Overcoming Triple Oppression: Identity, Power, And Feminism Among Women Of Mexican Ancestry In Texas, 1960-1980

Abstract

The Mexican American civil rights movement surfaced in the 1960s and 1970s as a direct response to blatant institutional discrimination and neglect. The participation of women within the movement, however, has been overwhelmingly marginalized in favor of a largely male-dominated interpretation. Indeed, Mexican American women in Texas displayed a variety of perspectives about religious and ethnic identity, feminism, and politics during this time. Drawing on their own rich heritage and mutual experiences with discrimination based on race, gender, and class, these women nevertheless developed conflicting ideas about the abovementioned topics. How each woman fashioned her own environment according to her understanding of her own dynamic history and experiences remains the focus of this thesis.