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Thursday, May 9th, 2002
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10:19 pm
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This will hopefully make it's way into CuntZilla.org, we shall see.
Feminist Bitches Run In the Family
It was the 60's. Peace and love. Revolution. Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Resistance to and revitalization of the Chicano movement in our neck of the woods (Kern County, CA). So much confusion abound, and so many choices to make. My mother just did her own thing.
She never really hung with the hippies. Cesar Chavez's glorious fight for equality was just something she heard about on the news, and her memory of it now is foggy at best. But she was a feminist. She was part of the revolution. She just doesn't know it yet.
In her twenties, her greatest contribution to her feminism was through asserting her own views and wishes on her relationships and reproduction. "? Y cuando te casas? (And when are you getting married?)" is a question frequently posed to to Chicanas (and especially my hermanas lesbianas), but my mom just ignored it and married on her own terms at age 27.
Oh yes, the marriage. Another thing my mother did that flew in the face of Chicano patriarchy. You see, my father was Anglo and Native American. Her family fixtated on the Anglo part of his identity, naturally. Their unease with interracial relationships is hypocritical since we are also Native American on her side, not just Chicano. But the controversy paid off. Now when you hear of mixed race cousins, or mixed race pairings, the family speaks of her as a trailblazer. She made this ok. Because of her, love in this familia knows no color.
Fast foward to 1981. At thirty-four, she gave birth to me, and that is part of her exercising her reproductive freedom. She waited till she was ready, despite heavy pressure to get pregnant. This was another thing that did not go down well. My grandfather even apologized to my father for my mom's infertility. Her defiant attitude eventually shut them up, though.
At the risk of sounding arrogant, her next greatest contribution to feminism is me. I was her protege, and I have learned well by example. Use your talents. Do what you love. Make your own choices. Show no fear, and let no man (or woman) intimidate you into silence, not even in the face of death threats. (She's worked the last 13 years in a wild mobile home park which has resulted in bomb threats, and her nearly getting run over! She didn't even run when the car came after her because she refused to show fear!) For God sakes, get your education. She never graduated high school, so this is perhaps one of the biggest lessons. It's ok to be the strong willed feminist bitch from hell. (Thanks Mommy!)
There is one area of contention. She is not ready to let me be myself just yet. It's hard being a politically motivated Chicana/Native American/Anglo bisexual spiritually Indian, and Wiccan, anarcha-feminist. The most difficult thing for her is the bisexuality. She cannot comprehend why a woman would want to make love to another woman. She can't understand why someone would embrace a political system that means utter chaos to her. Wicca is too close to Satanism (in her eyes) for her comfort. I think she sees though, that I am pushing boundaries. I hope she realizes that I am picking up where she left off. As I am proud of her, and what I have learned from her, the reverse should be true. I am the continuation of her revolution.
current mood:  accomplished
current music: Loveline
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