down on by mixed-bloods and those with even less Cherokee blood. What is so heartbreaking to me is that the less-educated full-blood Cherokee’s were taunted by other female students as well as instructors. “A mixed-blood superintendent of the school Albert Sydney Wyly expressed his impatience with the full-blood girls by referring to the mixed-bloods as “whiter” and therefore “more intellectual”” (181). This just makes me angry because I have experienced this in my life when I was in middle school, the coach of the female basketball team would make fun of the darker skin girls on the team. This is coming from a school that was/is heavily of Hispanic boys and girls, most of the girls on the team were scared to speak up on the issue, I don’t believe anything was ever done about it.

 

The Social Awakening of Chinese American Women as Reported in Chung Sai Yat Po, 1900-1911

 

Chinese men and women migrated to California during the Gold Rush; however, the number of women was very low compared to the men who came to California. The lack of funds made it difficult for Chinese men to bring their wives and families. Chinese women who were in California were coaxed into prostitution and traded around, the result of prostitution ended in mental and physical abuse, by 1870, 71% of Chinese women were prostitutes. Footbinding was a painful and disgusting tradition of the Chinese heritage; a woman’s foot was bandaged up with gauze and placed in a lotus shoe, the woman’s foot would become misshapen and this was a status symbol of the elite. Chung Sai Yat Po (CSYP) was a newspaper created by Ng Poon Chew; CSYP was for the reformation of Chinese and favored equal rights for Chinese Americans, including women. CSYP wrote many articles about the different issues Chinese women were faced with back in China; such as, footbinding.  One article that was written told Chinese women to stop practicing this Chinese custom, break free from traditions and become a “new woman” in China as well as the United States where in Chinatowns this custom was still be practiced. What the CSYP did for Chinese women from 1900-1911 gave power to them in becoming a new and free woman and helped push the boundaries supporting women to seek education for all women. I thought this chapter was pretty neat, I had always seen documentaries about Chinese men and women coming to America, and the tradition of footbinding. I did not know anything about CSYP, or maybe I just overlooked it somehow. I believe that written articles about specific people or groups is a good way to draw attention to issues that have yet to be addressed. It is not enough to hear someone talking about issues because everyone in the world listens in different ways. Audio speeches people sometimes miss key points; whereas, written articles every piece of the document is there and can be re-read to fully grasp what is being presented. It is important now as it was in the 1900's for issues to be addressed, especially with the push to equality of men and women. I recently read an article that stated women's products were 70 cents more than similar male products, this has been known for quite some time, but now people are starting to realize there is a problem with equality. My point is we need more publications like CSYP to help educate society on real issues that are affecting not just a group but the entire world and of course have substantial statistics and evidence to back up their claim.

 

Sexual Geography and Gender Economy

 

Sexual Geography and Gender Economy was an interesting read, so much so that I had to read it twice to grasp the concept from the article. Women were becoming more and more sexualized as time moved forward; this act was simply to not be like their parents. Women were dressing more provocatively and engaging in more social groups with men and women, which was pretty much unheard of until this time. “Most major cities today have a district geography of sexuality” (326). We know this to be true here in San Antonio there are many furnished apartments on each side of town that are used for sexual promiscuity, prostitution, and drug users. One widely known part of San Antonio is Cherry Street, right behind the Alamodome; however now, the City Council is trying to make improvements to make downtown more inviting. This move by the city is a good move, however a superficial one (that is for another discussion). As the article states that a lot of these women who were a part of the social subculture were middle- and upper-class individuals; however women during this time could not support themselves financially. Like today there was a gender gap in pay between men and women, and these women dabbled into the furnished districts and used their sexuality to become more financially independent.

 

Making Faces

 

Making Faces is an interesting chapter of the book, because it is true to present day. Cosmetics are known to be beautifiers, foundation and powder to get rid of face imperfections, blush to accentuate our cheeks, lip color to make our lips look fuller and colorful, mascara and eyeliner to make the eyes pop. Cosmetics were hard to come by if you were in the level of working-class or lower-class, but for upper-middle class and the elite this was no problem for them to obtain cosmetics. The same is still relevant today, except now drug stores sale low end makeup costing a customer $1-$15, but when you need more than one product, the money adds up. There is also high end makeup that will make your face pretty much flawless. Most women of color, especially African-American women were more concerned with hair products than cosmetics because of their type of hair. When the world of cosmetics was accepted by people it became clear or at least an assumption that ALL women should look beautiful for their husband and children. When I watch classic movies, I always though “Wow, these women has incredible looks” not exactly grasping the fact that this was a beauty desire (as the book states). I always wanted to know how cosmetics were aimed at black women; I didn’t know that black entrepreneurs produced skin, hair, and other products. These products were sold door to door; this mass market for African- American women gave even more opportunities for job employments. This is a great turn of events; however, like today a woman is still judged based on her looks when seeking employment.

 

Japanese American Women and the Creation of Urban Nisei Culture in the 1930s

 

The depression started because stock prices began to fall starting September 4, 1929, while stock prices began the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, this crash was dubbed the name “Black Tuesday”. The stock market crash affected everyone including the rich and the depression era lasted until the beginning of WWII. Many limitations for ethnic groups were in play for those residing in America, one of which was the Japanese American people in California. “Women played energetic roles in pre-World War II Japanese American communities of West Coast, where the majority of Issei immigrants had settled” (379). By 1930 the number of Japanese Americans living in Los Angeles was around 35,000, many of these families set up shops and restaurants. Many of the European communities and organizations excluded Japanese American individuals; this became the spear head for Japanese American women to organize groups within the Japanese American community. Collegiate Japanese American women formed sororities and organizations, such as the Blue Triangles and the Chi Alpha Delta sorority. With these organizations being formed each organization resulted in life-time friendships between women. I believe that it is important to have gender and cultural organizations because ethnic group organizations can bring up issues and band together for whatever the cause is. It is important for cultural organizations such as Japanese American groups to understand where they come from and never lose their ethnic identity.

 

Raiz Fuerte: Oral History and Mexicana Farmworkers

 

This essay is an oral history of Mexicana farmworkers, this means that this essay is based on word of mouth by an individual in this case by Mrs. Valdez. During the Great Depression the growth for cotton rose and the pay for Mexican cotton pickers declined. “Larger cotton ranches of over three hundred acres dominated the industry. Workers lived in company housing, bought from (and remained in debt to) company stores, and sent their children to company schools” (418). This means that these Mexican immigrants were slaves to the ranch owner and everything about the Mexican family “way of life” was facilitated by the ranch owner. In 1933, a cotton strike was organized by farmworkers whose wages had been slashed because of the Depression, as result the ranch owner’s evicted farmworkers from their land. Eighteen thousand strikers formed picket lines for about a month, to let their voices be heard by ranch owners. Mexican women played a big part of the cotton strike; these women were the glue that held the camp all together. “They ran camp kitchens, cared for the children, and marched on picket lines… It was the women who confronted Mexican strikebreakers” (419). Since this essay is reflected on an oral narrative of an event, the narrative sometimes can be inaccurate and biased, especially if one does not know the history of the subject being told. These stories are told with passion and paint a picture of what was happening within the individual’s community and that is a powerful picture of history. I say this because of the research project for our class; I am interviewing ten Mexican American women and collecting stories about their misfortunes as a minority woman in society. I am sure these stories will be enduring, but these are stories from their memory and may not be part of history; however it is part of their history.

 

 

Polishing Brown Diamonds

 

“In 1969, the New York Times declared the work of Ophelia DeVore in training hundreds of African American women in the skills of modeling as “Polishing Black Diamonds”” (535). After World War II employment opportunities for the United States flourished, this was including African American citizens, especially women. Clerical work was considered a white woman’s domain of work, but post war brought on jobs for African American women. Although, African American men and women made much less than their white counterparts, this was still a vast improvement, even bringing African Americans into middle class. African American women who performed clerical work were not allowed to interact with whites by any means. Today, clerical work is still a woman’s domain of work; I don’t believe I have ever seen a male performing clerical work. Charm school was comprised of showing African American women how to be poised, professional, and to display their femininity. Charm schools are still in existence today for women wanting to pursue a career in modeling or women who wants to be trained with social etiquette. African American women were told not to obtain an exotic look for work, because they might scare people away. Ebony magazine portrayed African American women as who they are and strayed away from the stereotypical views of African American women. After reading this article, it is important to remember that this era for African American’s was a huge step and began to shape for the following decades to come.

 

Migrant Melancholia

 

As we all know there are many of undocumented immigrants here in the United States from Mexico, with that it is difficult to locate a specific person. Crossing the Mexican border into the United States is a very difficult and dangerous task for someone to take, and many times migrants are lost or executed along the way. After the World Trade Center on 9-11-2001, members of the El Asociacion Tepeyac de New York were flooded with calls from family members asking to help locate lost family members. With the help of “El Asociacion Tepeyac de New York identified 113 cases of missing people and 857 displaced workers connected to the 9/11 disasters” (573). Melancholia by definition is a deep sadness or gloom; Sigmund Freud explains it as “ways individuals contended with the death or absence of a beloved person, object, or idea” (576). Immigrants from Mexico often try and find someone in the United States to help them obtain Green Cards so that they can work and travel back and forth from Mexico. The problem with this and we still see this today, many of these family fall into scams, the family pays an enormous amount of money with the promise of obtaining a green card. For these families to work so hard in trying to obtain citizenship in the United States and just for it to be quickly taken away, makes them feel mournful about their residency in the United States… thus taking away the American Dream. As for Mexican women crossing the border alone or with dependents is a horrific event to encounter. Last semester in my Boarder Security Issues class, we talked about the dangers women occurred while crossing. Many of these women are raped and forced into working hard labor and/or prostitution for coyotes and “friends” of the coyotes in the United States. Many of these women are disappearing; however what is disheartening to me is that this news is often not reported, and does not raise awareness on the situation.