T. R. SELCUK UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE UNDERSTANDING CHICANA FEMINISM: TRADITION AND REBELLION IN ANA CASTILLO’S SO FAR FROM GOD Yasemin YILDIZ MASTER OF ART THESIS Supervisor Assist. Prof. Dr. Sema Zafer SÜMER Konya - 2011 i TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………………….i BİLİMSEL ETİK SAYFASI …………………………………………………………………iii TEZ KABUL FORMU ……………………………………………………………………….iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT …………………………………………………………………….v ÖZET …………………………………………………………………………………………vi ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………………….vii INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………………….1 CHAPTER ONE – THE WORLD OF ANA CASTILLO …………………………………7 1.1. The Life of Ana Castillo …………………………………………………………..7 1.2. Ana Castillo as a Novelist and an Activist ………………………………………14 CHAPTER TWO – WHO IS THE CHICANA? …………………………………………23 2.1. Some Historical Background ……………………………………………………23 2.2. How the Mexican American Came into Being ………………………………….29 2.3. The Chicanos within U.S. Society ………………………………………………34 2.4. The Chicana: The Brown Woman ………………………………………………38 CHAPTER THREE – ANALYSING THE DYNAMICS OF CHICANA OPPRESSION……………………………………………………………………………….43 3.1. Familism, Machismo and Gender Roles ………………………………………..43 3.2. Rape, Abuse, Abortion and Health Care ………………………………………..49 3.3. Labor Force and Unequal Opportunity …………………………………………56 3.4. Perspectives for Education ……………………………………………………...61 CHAPTER FOUR – UNDERSTANDING THE CHICANA FEMINISM ……………..66 4.1. Understanding the Chicana Movement ………………………………………….66 4.2. The Birth of Chicana Feminist Thought ………………………………………...71 4.3. The Development of Chicana Feminism ………………………………………..75 CHAPTER FIVE – THE POLITICS OF IDENTITY: SURVIVAL AND ENDURANCE IN SO FAR FROM GOD…………………...……………………………………………….81 ii CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………………..110 WORKS CITED ……………………………………………………………………………115 ÖZGEÇMİŞ ………………………………………………………………………………...119 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my great depth of gratitude to my thesis supervisor Assistant Professor Dr. SEMA ZAFER SÜMER who directed, supported, and encouraged me willingly during the process of preparing this thesis.. Without her support, I could not write my thesis. I am initially thankful for Adalet YILDIZ, without whose guidance, encouragement, and belief that this is a worthwhile endeavor, this study might never have been finished. Special thank goes to my husband Koray YILDIZ, who has always been a real lover and supporter of this entire journey and my life.