USAGENR Finals

ARTICLE	COLONIALISM	DECOLONIZATION	RESISTANCE	REASON FOR CHOICE
In Praise of Difficult Chicas: Feminism and Femininity	Esthercita concealed the brothel from others because she believed they would not understand her method of money-making.	Tia Esthercita flouted the church’s social dictums, scoffed at being ladylike and defied hombres machista.	The prostitutes were decent, well-dressed ladies from the city who were managing to make a living during an era when there wasn’t much for women except marriage.	Esthercita showed elements of colonialism because of her belief that she would not be understood. This can be related to colonialism in a way that there is a barrier between her and how she can express who she is. It is like being trapped. She flouted the church’s social dictums and showed decolonization through resentment of the norm. She went away with how ladies are supposed to be. The prostitutes showed resistance by making a living instead of the norm of getting married. They resisted the idea that marriage was the only way for women to live.
Heartbroken: Women of Color Feminism and the Third Wave	Growing up as an Asian realizing that her identity was being created for her not by her.	Writing a dramatic letter to the Congregational church asking them to remove her name from their list because she did not want to support or be affiliated  with a patriarchal institution  such as a Christian church.	Embarrassed with the attention that comes with being a foreign exchange student, she tried to ignore the differences. She took the negativity and dissociation she felt and began to internalize the feelings.	Identity being created for her, not by her showed colonialism in terms of not being able to choose who she is. There are more powerful forces that disables her who she wants to be. Removing her name from the Congregational church showed decolonization because she removed herself from an institution that owned her. It is similar to a country removing itself from the rule of another country. She tried to resist the idea that she was Asian and the embarrassment that came with it. She resisted and fooled herself into thinking of another role as an Asian.
Nasaan ka Anak ko? A Queer Filipina-American Feminist’s Tale of Abortion and Self-Recovery	Society giving them capital for becoming model minorities yet systematically berated them for their differences. Losing their mother tongue and shedding their rich cultural histories.	The unexplainable joy in singing Tagalog songs. Although she couldn’t understand a word, she sang unabashedly. She savored the feeling.	The healing process after abortion.	Losing their Filipino culture showed colonialism because of how society looked at them. It was like the society colonized them and in effect, they began to act like how the society wanted them to be but at the same time, society still berated at them for their differences. Being colonized can disable a person from enjoying his or her culture. With a new life, she was not able to do Filipino things so being able to speak in Filipino gave her joy. It is similar to decolonization because of the feeling of finally doing Filipino things. Her healing process showed resistance because she had to let go of the pain and learn to accept herself. She resisted the idea that she needs to be self-punished and be miserable for what she has done.