She is the birthgiver, mother of nature, she is the struggle in her own way.Ĭomandanta Luz Catalina and all the Mujeres of the East Los Angeles Brown Beret Unit We will no longer allow our women to be sexual fantasies and be exploited for their bodies. That being said, we welcome you to provide a true statement of the women within the movement instead of a far fetched sexualized ideal for the appeal of others. We hereby demand that the cover be removed from Streetlow Magazine, and instead invite them to take real photographs of the women within the movement.

When you sexualize our women, you downplay their achievements. They were and continue to be the backbone of any struggle.

The women fought hard for their respectable roles within the movement, where at the time they were only seen as a supportive role to cook to clean and for personal comfort.The mujeres fought hard to be treated with respect and be seen as equals amongst our brothers in the struggle. In the 1960’s women fought hard against not only society, but the male patriarchal system within the Civil Rights movements groups. We the women in the movement are not sexual objects. We the women do not appreciate this false image for the arousal, fetish, or commercialization of our bodies, as well as the movement itself. Brown Berets:Īny form of image that sexualizes women in the movement is not okay and they will absolutely not be tolerated. It would be a necessity to get a complete analysis for our future efforts for liberation. The Brown Berets as a whole have never been given a proper treatment in any histories, and the role of women in the organization have been given even less. They have also struggled internally within the organization with sexism and misogyny, facing the same struggles and abuse as from the dominant culture. Brown Beret chapters today are organized autonomously in different local regions, and has been an organization where women have been prominent in leadership. It also attention to the wider problems of misogyny in this car culture where this would happen.Īs for the Brown Berets, women have long been active in the organization since their formation in 1967 and after.

As the Brown Berets have been a symbol in the Chicano community of resistance and revolutionary struggle, this disrespect caused righteous indignation from actual Brown Berets. Recently one of those magazines, Streetlow, published its latest issue with one of their models wearing a Brown Beret uniform in a sexualized manner. Magazines of the lowrider culture have long used semi-nude models in their features and advertisements to attract more readers.

Topless models by lowriders