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Episode 7 A Perfect Mexican Child: Examining the intersection of Queer and Mexican Identities

Chris Rosas-Soria

calico cat in a Mexican Sombrero while sleeping
My calico cat, Mitchi, in a Mexican Sombrero while sleeping

As a child of Mexican immigrants, Chris experienced various expectations regarding the type of person they were supposed to grow up to be. There always seemed to be certain boundaries not to cross because they were assigned female at birth. Throughout this podcast, Chris uses the method of testimonio to explore attempts to intersect Mexican identity, queer identity, and nonbinary identity. Chris looks at how issues with the Spanish language can influence how identities interact and how having an ever-present family (chosen or biological) can be a great support system through any queer journey. This podcast explores debates over the gender-inclusive terms for nonbinary folks in Spanish, including whether “Latinx,” “Latine,” or another word is the better term for inclusivity for the Latin-Queer community.

University Library · A Perfect Mexican Child: Examining the intersection of Queer and Mexican Identities

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Chris Rosas-Soria

Biography

Chris is a first-generation child of immigrants, who is the first in the family to study at a 4-year university. They use he/they pronouns and identify as trans nonbinary. They are graduating from CSUN in Spring 2021 with a major in Linguistics and a minor in Queer Studies.

Further Reading

Darwin, Helana. “Challenging the Cisgender/Transgender Binary: Nonbinary People and the Transgender Label.” Gender & Society, vol. 34, no. 3, 2020, pp. 357–380. https://csun-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/u60j4s/TN_cdi_crossref_primary_10_1177_0891243220912256

Barbee, Harry, and Schrock, Douglas. “Un/Gendering Social Selves: How Nonbinary People Navigate and Experience a Binarily Gendered World.” Sociological Forum (Randolph, N.J.), vol. 34, no. 3, 2019, pp. 572–593. https://csun-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/u60j4s/TN_cdi_crossref_primary_10_1111_socf_12517

Martin, Marie. Beyond the Binary: How Nonbinary Individuals Challenge Gender and Other Social Constructs, 2020. U of Maryland MA Thesis, Proquest, https://csun-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/u60j4s/TN_cdi_proquest_journals_2512674833