ABSTRACT
First, the chapter examines Anzaldúa’s innovative philosophy of women’s writing and her formative role in the women of color feminism, the primary purpose of which was to include categories of race, ethnicity, sexuality, poverty, and classism in the feminist discussion. Then the subsequent anthologies edited by Anzaldúa are reviewed to demonstrate how they relate to and expand the disciplines of border and women’s studies. First, This Bridge Called My Back (1981), co-edited with Cherrie Moraga, which exposed the frustration of ethnic women with the mainstream white women’s movement. Then Making Face, Making Soul. Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists of Color (1990) which focuses on the emancipatory aspect of female writing, named “the act of making soul” and the changing climate within the women of color movement. This anthology offered a space where women of color could get rid of their masks and acquire agency. Finally, This Bridge We Call Home: Radical Visions for Transformation (2002), co-edited with AnaLouise Keating, in which Anzaldúa develops her concepts of Nepantla, New Tribalism, and the theory of inclusivity which Chela Sandoval described as “a methodology of love.” Finally, two books of Anzaldúa, posthumously edited by AnaLouise Keating, namely The Gloria Anzaldúa Reader (2009) and Light in the Dark/Luz en lo oscuro: Rewriting Identity, Spirituality, Reality (2015), are addressed and analyzed.
