Anzaldúa (1999), "La Conciencia de la Mestiza: Towards a New Consciousness"

Anzaldua (1999) describes people living in an area of negotiation between raced cultures "la mestiza." She sees this position as a dual consciousness that allows la mestiza to navigate between cultures. La Mestiza is a potentially progressive position for Anzaldua (1999). She believes that la mestiza can destabilize the binaries that strengthen White supremacy.

1. La mestiza is produced when one group transfers cultural and spiritual values to another.

Anzaldua (1999) refers to the way in which White American values are spread to Mexican culture. She believes that this spread is changing Mexico's cultural landscape. People in the suppressed culture may choose to realign themselves with the dominant culture in order to survive.

2. Assertion of racial purity strengthens borders. Blending racial and cultural identities can weaken borders.

Anzaldua (1999) argues the cultural blending that can happen when people inhabit both Mexican and American identities can dismantle racial and cultural borders. Since borders are fortified when people reassert their racial and cultural purity, Anzaldua (1999) believes that border can be blurred when racial and cultural purity are dismissed.