Gloria Anzaldúa was an incredibly influential feminist, queer theorist, and scholar whose compilation of feminist works by radical women of color, This Bridge Called my Back, includes her critically acclaimed essay “La Prieta,” which chronicles Anzaldúa’s journey of coming to terms with her multiple identities. In this particular piece, Anzaldúa writes a pivotal statement: “I am a wind-swayed bridge, a crossroads inhabited by whirlwinds." (205) This metaphor implies how Anzaldúa feels as if she is stuck in a space in-between identities, and instead of fitting into society’s distinct boxes, she lies somewhere in the middle. The central theme of this essay is the idea of how one can navigate their life under the guise of multiple identities. Gloria Anzaldua explores this theme by recounting her own life …show more content…
For instance, Anzaldúa recalls a time in which two men yelled homophobic slurs at her brother and his partner on their first anniversary, to which she replies, “and they had to be Latinos.” (206) This is a prime example of two of Anzaldúa’s identities – her Latino and queer identities – at a clear collision. She wants to be able to support her fellow Latinos, however, when it is them who are threatening her queer identity, she feels ashamed and confused. However, she comes to terms with her conflicting identities by comparing herself to a “spider woman” with “one foot on brown soil, one on white, one in straight society, one in the gay world, the man’s world, the women’s, one limb I the literary world, another in the working class, the socialist, and the occult worlds.” (206) Through this way of viewing herself, it can be clearly seen that Gloria Anzaldúa has multiple moving parts that make up her identity, and each part is just as important as the