Our Genes Don’t Match with “BrownPride” Clothing
by Guest Contributor Alex Alvarez, originally published on Guanabee
One thing that’s kind of irked us about the term “Latino” over the years is, beyond how its used to encompass such a wide range of people, is that it’s often used in mainstream media as a synonym for “Chicano,” specifically the cholo and chola subculture, which is a very insular, unique group. We find all the most superficial trappings of that group: Chola style, lowriders, art, literature slang like “firme” interesting enough and we definitely think Chicano culture has been an asset to the Latino community at large but, you know. It’s just not who all of us are.
So when “BrownPride.com” declares itself a site for “Firme Clothing and Latino Fashion,” we’re both all “This is awesome!” and “So we guess we’re not… Latina?” If we, like their model, were to ever step out wearing a tank top that said “Firme” and our hair in cornrows, we would systematically get punched in the face. Hell, we’d punch ourselves in the face. It’s both not what we’re comfortable with or a subculture that’s for us. We’re not allowed to participate, almost. We’re not much good at it, either. If we tried to make this model’s “Attitude Face,” we’d probably be advised to eat more roughage to clear that problem right up. Arugula, at that.
So while we love Chicano culture and chola style, we don’t love umbrella terms or being misrepresented. Not by mainstream media and certainly not by one another. Because, if you allow us to get a little Hallmarkesque on you for a quick second, being Latina is in our genes. Not our jeans.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
DEAF FEMINIST PUNK!! wrote:
I’m not really familiar with Latino, Chicano, or chola/cholo culture (being South Asian in a midwest city where there’s not really a big Latino population), I’m kind of disturbed by how white people mock the “cholo/chola” trend, because to me, it comes off as being racist and bigoted.
Because, if you allow us to get a little Hallmarkesque on you for a quick second, being Latina is in our genes. Not our jeans.
I totally feel you on that. It’s annoying how people tell me that I act “white” because I don’t necessarily wear Indian clothes all the time. and I have a dyed mohawk with piercings. Geez. Excuse me for not acting “brown” whatever that means.
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 10:20 am ¶
IKnowSomething wrote:
What I don’t understand is why people constantly assume that latinos are all light white people with dark features that look like they have gold-flecked skin (thanks to the media), yet when a true brown skinned latino steps into view, we have to be either Dominican or lying.
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 10:35 am ¶
K wrote:
If that’s the lo0k a Latina is supposed to have, thanks but I’ll pass. I know that if I walk around wearing that shirt and portraying that attitude, my parents wouldn’t think twice about putting me in my place. I might understand that this is a style of clothing and I have nothing against that, but to say that this is the “Latino” style that is not ok. I’m peruvian and very proud of it, but my clothes has nothing to do with that. I can wear anything I like, it can be preppy or baggy or casual, whatever I see I like I’ll wear and not because I wear a shirt from Abercrombie and Fitch I’m trying to be “white” or I’m less latina. My question is, who created this website?
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 10:59 am ¶
Afro-Taina Dominican wrote:
You end this piece by writing “being Latina is in our genes.” Latinidad does not run in my genes, but the blood of Spanish conquistadors who colonized my island, brought in slaves, annihilated the indigenous population, and deceived us of Hispaniola to think there are more differences than similarities between us and those who were colonized by the French (my Haitian brothers and sisters).
I am a Dominican, not “Latino” and not from “Latin America.” What are these terms but political projects aimed at maintaining the social, cultural, and economic power at the hands of those descended from those Spanish who exploited us. While I may speak the same language as a mestizo from Mexico, is our commonality nothing more than an anachronistic attempt at reliving colonialism? At perpetuating the perverse desire that we are part of a hemispheric brotherhood united under the banner of white, Spanish descent? We must be critical. “Latino/Hispanic” is not my identity. “Latin America” does not exist; it is imaginary, real only in the minds of those who take the realities of the status quo as just and true scripture. “Latin America” is not a geographic identity like those of other landmasses; it is a construction uniting us in a 19th century creation: “Latin Americanness.” While my heart is with all those oppressed in the Caribbean and the Americas, I long for the day when “us Latinos” open up our eyes and realize that these terms homogenize our nations, push black and indigenous peoples to the periphery, and maintain a destructive colonial legacy: the Iberian control of our minds.
much luv,
progressive decolonial unity
ps
i hope whoever reads this post peeps the idea of latin america by walter mignolo
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 11:27 am ¶
locked wrote:
i went to the site and from a glance it says “chicano” all over it. lol. so does the picture too. lol. totally can’t imagine a Puerto Rican in the mix. hehe
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 12:49 pm ¶
Monie wrote:
I’m African American and live in California, so I’m pretty up on Chola style and I love it. That pic, as you note, is not Chola anything. Lol
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 1:26 pm ¶
Angel H. wrote:
Something that made me cringe about a little about all of this:
Brown Pride is the name of a gang.
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 3:42 pm ¶
Ron wrote:
Afro-Taina Dominican -
You need a blog to enlighten us all especially us African Americans regarding these dynamics.
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 4:02 pm ¶
Kirk Van Irvin wrote:
When I was in the Navy, I got to talk with all sorts of Latinos, and It was an educational experience.In talking with them, they preferred the term Latino over Hispanic , as long as you understood there are different subcultures (i.e Tejanos, Chicano, Puerto Rican).
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 4:08 pm ¶
Anonymous wrote:
@ Afro-Taina Dominican
“Latin America” does not exist; it is imaginary, real only in the minds of those who take the realities of the status quo as just and true scripture. “Latin America” is not a geographic identity like those of other landmasses; it is a construction uniting us in a 19th century creation: “Latin Americanness.”
Beautifully put.
I could swap out “Latin America” for “Middle East” and that shit would still be true. (Get a couple drinks in us and we Arabs will say “Middle” East? Middle of what? We are West Asian!) It is an ideological paradox, isn’t it? How can you be “from” a place that does not exist?
I am going to quote the hell out of you.
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 4:20 pm ¶
Joseph wrote:
Whoops. Anonymous (#10) is me. Sorry.
…I gotta stop doing that.
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 4:59 pm ¶
meep wrote:
The clothing makes absolutely no sense to me. I personally don’t like the chola clothing stuff because it reminds me of grade school, when I was picked on by cholitas for not being Mexican enough.
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 6:38 pm ¶
eric daniels wrote:
I love Cholo and Chola culture, considering that Juxtapoz usually posts an article on West Coast Chicano culture with it’s artists like Joker ,Alameda and a few others, but I think with this venture they are trying to “crossover” into mainstream culture like Hip- Hop in the 90’s with the baggy pants in which it has many meanings. it is not just from prison culture but in late 80’s early 90’s House culture they wore baggy pants and boots also.
As an artist an outsider will never get into a culture totally and will use the most simplistic things that will appeal to the base needs of white american midwest consumers (who buy most of the appreal) and ignore the wonderful Chicano youth culture that has been passed down like Zoot Suits, Lowriders that go back at least 60 years.
It was weird watching Jack Nicholson, Ray Manzerek and Lou Adler wearing Phat Farm clothing Alex, but it is the mainstreaming of Mexican culture.
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 6:54 pm ¶
Slush wrote:
@Afro-Taina Dominican
Yeah really good points and I second the others in appreciating your eloquence on it!
A couple thoughts in response – I think racism/imperialism is not the only reason for that kind of regional identity grouping. Europeans, the historical non-race who get to name everything, also have a regional identity and consciousness, on top of local or national identity, so for them to see other regions as having some kind of broader unity seems logical and even arguably could be more equalizing than imperialist. Granted they did not believe in equality at the time, and it was all a product of colonialism and inability to distinguish other peoples, and just racism, all as you said. But abstractly it might not be so uneven. I think people like those kinds of alliances because it makes them more comfortable with others from relatively far away, even if it’s a made up connection. It does give people more social and political power that they might otherwise have. I mean, there are a lot of downsides I’m leaving out here, believe me I know – but I there can be positives to a ‘Latin@’ or ‘African’ or ‘European’ or ‘Asian’ identity too.
Although – do white Americans have any such grouping?
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 8:44 pm ¶
Genevieve wrote:
I wouldn’t shop from a website called BrownPride.com anyway. I would think it was full of obnoxious t-shirts…
@ IKnowSomething & Afro-Taina Dominican: YOUR POSTS ROCK MY WORLD.
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 11:37 pm ¶
Genevieve wrote:
@ eric daniels
Phat Farm isn’t Mexican…
And Zoot Suits weren’t exclusively Mexican, either…
Posted 16 Jun 2008 at 11:42 pm ¶
IKnowSomething wrote:
@ Kirk: Hispanic implies that we are descended from Spain and not “Latin America”. Personally, I just like to stick with saying I’m Multi-ethnic, but born American.
Posted 17 Jun 2008 at 12:18 am ¶
Lakergrrl wrote:
“we definitely think Chicano culture has been an asset to the Latino community at large but, you know…” Okaayy… I’m not even gonna touch that.
But for the love of Aztlan, people. The Brown Pride movement has mostly been a Mexican American Civil Rights Movement (e.g. Brown Berets, MALDEF, MEChA). Not a “Latino” movement. Ergo,brownpride.com even though they do have “latino” labeled products, appeals mostly to CHICANOS. So, if you don’t know what a Firme Hyna is (what the shirt says), then your genes probably don’t match . But mine do, and I’m happy to rock my Firme shades along with my custom Firme Dodgers hat.
Posted 17 Jun 2008 at 9:43 am ¶
eric daniels wrote:
Genevieve, I know that, and I also know that zoot suits aren’t Mexican culture either but Phat Farm(which is black) like Brown Pride is marketing their culture for mass consumption like Karl Kani, FUBU, and other minority companies who marketed themselves as street fashions for that mainstream auidence.
Posted 17 Jun 2008 at 9:31 pm ¶
Jorge wrote:
So these guys beat everyone to the domain name. Tough cookies. Would everyone complain if they were from another country or Guatemalan-American, etc.? Probably.
As eric mentioned, they have products to sell and an image that goes along with it. But not just to white folk. It can appeal to that nice middle class mexican-american kid who wants to rebel after the takes off the school uniform. Or I can see latino guys / gals strutting around college in those clothes in order to show their true “urban” bona fides.
I guess I just don’t see what the big deal is. Its just a website. Its just clothes. No one’s stamping brownpride.com or FIRME on our foreheads (gracias a Dios).
Posted 17 Jun 2008 at 9:35 pm ¶
Mari wrote:
As a Chicana from Las Vegas who went to school in LA, I know first hand that there are multitudes of differences among those of us who are labeled “Latino.” No two people are the same, so why should all people who have Spanish blood or hail from a Spanish-speaking nation be consolidated into one huge group? The same thing goes for all those “Asians” out there, who are even more diverse in terms of ethnic groups, religion, language, nationality, history, etc. The answer is that it is easier for us to be summed up so vaguely than to acknowledge and investigate each other’s uniqueness.
I highly doubt that the folks behind brownpride.com are implying that all “real Latinas/os” must rep their merchandise, or that not doing so detracts from one’s Latinidad. I agree that they’re likely only trying to broaden their marketbase to include people across the country. Alex, you don’t have to adopt a “chola” or hard-ass style to be considered a Latina in my eyes. I personally have dabbled in a number of styles growing up, but I am sure of my identity no matter what I’m wearing. If we all dressed or acted the same, it would be creepy.
@ Afro-Taina Dominican & Lakergrrl:b Thanks for keeping it real and insightful…
Posted 18 Jun 2008 at 4:04 am ¶
Lakergrrl wrote:
Yeah for Mari! ^_^
@Genevieve & eric : the word zoot (for zoot suit) came from pachuco slang . so while not mexican, it is mexican american.
Posted 18 Jun 2008 at 1:14 pm ¶
Mike wrote:
One thing you people do not understand is how Chicanos feel. We feel that we aren’t welcomed into America because of people like you other “Latinos” and other races mock us and call us gangbangers, low lifes, etc. We feel unwanted by REAL Mexicans because they think we are “white” for speaking English. Chicanos have there own style just like you all do and that shouldn’t make anyone different from one anther. We always have struggled with situations like these. We are not gangsters, there are some that are wannabe gangsters and that’s it. Just because a white man is in the KKK doesn’t mean that the white dude next door is a freakin racists. Know what I mean?
Posted 24 Jan 2009 at 3:24 am ¶
gwen azazelila wrote:
a credit to chicano culture is trend making within chicano community since 1920’s starting with baggy pants in the
1920’s then lowering of car in the late 1930’s,
then zoot suits in the early 1930’s.
then came:
greased hair in the 1940’s.
pendleton shirts in the 1950’s.
then lowrider bicycles 1960’s
ext. it just go on.
all thies trend came from chicano gangsters. chicano culture is gangster cholo culture or chicano gangster culture
all started before anyone as a trend and creation.
by the way pachucos were the first
street subculture to exist in the world
remember street subculture not culture
then came the hotrod muscle car days then
then hippies, then heavy metal, then hip hop ext
.
Posted 03 May 2009 at 3:53 am ¶