Gloria Anzaldúa To Survive the Borderlands Be a Crossroads 1942 USA 2004 USA
Gloria Anzaldúa is a philosopher of mestiza consciousness. She asks us to reject the myth of a consistent and uniform self and to embrace the multiplicity of mixed and splintered identities. The mestiza is a woman who straddles two or more cultures, languages, or value systems. Mestizas are what Anzaldúa calls “threshold” people who do not fit squarely into one fixed identity, way of life, or geographical location. They live at the borderlands, standing at the margins of society while moving within and among different and often conflicting worlds. “From this racial, ideological, cultural, and biological cross pollinization, an alien consciousness is presently in the making—a new mestiza consciousness, una conciencia de mujer. It is a consciousness of the Borderlands.” Anzaldúa asks us to be aware of the differences that exist between us and to learn to embrace and negotiate differences. She also confesses that not having a stable identity or fixed location is difficult and may at times foster different forms of mental and emotional instability. As a mestiza, she asks us to be strong as we strive to exist at the threshold and travel within and among different worlds.