Christian's initial thoughts

             My initial thought upon entering into the field of Chicana feminism is that I couldn’t feel more lost or out of place. I am nervous that I will be fighting against the fact that I am a white male with the woman that I interview. During class it was mentioned that you can’t bring any type of race or gender guilt into these interviews but I think that is easier said than done. I feel that it is very important to do these interviews and get a record of these stories before it is too late to get them, especially with a subject like this. As was mentioned in class, these aren’t people and stories that you can just Google. This makes it more important as these stories could be lost forever because of a lack of documentation.

            I know little to nothing about taking oral histories and archiving this information. I know even less about the history of Chicana feminism. I am very interested to learn, however, and am even more interested to hear these stories. I think that this has potential to be one of the most interesting classes I’ve taken. I am a complete novice, which should make me more open to these stories and letting these women shape my opinions. I have had some experience interviewing people in an academic setting and I love to hear stories. I feel that this could be a great fit for me because I love to sit and listen to stories and seeing what kind of tangents we can go on. People usually have a lot to say if you let them.

            My biggest fear in this class is that I will be rejected by these women. I fear that I will make a fool out of myself trying to empathize or give my point of view in class and be written off. One of the biggest obstacles I have had in American Culture is people dismissing my opinions because of where I come from and what I look like. I fear that this might be amplified in this situation.

            Don’t get me wrong though, I am not coming into this class with a negative view. I am very excited and hopeful to learn more about taking oral histories and about this specific history. Archiving peoples’ stories so that they don’t get lost in time is very important. Some say that they will just sit there and gather dust but that is better than having them not exist at all. I think it will be very interesting and fun to talk to these women and just spend time with them. I am excited to record these stories and preserve them for future generations.

            These women were hugely important to their movement yet not many people know who they are. In the coming decades, these women may no longer be around to tell their side of the story and share their experiences. While I am a little nervous that I will be out of place, I would rather fight that awkward feeling to hear these stories than never hear them at all. Overall, I come into this class excited to broaden my horizons and learn really interesting stories, no matter how cheesy that sounds.