The Woman in the Zoot Suit

The Woman in the Zoot Suit: Gender, Nationalism, and the Cultural Politics of Memory is a book by Catherine S. Ramírez. It digs into the participation of Mexican-American women in the zoot suit culture of the 1940s and examines the figures of the Pachuca and pachuco in Chicano cultural production since the 1960s. Ramirez aims to reinterpret the past. Ramirez pulls from a large selection of cultural artifacts as well as primary and secondary data, this data describes the experiences of Pachucas, women zoot suiters from the 1940s and 1950s, and it reconstructs the historical and iconic figures in Mexican American history. Women were barely acknowledged in later Chicano movement narratives. Ramirez investigates the absence of women in scholarly and artistic works; she claims that both wartime U.S. culture and the Chicano movement rejected Pachucas' presence in the 1940s because they threatened gender roles. Ramírez claims that pachucas challenged dominant notions of Mexican American and Chicano identity, and how seeing an unseen figure can reveal a lot about history making, nationalism, and resistant identities. A lot of the representation of women partaking in the zoot suit era has never been presented in history, The Woman in the Zoot Suit is the first book focused on Pachucas.

Chapter 1: Domesticating the Pachuca

Chapter one tries to reinsert women into narratives of Mexican American cultural identity, community, and history. This chapter talks about the Sleepy Lagoon incident, which put Mexican American Zoot Suiters into the spotlight. In the Sleepy Lagoon incident, a man was murdered in August 1943 in a brawl. Twenty-two young men, the majority of Mexican descent, were convicted for the crime. The sleepy lagoon event was described with only men partaking in the event, eclipsing the participation of women. Two girls were the ones who found the body of the man that was murdered, and three girls were held as suspects. There were several other girls and women that were involved in the case but are not noted in history. These young zoot suit women were forced to testify against their neighbors, friends and boyfriends. About five of these young girls were sentenced and sent to the Ventura School for Girls, a youth authority correctional facility known for having cruel disciplinary measures. After about six months the girls were released, though they stayed wards of the state until they turned twenty-one. These young zoot suit women were not held responsible for the [...] but were found guilty of being a distress to society. They were punished for hanging out with "bad men" and causing trouble in their community. This chapter also discusses the Zoot suit riots and the involvement of Pachucas in this historical event. Much of the information that is available about the riots disregards the involvement of women. Ramirez’s aim is to show that Pachucas also took part in these events and left their marks in history.

Chapter 2: Black Skirts, Dark Slacks, and Brown Knees

Chapter two aims at describing the wartime Pachuca style politics. It aims to display the zoot subculture in clothing, hair and make up, and the expression of difference through the style. It aims to form an analysis of gender and women in youth culture. The way that women dressed during this time period is very important because it stands out from other styles and it mimics the style their male counterparts upheld during this time as well. The way they dressed was a "political statement" that defeated all odds and at times made them a target in society because the difference in their attire. The Mexican American woman zoot suit, wore V-neck sweaters or a long shouldered coat, a knee-length pleated skirt, fishnets or bobby socks, platform heels or saddle shoes, dark lipstick, and a bouffant. She put on the same style of zoot suit that her male counterparts wore. In the 1940s Pachucos and Pachucas represented a new generation of Mexican American youth and created a new look. Although a lot of their attire was similar each Pachuca added their own style and exemplified to better fit them. They way Pachucas dressed caused for authorities to closely monitor their activities just to make sure that they would not act out of norm. This chapter also talks about how the Pachuca style has influenced other styles that have risen and has also been appropriated by today's celebrities.

Chapter 3: Saying "Nothin'": Pachucas and the Languages of Resistance

In this chapter, Ramirez presents us with a critical analysis by examining the theme of pachucas and language. Ramirez refers to this as a stylistic element of wartime Pachuquismo: language and speech. Ramirez talks about how the Pachuca emerges herself as a clever manipulator of several languages: English, Spanish, and Pachuco slang. In order to highlight the tensions and complexities that the Pachucas were experiencing at this time, Ramirez draws from historical events like the Chicano Movement and connects it to struggles of identity, gender, culture, language, and resistance. Similarly, she compares how the pachuco slang language known as (calo) mirrors their African American counterparts who spoke jive. Ramirez inquiry on Pachucas and the language of resistance is mostly revealed through models of transcripts, songs, and other texts that she includes throughout chapter three. She reveals how pachucas adopted the coolness and hipness which were almost always associated with male youths. Her example on the zoot suit was also used as a tool for Chicanas to show signs of difference and opposition to the status quo. The zoot suit generally consisted of a long coat and skirt or pair of billowing trousers. Although pachucas created their own style of dressing and their own way of speaking as a way to show resistance towards oppressive spheres, the given political climate at that period of time portrayed them negatively and connected them with [...], drugs, and violence with sources like the media. Indeed, articles on pachucas and pachucos (and Mexican youth in general) that appeared in newspapers during the 1940s showed a negative image of them. Ramirez presents us with the case of People v. Zammora (the Sleepy Lagoon trial transcript), an event that took place in Los Angeles on the night of August 1 and in the early morning of August 2, 1942, which involved two fights and the body of twenty-two-year-old Jose Diaz death. She talks about how in this case Pachuca women regain their agency as Bertha Aguilar (a witness) chooses to purposefully not testify and instead she chooses to remain silent because she does not want to implicate her Mexican American male friends in the [...] of another Mexican American youth.

Chapter 4: La Pachuca and The Excess of Family and Nation

In this chapter, Ramirez seeks to understand how the Chicano Movement (1960s–1970s), with its emphasis on Chicano cultural nationalism and opposition to imperialism and racism—interpreted la Pachuca and el Pachuco. She focuses on the importance of the media portrayal and the written work by scholars and artists during such historical events like the Chicano Movement which lead to major influence on the interpretation and portrayal of la Pachuca and el Pachuco. Ramirez talks about a generational rift occurring within the pre-movement and post-era writers and how cultural production creates, nurtures, sustains, and transforms collective memory over time. Ramirez acknowledges that the visual representation of pachuca females was not the norm of what a female lady like should be through a decidedly heterosexual political climate. Ramirez notes that pachucas sometimes dressed in masculine attire and in other non-traditional styles, therefore, they became symbolic of all so-called aberrant female figures, thereby referring to her as a hyper masculine or butch lesbian. In this chapter, Ramirez challenges the portrayal of female pachucas. Ramirez challenges the dominant view on how a lady like supposed to look like. Indeed, Ramirez challenges traditional ideas of masculinity and how la Pachuca was not embraced by the Chicano cultural nationalist, while el pachuco was. Ramirez talks about the concept of La Raza which can be commonly referred and connected to the family within the Pachuco experience. Ramirez complicates notions of heterosexuality and the norms within the family. She unveils how female pachucas played a critical role in such historical event and that through a critical lens we can understand how female pachucas can be a model to empower future chicana generations. Ramirez provides us with Las Tres Marias (The Three Marys) depicted in Christian art for their deep faith and commitment to Jesus Christ, and how they came to serve as role models in a revolutionary way. In this case, the Pachuca is no longer the other but instead takes agency and control over he own sense of self-identity. By being placed in a heterosexual platform, yet still choosing to dress, talk, and maintain a sense of one's own creation of identity, la Pachuca develops a sense of self-empowerment and a sense of self agency. La Pachuca represents a new paradigm for understanding sexuality, nationalism, and cultural resistance.

References

• Escobedo, Elizabeth R. (2007). 'The Pachuca Panic: [...] and Cultural Battlegrounds in World War II Los Angeles'. The Western Historical Quarterly.
• Ramirez, Catherine S. (2009). The Woman in The Zoot Suit. Duke University Press.
• Ramirez, Catherine S. (2006). Saying "Nothin'": Pachucas and the Languages of Resistance." Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/frontiers/v027/27.3ramirez.html
• Ramos. Lisa Y. (2010). "She's Stylin': La Pachuca, Chicana Resistance, and the Politics of Representation." Reviews in American History. Project MUSE. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/reviews_in_american_history/v038/38.3.ramos.html