ABSTRACT
The history and problems of La Chicana are similar to those of Latin-American women. Although the native Indian women of the Americas was, before the Spanish conquest, far from being completely free, she often participated more fully in the life of the society than did her sister under Spanish rule. Inside the borders of the United States, the women of La Raza lived first under Spanish rule, then Mexican rule, and beginning in 1848 under US imperialist rule. Despite the hard life faced by the working class Chicana, she is expected to live according to attitudes and prejudices imposed by sexism. These include ideas about virginity, false definitions of femininity and the double standard (one standard of sexual behavior for women, a different standard for men). Up to now, the US women’s liberation movement has been mainly concerned with sexism and ignored or denied the importance of racism.
