Creating discursive space through a rhetoric of difference: Chicana feminists craft a homeland

When Chicana feminists refuse to accept mainstream definitions of themselves and insist that they establish and affirm their own identity, they build a space through discourse. For Chicana feminists, this process is accomplished in three stages. They begin by merely carving out a space within which they can find their own voice. After establishing this space, they begin to turn it into a home where connections to those within their families are made strong. Finally, recognizing their still existing connections to various other groups, Chicana feminists construct bridges or pathways connecting them with others. Such a process allows for the construction of boundaries that establish the Chicana feminist homeland as distinct but are flexible enough to allow for interaction with other homelands.