The article introduces the Chicanas and their history. It shows how Chicanas challenged the dominant discourses and arrived at new conceptual frameworks to establish Chicanism. It identifies the fissures in the Chicano community, as a result of which Chicana feminism was born. The Chicana feminist movement is one strong women's liberation movement that understands the triple forms of oppression that Chicanas suffer, and opposes sexism and male chauvinism that are deeply rooted in the Chicano movement. Chicana women try to create their own history, rewrite wrong history and attempt at re-equating power relations within the community on the other side of the border. From being undocumented immigrants, the Chicanas straddle between two cultures and return to their roots through writing, constructing their identity and coming into existence. The complexities of their experiences have led to the reinventing of new identities and means of expressions. Chicanism addresses issues like patriarchy and female sexuality and tries to overthrow male privileges in the family and community by practicing lesbianism. Through this, it tries to disturb the established order of male dominance. Recent Chicana writings have positively contributed to a better understanding of Chicana history and personal experiences.

The study of history is essential to understand studies on women. There is no other alternative to explore the dynamics of gender, class, race and ethnicity; history is the basis. A reading of history helps to generate interest in the field of study, facilitates the formulation of theoretical and methodological insights, and lends itself to scholarly research. Chicano/Chicana studies, though more than a couple of decades old, have not been widely read, accessed and worked upon outside of the community of the Chicanos/Chicanas. This is very unfortunate because a lot of history is subsumed in their works. Women's history is an aspect of social history, accommodating the social structure, economic conditions, institutional changes and values. Chicana history is the history of Mexican women in the US. It has its own historical, demographic and ethnic ramifications.

Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, a Spanish explorer, was the first to discover the Pacific Ocean when he crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513. The Governor of Cuba, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez, sent a fleet of ships under Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba to explore the west in search of treasure, in 1517. The Yucatan Peninsula and other large cities were discovered by Cordoba. The port of Veracruz was established in 1519 by Hernando Cortez, with 600 other men. He defeated the Aztecs in 1521 and built Mexico City on the site of their devastated capital. The Zapotecs, Mixtecs, and other Indian groups were restrained, in the next few years, by Cortez and other conquistadores who conquered Mexico. The colony was named New Spain and was made, in 1535, a viceroyalty. New Spain's territory included Central America, as far south as Panama, and stretched northwest to newly discovered Lower California, and northeast to the Rio Grande. Aztec gold, silver, and gems were found in abundance. It was a site for further exploration, with the availability of new mines. The boundaries of New Spain were extended by the Spanish troops and missionaries. The present states of New Mexico and Arizona were occupied in the early 17^th century; Texas in 1720-1722; and California in 1769-1776. By 1790, the land that is now Nevada, Utah, and part of Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas also fell within the territory governed from Mexico City.

An Introduction to Chicanism, Chicano community, male chauvinism, patriarchy, methodological insights, social structure, economic conditions, institutional changes, Mexican heritage, Latinos/Latinas, Hispano, Hispana, machismo.