Latina feministas unite at #SecretLivesofFeministas

picture-6

The feminist blogosphere is a big place. It’s easy to get lost and feel overwhelmed by the amount of people out there to e-meet. Sometimes, as a Latina feminist blogger, I feel like I spend years of my life searching for people and resources.

This is why AnaYelsi Sanchez started the hashtag #SecretLivesofFeministas, for Latina feminists to connect, share their experiences and their knowledge.

This hash tag was born out of personal need. I am indebted to black feminists. My feminist awakening came at a young age and when it did I was ravenous for the voices of women. When I went in search of them I found incredible feminists who had paved the way for this pre-teen Latina. They were intelligent, funny, resourceful, strong women. Nearly all of them were white. I could not see the possibility of who I could be reflected in them. It took time and considerable effort but I began to find others- not quite like me but they gave me hope. Women like Sojourner Truth, bell hooks and Alice Walker. It was like having a world opened up to me and I will forever be grateful to them.

It is enough of a struggle to find resources from black feminists. When you begin searching for Latina feminists it is time to roll up your sleeves and really get to work. Finding Latina feminist resources on the web is a time-consuming effort. Aside from the occasional “Latino perspective” piece on a mainstream feminist site, we are nearly invisible. Put in the time and you will eventually discover women like Dolores Huerta and Gloria Anzaldua. It’s not that Latina feminists aren’t active or that we’re “voiceless”. We’re just so rarely invited into the inner circle. It creates the illusion that we don’t exist at all. It’s exhausting and disheartening to feel alone as a feminista.

Will you join the conversation? Starting at 6 pm EST/3 pm PST today, tweet resources/experiences/thoughts at #SecretLivesofFeministas.

96ee0a3b286e0ab66e722794b16d9276_bigger

Juliana dreams of Latina feminist revolutions.

Bay Area, California

Juliana is a digital storyteller for social change. As a writer at Feministing since 2013, her work has focused on women's movements throughout the Americas for environmental justice, immigrant rights, and reproductive justice. In addition to her writing, Juliana is a Senior Campaigner at Change.org, where she works to close the gap between the powerful and everyone else by supporting people from across the country to launch, escalate and win their campaigns for justice.

Juliana is a Latina feminist writer and campaigner based in the Bay Area.

Read more about Juliana

Join the Conversation