Like many ethnic activist movements the
Mexican liberation movement began sometime around the 1960’s. The LGBTQ
resistance finds many of its roots in these ethnic liberation campaigns. Through
their social rejection as a minority the Mexican community has had many ordeals
in dealing with liberation and equality movements. However, because of their
social stigmatization, the Mexican community is able to create a sense of
solidarity that empowers them in their activism towards LGBTQ liberation and
equalization.
The Long-Chavez article describes the oppression that the Mexican community has to
bear. The multiple suicide attempts of 22 year old Yanelli Hernandez are used
to quickly brings to light the suffering created by the immigration enforcement
situation. However, the article also
begins to define the many other oppressive problems faced by this community.
Through Alex Aldana the author is able to reveal the identity crisis that a lot
of youth have to perceiver on top of the documentation predicament. This credits
Smith’s idea of how all oppressions are interlocked. Alex’s ‘double closet’ exposes
the link between homophobic-created depression and that of being undocumented.
This homophobia is simply another outlet that allows the further stigmatization
of the Mexican community.
The
intertwining of these depressions brings forth much resentment from Alex’s family
as it does with other families in the LGBTQ community. But where does this
resentment come from? It derives from
the “…allegiance to patriarchal gender relations and to a system of sexual
meanings that directly militate against the emergence of this alternative basis
of self- identity”(Almaguer, 1991, p.545) that Chicano families require. A possible reason for this requirements
existence is that the existence of one’s homosexuality bringing the sexuality
of others into question (Smith, 1993). A common way to prove ones
heterosexuality is to “…put down lesbians and gay men at every turn” (Smith,
1993, p.1130). This can be seen in the Mexican community through the creation
of negative terms such as “maricón” and “puto” that tether gay men to the
effeminate and negatively passive identity that resides in the Mexican
community (Almaguer, 1991). The creation of distain towards the Mexican
community through the opposition of immigration movement can led to further
internal degradation of the Mexican people themselves.
However, though
there is much resentment in attitudes towards the Mexican immigration and LGBTQ
oppression, the article presents a possibility for hope. “Fortunately, there is
an increasing body of work available…that provides an integrated approach to
the intersection of a multiplicity of identities and issues” states Smith (1993).
This work is represented in the support of those like Yanelli and Alex through
supportive posters, sit-ins, and acknowledgments towards activist organizations
like the Inland Empire Immigrant Youth Coalition. The article does brutally
describe the effects of all forms of oppression associated with the Mexican
community but it also describes the admirable productivity created in the
support that they have for each other.
Because of the
activism of this undocumented youth the correlation between immigration
injustice and the injustice of LGBTQ community is undeniable. As the Mexican
community steps away from the masculine/passive roles in homosexuality and the
greater LGBTQ community they will be able to break through the depressive wall
created by those roles and continue that positive virtue towards the concern of
immigration.
Bibliography:
Tomas, Alamaguer "chicano Men: A Cartography of Homosexual; Identity and Behavior" in Social Perspectives in Gay and Lesbian Studies ed. Peter M Nardi and Beth Schneider, 1998
Barbara SMith "Homophobia: Why Bring it Up?' from The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. ed Henry Ablelove et al New York& London: Routledge, 1993.
Andrea Long-Chavez (2012, February 3) Undocumented Young Activists Talk About Depression And Suicide. Huffington Post.Retrieved from:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/02/undocumented-activists-dream-act_n_1251152.html
