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Description
Identity can be a difficult concept to grasp for oppressed and marginalized groups of people. It is particularly challenging for Mexican individuals to deal with the lingering effects of colonization to try and make sense of who they are most fundamentally. Moreover, attempts to make sense of the dehumanization that has shaped Mexican identity amidst colonialism often equates male and female lived experiences. These attempts can provide insight, but also leave many gaps. In this thesis I examine the ways that colonization and misogyny work hand in hand. In Ch. 1, I mention that claiming that women and men experience life similarly is dangerous as it continues to play into the roles of colonization as a way to police oppressed and marginalized people, particularly Mexican women. In Ch. 2, I draw on Hilde Lindemann’s concept of master narratives, which refer to dominant and widely accepted narrative about a marginalized group of people, to look at how dominant stories about Mexican women shape the meaning of Mexican identity. Further I argue that master narratives can have malicious intentions to control a group of people, but analyzing them through a feminist lens allows us to understand the way identity can be reworked in a way that negatively portrays a gorup of people. One way to overcome the master narrative is through the development of counterstories, but this strategy can be tricky as it can lead to the adoption of colonial terms. In Ch. 3, I make the argument that analyzing the relationship between colonization and misogyny and their role in master narratives, I develop a systematic account that depends on necessary constraints that, if adopted, can result in the overcoming of misogyny and as a result, allow ontological possibility among the Mexican population. I support my argument by claiming that in overcoming misogyny, we must aim to adopt two conditions: radical hope, which involves certainty, and taking serious women of color philosophers, which involves taking them as academically representative. KEYWORDS Colonization, misogyny, ontology, inferiority complex, representation, decolonial thought, machismo, masternarratives, counterstories, Emilio Uranga, Kate Manne, Hilde Lindeman, Gloria Anzaldúa, Maria Lugones.
