Macquiladora Mestizas and a Feminist Border Politics, Essay Example

Main Theme:

• Discussing the role of third world women in reestablishing the new world society of the Mexican community against all the odds of globalization and modernization that the country faces
• Describing the macquiladora mestizas as the new mexicanas who are taking over the Mexican community and reestablishing the definition of the said society in the face of global change.

Major Topics and Descriptions:

Imagining the Border

• The New Mestiza (Anzaldua, 1987): Described as the new political subjects of the Mexican-US community that thrives within Mexico. Identifying themselves as a specific role taker in the community in the course of embracing change and modernity, these women defy the usual course of living that Mexican women adhere to. While traditional women adhere to the idea of the feminine population particularly expected to maintain the home, these New Mestizas [given that they have foreign blood from birth] are specifically considering the process of changing the lifestyle of a regular Mexican woman into becoming involved in the development of the modern community.

1. 1. 1. The new mestizas dissolve the social division imposed by social imagination and political practices between US and the Mexican borders.
      2. The new mestizas set a new course that identifies the border line between US and America to be seams that meets two different worlds together and not as divisions that separate them apart.

• It is deemed that through the existence of the new mestizas, establishing a better political strategy would become possible. Putting meanings to the historical being, physicality and language of the new mestiza, a remarkable growth of political identification is expected to come forth.

The presentation hopes to make a correlative connection between individuality and social reform that specifically intensifies the course of development that the Mexican society hopes to embrace to be able to dissolve the effects of militarism that the United States tries to establish.

The sad truth though is that powerful as the new mestizas could be in representing the status of the Mexican society in parallel with the American community, these women are the docile, unskilled workers often exploited in the industries they are working in.

• Mexico on the Water
• Describes the Mexico on Water factory that where the primary Mexican women under observation in the study work at. The plant manufactures carburetors, electrical components and dashboard gauges (97).
  1. While the company hopes to produce masculine quality products that meet the American standard, they hired women who were noted to be more patient, more detailed and specifically docile in working even in the most uncomfortable environments to complete the hand-based tasks that are operated in the factory.
  2. The policy of employment in the establishment though is that a non-native American must possess a green card and a work permit issued by the American government. Aside from that, no Mexican can replace or at least be appointed over an American official in the ranks of the authorities.

• Women were allowed to work in the plant, but the products they created needed to be masculine enough to define the reputation of the said creations. The relative recognition they get from the market is specifically “masculine” often defined with strength and quality, which is deemed to be opposite from that of a woman’s quality of being docile. [society views women to be weak, hence no quality products are expected to come from them especially if these products are dedicated for masculine use]
• Judith Butler (1993): no references pertain to the idea that labor quality could be identified by gender or physical strength at any point.
  1. ROSALIA: 12 years of working in macquilas, has been promoted to higher position but was highly denied by American coworkers.
     1. She had to work her way through, change her lifestyle and the lifestyle of her children; get a green card and apply for a higher educational degree to be able to accomplish the consideration of her work peers and at least gain their respect that she does deserve the promotion given to her.
  2. CYNTHIA: Quality Engineer-overseers the production of fuel systems
     1. Learned from Rosalia that if she wanted to fit in and be recognized as someone who belonged to the job then she has to adjust her feminine ways.
     2. Standing her ground proved to be one of her personal assets that made her get through the bad days she had in the company and still remain intact in providing heightened performance for the company.
  3. MARY: Supervisor of thirty-five employees in making gauges
     1. She obviously saw how feminism and the activities and acts that goes with it are specifically controlled in the organization’s systems.
     2. Unfair expectations were imposed on women who were untrained to produce quality products and yet the women tired to push through.
     3. While it was the system of operation that the company recognized that caused the problem, the administration imposed that the issue was more gender-based [imposing the women are naturally off-course when it comes to producing quality work]
• Female Contamination

Failure to produce good results presented through the products specifically emancipated failure of the gauge section. Mary mentioned how this has been caused by technical problems and low-training procedures, the administration sticks to the idea that it is because of the incapacity of women to produce good gauges that made the process a failed approach.

Implication of the Chapter on Women, Militarization and Globalization

As observed from MOTW operations and the incidents that happened among three of its women operators, the aspect of militarization [imposing masculine culture in most areas of social concerns including the operation of production facilities] creates a clear identification of the separation of the female and male genders especially when it comes to adhering to the global standard of performance. In the course of women redefining the social identification they have to adhere to, they need to comply with several requirements simply to put their point that women can do as good as men. In the aspect of racial difference, it has been shown herein that Mexican women’s challenge comes in two-fold point which means that besides standing for their capabilities as women, they also have to prove their ground as capable Mexicans who can do as well as their American counterparts.

Obviously, the incompetent way of completing particular parts of the gauges have been strongly imposed as sourced from having female workers in the plant. Even though they know that it was the poor management that should be noted to be at fault, it is evident enough how they are trying to change matters and specifically impose the fault on the women. This imbalance in the process of pointing out the weaknesses of the women and the impeccable effect they are assumed to have on the low-quality result of the products is what is aimed to be further removed from the system if the operation of MOTW. Considerably, it could be observed that somehow it is only through the erosion of this system that the company reputation could be further defined.