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Glite Dictionary
👩 Mexican American woman 🧑‍🎨 Mexican American
Chicana

Chicana

3 8.3
A woman or girl of Mexican descent in the United States who sees herself as part of Mexican American culture
  • noun
  • /tʃɪˈkɑːnə/
  • US
translation icon : chicana
  • The strong presence of Chicana writers has further distinguished the present decade of Chicano letters.
  • Chicana writer
  • Chicana novel
  • Chicana scholars

Specifically, Los Angeles makes me proud to be Chicana.

Examples

  • Chicana art and literature, like the writings of Sandra Cisneros, exemplify this stance.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Veronica Rosales, a Chicana, was born in Texas and raised in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • She's a Chicana from Texas running away from the heat.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • A Chicana from Cal State got them to publish my essay on prison reform.

    Bound by Honor (1993)

  • I was once a young, naive Chicana 19-year-old chick from East L.A.

    Blog text (21)

  • What is revealed in the young Chicana's statement is a basic understanding of the U.S. polity, one that is very emotionally charged.

    Academic text (1995)

  • In the year before internment, this Oakland Chicana dated a Nisei neighbor whom she described as "a perfect gentleman."

    Academic text (2003)

  • The creation of MAS, and the Mexican American/Chicana/o educational struggle in Tucson, is part of a larger legacy of the Mexican American/Chicana/o quest for educational justice.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Estela Portillo Trambley, one of the finest Chicana playwrights, has published a collection of four plays, Sor Juana and Other Plays (1983).

    Academic text (1990)

  • Veronica Rosales, a Chicana, was born in Texas and raised in Ciudad Juarez, emphasizing her strong connection to her Mexican heritage.

Synonyms

Mexican-American
vsChicana
  • US
17 3.1

A person who lives in the United States and was born in Mexico or has family from Mexico

is used for women who emphasize Mexican heritage and political activism
Latina
vsChicana
  • US
1 3.3

A woman from Latin America whose family comes from there

is specific to Mexican descent and often linked to cultural activism

Surface Forms

Chicana singular
Chicanas plural

Etymology

Chicana is the name for a Mexican American woman and comes from Chicano, which grew out of Mexicano ('Mexican') and was taken back as a proud identity by Mexican American activists and artists. So calling someone a Chicana often means she identifies with Mexican-American culture and activism.