El joto y la mestiza: Bridging a Divide in Chicano Tribe

Abstract

Thus far, the experiences of Chicano gay men have been sparsely discussed in comparison to those of Chicana lesbians in both academia and activism. I began noticing that there was a certain divide between Chicano gay men and Chicana lesbians while reading Gloria Anzaldúa’s emblematic work, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, in which she writes that “Lumping the males who deviate from the general norm with the man, the oppressor, is a gross injustice” (Anzaldúa 106). She goes on to say that she and other queer Chicanas have remained in the dark pit where the world keeps lesbians, and that as feminists and lesbians, they have closed off their hearts to men, including their queer brethren, disinherited and marginalized as they are (Anzaldúa 106). Not only did I notice the existence of this divide, but Anzaldúa helped me realize the power of queerness and of queer people of all stripes uniting together. She describes homosexuals as “Being the supreme crossers of cultures, […] [having] strong bonds with the queer [of many races] and with the queer in […] the rest of the planet. [Coming] from all colors, all classes, all races, all time periods” (Anzaldúa 106). She calls on Chicanos to acknowledge the contributions of these supreme crossers of cultures, “to listen to [their] jotería [Chicano term for queer folks],” who have been “at the forefront […] of all liberation struggles in this country” (Anzaldúa 107). Other queer Chicana academics and writers such as Cherríe Moraga have also commented on the scarcity of engagement and cultural production coming from Chicano gay men and the potential to bridge the divide described by Anzaldúa. Exploring differences and commonalities between the experiences of Chicano gay men and lesbians and their respective positionalities in the Chicano social-cultural hierarchy can elucidate the unique roles these men could play in a future coalition-building process and activism.