DeLong, C. (2020). The politics of aesthetics: Las Pachucas and the zoot suit.
The source provides an insight into Las Pachuchas’ style preferences and clothing choices. Some prominent subtopics are the origins of their mode of self-expression and a preference for suits, their clothes’ symbolic meanings, and media coverage. The article will be relevant for an essay by shedding light on the role of appearance in minority women’s social protest.
Escobedo, E. R. (2013). 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.
This award-winning book provides a comprehensive overview of Las Pachuchas’ fight for freedom. It covers the movement’s historical roots, relations to World War II, ethnic minorities’ post-war challenges, and multiple attempts to increase their social presence and win the right to self-determination. The source will be helpful in exploring the movement’s history and origins.
Fernández, L. (2014). Recent histories of Mexican American women and men. Reviews in American History, 42(3), 478-484.
This scholarly resource offers a review of scholarly essays by Escobedo and Garcilazo in an attempt to explore the history of the zoot-suit style, sexual and gender-related norms accepted by Las Pachuchas, and the historians’ knowledge of the movement. The source offers both critical remarks concerning writing styles and insightful comments peculiar to some facts’ trustworthiness. In the context of the planned essay, it can support history-related discussions.
Rios, F. (2018). Zoot suit: A correction to American public memory. American Papers, 57-66.
The source, as the title suggests, explores zoot suits as a historical phenomenon. In a fact-based manner, the author seeks to remind the American community of the history of oppression against non-conforming Latino women. The source offers a range of valuable pieces of information for the planned essay, including the discussions of the Sleeping Lagoon Murder.
Walaszek, M. (2021). Las Pachucas: Female Mexican American empowerment through cultural consciousness. Latinx Studies Journal, 12(1), 118-125.
This recent scholarly resource aims to explain Las Pachuchas’ challenging journey to empowerment by means of keeping track of society’s reactions to this cultural phenomenon. The reading thoroughly explores the ambiguity of Las Pachuchas’ social image, including admiration from the other communities and stigmatization or society’s inclination toward reducing them to their ties with gangs. The source will support the essay in terms of discussing the controversy surrounding the movement.