Sunday, April 1, 2012

What is a Yuppie Chicana?

At first glance, you might say it's an oxymoron like resident alien or accurate stereotype. Yuppie is a term that means "young upwardly mobile professional." It first became a pop culture term in the late 1980's, according to the most accurate source on earth, Wikipedia. A Chicano/a is a person of Mexican American descent. There are many nuances both regional and familial to identifying oneself as Chicano/a. In fact, it is an intensely personal decision to allow others to call you or to refer to yourself as Chicano/a. There is no right or wrong when it comes to personal identity even if it means blending contradictory terms.

Yuppie Chicana is a term I have created and coined to describe young female professionals living all over the world that are of Mexican American descent and find themselves successful in both the American and Latino cultures. As of April 1, 2010, there were 50.5 million Hispanics in the United States. The Pew Research Center reported that in 2010 there were 31.8 million Mexican Americans in the United States. All types of companies and industries are talking to us and by us I mean the beautiful, confident, powerful and successful Yuppie Chicana. They want our feedback, our money, our loyalties and attention. It's not a coincidence that I shed a tear or twenty, depending on the time of the month, every time Salma Hayek flashes back to her childhood as her mama calls her into the kitchen to drink her milk. I turn on Dancing with the Stars only to quickly add it to my DVR schedule so I don't miss out on William Levy's sexy moves. If you're still unclear as to what my term Yuppie Chicana represents, maybe this will help.

If you've ever made a wrong turn off the highway only to find yourself in the barrio and instead of getting nervous, you look for a carniceria to take home some carne asada to the hubby, you're a Yuppie Chicana. If you own a Louis Vuitton purse and secretly refer to it is as "Luis," yup, you're a Yuppie Chicana. If your neighbors knock on your door so you can translate for their gardener, you guessed it, you might be a Y.C. If you love going to that group salsa class at your local gym but wonder what the big deal is, you've been dancing to this stuff since you were little, you might qualify as a Yuppie Chicana. Whether or not you are a Y.C. like me, I invite you to subscribe to my blog as I share my opinions and experiences through the lentes of a Yuppie Chicana.

No comments:

Post a Comment


Followers

 
Designed by Munchkin Land Designs • Copyright 2012 • All Rights Reserved