There’s no
question that World War II was a catalyst for the cultural reform of all women
in America. Employment opportunities in the defense
industry were unprecedented and drove the exponential increase of women in the
workplace during this period of time.
Our historical readings about women in America
have thus far been predominantly about white American women with some
references to the greater hardships and discrimination of African American
women. Very little has been covered about the experiences of Mexican American
Women besides referencing them as the “other” minority. In From
Coveralls to Zoot Suits, Elizabeth R. Escobedo attempts to broaden our
understanding of the experiences and contributions of Mexican American women
during this liberating wartime era. Using
several archival sources and interviews from second generation women, Escobedo paints
a picture of how Mexican American women dealt with both the opportunity and
conflict of the wartime environment.[1] Escobedo follows the transformation of Mexican American women as they challenge the social and cultural norms of
family and society to establish a new identity for themselves; ultimately
helping to shift the gender and racial ideologies in America.
As a result of
the war, defense companies were experiencing labor shortages and they
increasingly had to broaden their recruiting efforts to include women of color. Escobedo focuses primarily on Los
Angeles due to its rapid industrial growth and the
subsequent migration of workers to the area.
Los Angeles became a multi-cultural
melting pot that included a large Mexican American population. Labor shortages were so severe in 1942 that a
predominantly Euro-American male workforce was transformed virtually overnight to
an “Americans All” workforce.[2] The “American All” campaign was developed by Federal
agencies to draw more women of color, especially Mexican women, into the labor
market by fostering an environment of racial harmony and home-front unity.[3] Federal
leaders called on the media to assist with their efforts of portraying positive
images of Mexicans and recognizing diversity and cultural tolerance. In support of the war effort, the campaign
marketed “nation over race” as a form of patriotism. 
The L.A.
newspapers were in the habit of sensationalizing crime stories that reflected
poorly on Mexican Americans. In many
cases young Mexican Americans, clad in zoot suits, were falsely accused of criminal
activities based on their dress and behavior.
Mexican American women adorned zoot suits “as a way to challenge ideas
of respectability and to assert a distinctive identity.”[4] In many ways, the female “zoot suiters” or
“pachucas” resemble the flappers of the 1920s.
In both cases “the underlying impulse was freedom – from the mores of
the past that required women to keep themselves in check, physically and
emotionally.”[5] However, while the
flappers were considered fun, strong, and free to enjoy themselves, the
pachucas were considered defiant and associated with gang membership and delinquency
and wrongly represented as such by the press. Most of the Mexican American women simply
liked the fashion style of the pachuca
persona and considered it adventurous and liberating like the flappers. While supported federally with the “American
All” campaign, the local negative press was troubling to Mexican American women
and they began to protest and request retractions of negative generalizations
and false statements. Their “contributions
to wartime state gave them legitimacy to raise concerns about the effects of
negative press on troop and civilian morale.”[6]
It was on the
defense production lines that Mexican American women gained national
recognition. As mentioned earlier, the
labor shortages created an opportunity for Mexican American women to fill
positions, gain work-related experience and skills, and earn higher wages that
improved their quality of life. The
Office of War Information (OWI) hired Ignacio Lopez as its Chief of Cultural
Affairs to help fully integrate Mexican Americans in the workplace and
recognize their special contributions through photographic depictions along
with a series of “These Are Americans” radio shows. This media campaign was meant to depict
Mexican Americans favorably, call for acceptance and tolerance, and embrace young
women of Mexican descent as Americans.
Why the focus on
Mexican American Women when there were many other minorities in the workplace
during wartime? While many historical
readings reference Mexican Americans as “other non-whites” or “other minorities,”
Mexican Americans are legally “white.” This legal status was given to them as
part of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.[7] As a result, Mexican Americans were
categorized as white on employment records and afforded privileges and
opportunities over African American women.[8] With an “almost white” look and a legal claim
to whiteness, there was a greater tolerance for Mexican American women in the
workforce and “employers appear to have preferred the ‘racially ambiguous’
Mexican employees to their black counterparts.”[9] Racial ambiguity provided more benefits than
disadvantages for Mexican American Women during World War II.
[1] Elizabeth R. Escobedo, from COVERALLS to ZOOT SUITS:
The Lives of Mexican American Women on the World War II Home Front (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2013), 12.
[2] Escobedo, from COVERALLS to ZOOT SUITS, 75.
[3] Escobedo, from COVERALLS to ZOOT SUITS, 45.
[4] Escobedo, from
COVERALLS to ZOOT SUITS,18.
[5] Gail Collins, America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges,
Helpmates, and Heroines (New York: HarperCollins, 2003), 330.
[6] Escobedo, from COVERALLS to ZOOT SUITS, 70.
[7] Escobedo, from COVERALLS to ZOOT SUITS, 75.
[8] Escobedo, from COVERALLS to ZOOT SUITS, 75.
[9] Escobedo, from COVERALLS to ZOOT SUITS, 97.
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