Narratives of Mexican American Women - Ch. 6 Narratives of the 2nd Generation

The final chapter of Garcia’s qualitative book explores the emerging identities of the 2nd generation women. Garcia discovers that identity is very complex and dynamic, depending on the situations these women find themselves in. These are the daughters of Mexican immigrants who grew up almost sheltered, in their tight knit Mexican-American communities. While the women are working towards upward social mobility, they find themselves the minority in the Euro-centric dominant institution that is their university. These women are learning, questioning and challenging that society, all while their own perception of identity evolves. Growing up, their families helped shape their identities, but American culture had an influence as well. The 2nd generation found themselves seeking and building groups of social support through interactions with people of color, even diverse from their own backgrounds. The women faced discrimination from peers and professors, while simultaneously finding strength and power through claiming their ethnicity and history. The college setting allowed these women the opportunity to navigate their identities.

A surprising twist in the emergence of these identities, was the help and understanding of their mothers. The mothers themselves faced discrimination from their families for their evolving roles as mothers in a new country. Together the mothers helped their daughters work past the patriarchal constraints so often seen in Mexican families. All the while, the mothers’ roles were evolving into family breadwinner, and less were they consenting to traditional gender roles prescribed.

As 4th generation Mexican American, perhaps I couldn’t relate completely to the women’s struggle, but I did notice many similarities to the traditional, patriarchal constraints that we see in the culture. I am however, extremely thankful to women like these for paving the academic road for many young Latinas today. They have helped make my journey easier and I believe it very important for their stories to be heard and shared.