US, Miami Autonomy & Solidarity MAS - Being a woman organizer isn?t easy by Luz Sierra

In the following piece MAS member, Luz Sierra, reveals the hardship of being pressured to 
fulfill gender expectations within her household and culture while being politically 
involved in Miami. She shares some strong insights of her analysis of such oppression and 
how it affected women she have met throughout her life. Yet, as a firm believer in direct 
action, she demonstrates and encourage revolutionary women to share their tribulations 
with one another and end their fears and doubts. Therefore, in honor of Women?s History 
Month, we provide you this amazing piece and insist you to read it. ---- By Luz Sierra 
---- This past year I became politically active. I went from being completely unaware of 
the existence of radical politics to doing organizing work in Miami with an anarchist 
perspective. It has been both a rewarding and difficult journey, yet gender seems to haunt 
me wherever I go. I am probably not the first woman to experience this, but I believe that 
I should demonstrate how this is a real issue and provide my personal insight for other 
women to have a reference point for their own struggles.

Being raised by Nicaraguan parents and growing up in Miami?s Latin community, I have 
firsthand experience with the sexist culture in South Florida. Many families that migrated 
from South and Central America and the Caribbean arrived to the United States carrying 
traditions from the 1970s and 1980s. Daughters are raised by women who were taught that 
their goal in life is to be an obedient wife and to devote their time to raising children 
and making their husbands happy. Latin women are supposed to be modest, self-reserved, 
have the ability to fulfill domestic roles and be overall submissive. Some Hispanic 
families might not follow this social construction, but there are still a large number of 
them who insert this moral into their households. For instance, this social construct is 
apparent in the previous three generations of my father?s and mother?s families. My great 
grandmothers, grandmothers, mother and aunts never completed their education and spend the 
majority of their life taking care of their husbands and children. Meanwhile, various male 
members of my current and extended family had the opportunity to finish their education, 
some even received college degrees, and went on to become dominant figures in their 
households. The male family members also had the chance to do as they pleased for they 
left all household and childcare responsibilities to their wives. As the cycle continued, 
my mother and grandmothers attempted to socialize me to fulfill my expected female role. I 
was taught not to engage in masculine activities such as sports, academia, politics, and 
other fields where men are present. Unfortunately for them, I refused to obey their 
standards of femininity. I have played sports since I was 10 years old; I grew a deep 
interest in history, sociology and political science; and I am currently part of three 
political projects. Such behavior has frustrated my parents to the point that I am 
insulted daily. My mother will claim that I am manly, selfish for devoting more time to 
organizing and promiscuous because the political groups I am involved with consist mostly 
of men. My father will state that I am senseless for wasting my time in politics and 
should devote more time in preparing myself to become a decent wife and mother.


Throughout my 20 years residing in Miami, I met women from various countries. In school, 
at work as a certified nursing assistant, and in politics, I have met women from 
Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Cuba, 
Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica, Nepal and the Philippines who share similar stories. Each one 
of them revealed how they are oppressed at home. They are forced to conform to gender 
roles and follow traditional standards of being a woman. Some have tried to deviate from 
those roles, yet the pressure from their loved ones is so powerful that they often 
compromise with their families to not be disowned. There are some who are able to fight 
against the current, but consequentially, they are insulted, stigmatized and can sometimes 
go on to develop depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. I myself have experienced such 
emotional meltdowns and still do. I recovered from depression in 2013 after receiving 
therapy for over six months, and I am currently battling with social anxiety and low 
self-esteem. Nevertheless, I still manage to maintain my integrity and will continue to do 
so to keep fighting.

Hearing the stories and witnessing the sorrow of all the women who are blatant victims of 
patriarchy has inspired me to keep moving forward as an organizer. Watching my mother be 
passive with my father, witnessing my sisters being forced to display undesirable traits, 
and watching the tears women have shed after sharing their unfortunate stories of living 
under the oppressive rule of male figures has allowed me to turn anger into energy devoted 
to creating a society where women are no longer oppressed. I am tired of having to face 
gender inequality and watching women fall into its traps. We cannot continue to neglect 
this issue and endure these obstacles alone. As revolutionary women, we must take these 
matters seriously and find strategies and solutions to overcome them.

One way to start facing this struggle is by sharing our personal experience with one 
another and recognizing the problems we deal with today. We cannot keep denying and 
repressing our frustration of gender inequality. It needs to be released. How can we 
expect to create a social revolution when we rarely lay our personal tribulations on the 
table? I know it is hard to discuss the issues we face at home, at work or within 
political circles. It is even difficult for me to write this article, but we need to stop 
letting barriers obstruct us. I remember I was petrified when I initially spoke about my 
personal problems with a comrade. I thought she would not understand me and would think I 
was annoying her, but after exposing my story, I soon realized she faced the same 
hardships and abuse too and was sympathetic to my situation. This really transformed my 
life because I thought I always had to wait to talk to my therapist about these dilemmas, 
but I was completely wrong. There are people out there who are willing to listen and 
provide support; it is up to us to reach out to them. I came to understand that gender 
issues still exist and that my hardships are real. Through simple actions like talking and 
building relationships, I believe we can form a collective of people willing to create 
tactics to abolish such oppression. This is how Mujeres Libres formed and created a 
tendency within the Confederaci?n Nacional del Trabajo and Federaci?n Anarquista Ib?rica 
that faced gender inequality. They were able to grow in numbers and seize the power to 
fight in the forefront of the Spanish Revolution. This could be achieved today if we place 
our hearts and minds to it. Many of us might say that our current social setting and 
capacity will make that impossible, but how would we know if we have not tried yet? This 
is why I encourage all revolutionary women to stop secondguessing themselves and fight. 
Let?s end the silence now and begin to form the solidarity that is needed.