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Ethnicity :
The intersections of my gender identity, a cis gendered woman, and my cultures, Colombian and American, can cause a bit of turbulence in determining who I “should” be and what I “should” do. Family is a huge part of Latinx culture, often meaning they have a lot to contribute throughout life but it also means they have a lot to say, even when not asked. Being raised a Colombian-American in Brooklyn I was able to gain the perspective of a woman of color in the states and a woman of color in Colombia. Unfortunately these are fairly similar due to the history these cultures have of prioritizing men and their needs over that of women via patriarchy.
Latinx culture has patriarchy ingrained into it similar to the way western culture has patriarchy in its roots. In Spanish we call this “machismo”. Machismo was ingrained into Latinx culture using cultural hegemony to encourage hegemonic masculinity from Spaniard conquistadors much like in western society with patriarchy from British colonizers.

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Family vs Career :
While Patriarchy limits me within the western culture, machismo limits me within the Latinx culture. As a Latina I am more often than not expected to be part of a large family and to continue this tradition by having multiple children of my own while men are expected to protect and provide.
This concept of machismo is an issue in many Latinx countries that restrict the potential and rights of women now as it has for centuries. Slowly we have move forward to a better future, for example; in Colombia abortion was recently made legal, but that is not the case for most Latinx countries.
Women in the Latinx culture are expected to be selfless child-bearers and care givers who are submissive to their boyfriend/husband etc. Women are not expected to go to college and start a career because it can get in the way of having and caring for multiple children, your household, and your husband. I may be a proud Latina but this is a part of my culture I do not stand with. I happily go against these expectations and gender norms as I set a goal for myself to not only get my degree but also start my career before even considering motherhood. I refuse to fall in line with the many Latinas before me who let cultural and societal pressures steer them away from the path they wanted.

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Race :
Being born brown can make things more difficult simply due to the abundance of limitations people of color face in America. However the same holds true within Latinx culture because its past is intertwined with Spaniard history which, much like British history, idealizes those of a lighter skin tone. Many people are unaware of the ways in which race affects Latinos. More often than not I encounter people who think that there isn’t racism in Latinx culture because there are so many Latinos of color. However that is not true, Latinx culture has the same habit as western culture in regards to idealizing whiteness. This alongside being a woman creates norms and rules that limit my potential and my rights within either side of my identities.

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Physical Ability and Health Beyond What Meets The Eye :
Ableism has affected me just about every day since my diagnosis. Lupus is known as an invisible chronic disease. You can rarely see physical signs of this illness but you can almost always feel it. Ive lost count of how many times I’ve heard “but you look fine” or “you don’t even look sick” while I fell apart mentally and physically. Ableism creates a lack of understanding for those who do not appear sick, but you do not need to appear sick to not feel well enough to complete a task or multiple tasks. Physical limitations overlapped by institutional limitations throughout the American and Latinx culture is something I’ve faced and it made me realize the importance of acknowledging the interconnected nature of social categorization.
Here I’ve featured images of something known as the lupus rash often caused by flares of the disease, large amounts of sun intake, or a combination of both. This is just one of the symptoms lupus has, most of which are not visible but can be debilitating. Like some lupus symptoms, the interconnected nature of social categorization is invisible to those unaffected but that does not mean it is not there or that it is not drastically affecting an individual or group of individuals.

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Smart, Intuitive, Independent, and Strong

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This image is a great way to cover some of the semesters topics in relation to myself as I depict examples of a woman whom you wouldn’t typically see or read about because I do not fall into what the ideal woman looks or acts like in neither American nor Latinx culture or societal norms. Not only am I a young woman of color studying for finals at a college in this image but I am also dressed comfortably in clothing from the mens department rather in something a man would find sexually appealing.

As a Latina in higher education, not pursuing motherhood in the near future, who is independent  and seeks to continue to do so I fall under the description of pariah femininity.
I convey this through my strive for a career and independent financial success before starting a family of my own. I am, as defined by society, partially disabled but I do not let this stop me. I am a full time student and work part  time in order to pay tuition despite my medical conditions and the difficulties/restrictions it comes with.

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The Importance of Recognizing and Understanding the Affects of Intersectionality

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The Importance of Recognizing and Understanding the Affects of Intersectionality

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In this picture essay I show you my variety of intersectionality’s with gender, race, ethnicity/culture, and ableism. I describe  how the combination of these intersectionality’s creates a pariah femininity because of the ways in which I go against the expectations of hegemonic femininity and hegemonic masculinity. I hope reading and analyzing my project can create a deeper understanding on how intersectionality can affect individuals and why it is important to see how various personal parts of ones life connect. I am just one example but intersectionality varies for everyone in circumstance and degree.
I chose to write about my identity through intersectionality to describe/depict how the personal is political because I have become aware that not many people realize that the overlap of forms of oppression can affect not only who you are to the world but also who you actually become. Every individual has their own experience with discrimination and oppression but that is the point of intersectionality, to express these experiences and raise awareness on how the interconnected nature of social categorizations creates interdependent systems of oppression. One does not exist (ie. race, gender, culture, disability, etc.) without influencing the other.