Chicana Feminism as a Bridge: The Struggle of a White Woman Seeking an Alternative to the Eclipsing Embodiment of Whiteness

Chicana feminism helps researchers examine social issues from positionings which challenge Whitestream ways of knowing, particularly in terms of intersectionality of identities and lived experiences. As a white woman researcher, I claim the need to embrace this framework to research and reframe both my autohistoria (Anzaldúa, 2002) and the world around me. I use a series of steps to engage this framework, including: waiting while white, attempts at decolonizing while understanding one’s white positioning, and cautiously engaging from the depths of gratitude. It is through love that I engage the framework of Chicana feminism toward doing emancipatory research in education