I was exposed to the amazing author, Sandra Cisneros, in school when I read one of her reputable books: House on Mango Street. I did a project on her accomplishments for Hispanic history month years ago. I will admit, life happened and I lost touch with her books and writing until she was notably recently awarded The National Medal of Arts award, by president Barack Obama in 2016. She has always been a writer I admired as she is a strong minded leader who is not afraid to use her wordplay to her advantage.
She often writes about how strong and independent womxn truly are. Using her beautiful words, I want to bring awareness to a term she often uses for empowerment: Chingona (pronounced: chin-go-na).
BE A CHINGONA! I had to take that word back [because] I felt that that word was a word that’s used against women and gays. I think I’ve been influenced a lot by the gay community in how they’ve taken language as a way to empower themselves, because language does matter. It does matter what we call ourselves. It does matter what people call us. – Sandra
(Moreno, C. 2017)
While some people have been accustomed to hearing this term solely used by or associated with Mexican heritage/descent it is a term that applies to all womxn. Sandra has felt as though she had to “take back the word chingona” because the term “chingona”, in the chicano culture, was negative and associated to demean us describing a womxn as ” sleezy, annoying, or one who is promiscuous”. But in recent times and as the womxn empowerment movement further develops, it is now an all inclusive word that translates to basically mean: “a badass woman”. Perioooood.
Here is Cisneros’s definition further explained:
I wanted to find a positive way to say ‘a woman who is on her path and who is powerful and is not being defined by a man but is being defined as a woman on her own path, on her own direction, on her own intuitive powers,’ Cisneros said. ‘I wasn’t trying to offend or shock anyone, sometimes people think that I’m a professional provocateur but I wasn’t trying to do that. I was trying to find a way to place a woman in her place of power when she’s following her camino. – Sandra
(Moreno, C. 2017).
Sandra expresses a message that womxn are SO MUCH MORE than just being called “beautiful”. Her message as a chingona is to remember to use your intelligence and “see the light” by following your own path, make your own rules, and don’t depend on anyone except yourself to make that a reality!
Now THAT is a message that uplifts womxn of all walks of life. If that is what it means to be a true “chingona” then yes, call us CHINGONA’s PODEROSA’s while you’re at it! **two snaps**
- TeamKARE
Reference used:
Moreno, C. (2017). HuffPost :Sandra Cisneros Defines What It Means To Be A Chingona. Retrieved from: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sandra-cisneros-chingona-definition_us_59ae10ade4b0dfaafcf2030b