Published in Lesbian Connection in 1978, Chicana Lesbian Nationalism by Margarita represents the growth of a purely Chicana lesbian body of theory that explicitly defined their wants and needs as a community. The piece identifies one of the main challenges facing Latina lesbians is that following rejection from La Raza due to homophobia, the racism they endure from the white lesbian community is too much to bear. It also focuses on logistical challenges Chicana women face in order to come out, such as being trapped within a machismo nuclear family structure, and being financially dependent on such structure. It then makes significant strides to set a standardized way to conduct communication within the Lesbian community, specifically to stress your identity as a Chicana lesbian within those spaces. This distinction functioned to connect through a shared sexuality while honoring their differences as Chicanas. The piece ends with a call to action to facilitate the formation of LesbiaAztlan, referencing Aztlan, the mythical homeland of the Aztecs that has come to represent a Mexican power that has not been diluted by whiteness and colonization. It speaks of their mobilization to record their history, aligning with the rise in political consciousness not only in Chicana lesbians but all Chicana women.

Gloria Anzaldua

Cherrie Moraga, photographed by Jean Weisinger.

This piece demonstrates the lengths and care that Chicana lesbians invested in their degree of connection to their identities and passion towards their communities. The work of revolutionary Chicana lesbians, especially Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa, was indispensable to the broadening of queer futures for all women of color.

Their work served as a catalyst to represent all the pain accompanied by living with a foot in both worlds, and being unwilling to lose either limb. The activism and theory they created inspired the continuation of a distinct documented Chicana lesbian experience endures to pay homage to these women and those that succeed them.

“Photograph.” Cherrie Moraga, http://www.unm.edu/~erbaugh/Wmst200fall03/bios/Moraga.htm.