Blog six!
I would like to discuss Anzaldua and Mohanty. Anzaldua describes a consciousness she terms “Mestiza consciousness�. The new mestiza, for her, juggles and copes with her layers of identity, even though none of those layers correspond. This consciousness is produced from a situation where one is on the outskirts of each of their cultures—both, and neither, all at once. This can also be considered “borderlands� or “hybrid� consciousness because the mestiza’s identity is forced to the periphery of “real� existence. She ultimately desires to have a space where she can exist. This is a powerful lens through which to view gender. Using Anzaldua’s situation, we can understand that perhaps gender is both-and-neither as well. This distinction has major implications for the way we view one another. I am left with the question, “Are we all, in some ways, both-and-neither?�
Mohanty presents a different perspective, yet it is complementary to Anzaldua’s. Mohanty believes that the “third world women� consciousness is a social construct; it’s discursive. This consciousness is defined by the common struggle that all third world women share. The cultural characteristics that produce this consciousness find their roots in third world women’s factory employment, as well as fertility issues. This ties in with Plumwood’s instrumentalization—that third world women are simply “tools� to advance society. We can also understand Mohanty in terms of gender and power. She advocates for the idea that struggle can create links among us which can eventually lead to a coalition for positive political action.
If Anzaldua describes a problem, then Mohanty writes the prescription; if Anzaldua conceptualizes hybridity, then Mohanty conceptualizes coalition. Although Anzaldua describes hybridity in terms of mestiza women while Mohanty describes coalition in terms of third world women, we can apply what we know from each in order to move toward change. For example, in Anzaldua’s life, perhaps a motion toward synchronizing her situations in the world would be perpetuated by political action that seeks to remove stereotypes and to recognize individuals as fragmentary.