A Vision Without Borders: Magonismo and Mexican Women

Abstract

Recent scholarship on the Magonista movement centers around the actions of the male leadership, without fully exploring their acceptance of women’s involvement. In fact, Mexican women, through this intelligentsia movement, were able to challenge social expectations and fully participate in political activism during the Mexican Revolution. As a result, Mexican women understood their political power, and were motivated to create radical movements of their own. In the end, Mexican women practiced a feminism that was concerned with multiple issues that impacted Mexican communities on both sides of the U.S-Mexico border. In this work, I closely analyzed contemporary speeches, correspondence and newspaper articles that have shown the Magonistas’ views on women and the women’s perceptions of themselves as revolutionaries. In essence, my work closely follows the theory of Feminism Transfronterizo, which connects the Mexican women's notion of feminism with their activism against racial discrimination and U.S imperialism, and their involvement in labor organizing. Overall, my work shows that Magonista ideals taught women to fight for their communities experiencing institutional oppressions. Additionally, the Magonistas' support and invitation for women, reinforced the idea of women’s worth as individuals and their potential for leadership. Thus, my work demonstrates that the Magonistas' vision for a more egalitarian society became universalistic with the inclusion of women. More importantly, Mexican women’s participation in the Magonista movement expanded their perceptions of feminism.