What it is to be a Mexican woman.
I always knew that I was treated differently from other people. I am a Mexican immigrant in the United States where there is bias, and we are unwelcomed. I am Mexican and there is a negative aspect around that word especially by people like the President of the United States. For a long time, I have felt like I had to defend my who I am and where I come from.
Being a Woman does not make being a Mexican American person any easier. There is so much machismo in Mexican culture. It means misogyny but in Mexico men are proud to be misogynistic. The men take pride in being machos. Being machos means that women cannot do everything they do and not as good as they can.
The biggest problem I see in my community is how were meant to act. When I was growing up I was questioned for not being a party person, and I was I just was not into partying every week. The girls that were like me were all very different from me. They are told that being party girls is cool and not caring about an education was fine, but I did not see it this way. I feel like girls like me have no role models which have been truly successful in the United States, so we do not strive for it.
The issue with people in my community is not having someone to help guide them. Someone who shows them that we can be successful. I looked up to my teacher who looked like me and came from the same background. She went to NYU and she became a teacher in my high school she helped me with my college application process.
I know there are programs which connect people to role models and guiders, but the issue can be resolved when people are aware of the resources they have.
