CLS 1200 #6
Spring 2021
Essay Assignment
The Purpose
The purpose of the essay assignment is to analyze the experiences of Chicana/o Latina/o LGBTQ
people.
The Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate an understanding of how social problems impact Chicana/o Latina/o individuals.
2. Ethically integrate selected sources into their writing.
3. Clearly articulate the selected sources through writing.
Materials Needed
The readings of Ruby Bracamonte and Laura M. Esquivel.
Due Date
Friday April 30, 2021 by 11:59pm.
Instructions (The Essay Outline)
Complete the essay assignment by following the entire outline below. The paper is worth 30
points.
The Prompt: Explain how Chicana/o Latina/o LGBTQ activists Ruby Bracamonte and Laura
M. Esquivel pursued social justice efforts to create an equitable society.
Paragraph 1: Introduction and Ru
ic (3 points)
1. Begin by explaining to the reader what the paper is about (the thesis). Make sure the thesis is
aligned with the prompt.
(1 point)
2. Introduce the sources that will be referenced in the paper to support the thesis. (Ruby
Bracamonte and Laura M. Esquivel). (1 point)
3. Paragraph must be a minimum of five sentences. (1 point)
Paragraph 2: The police transphobic insensitive feelings (Ruby Bracamonte, 3 points)
Paragraph 3: Ruby advocating against violence. (Ruby Bracamonte, 3 points)
Paragraph 4: The City Council initiative for a transgender shelter (Ruby Bracamonte, 3 points)
Paragraph 5: Transgender Equality or Transgender Advocacy Coalition does not represent “your
average transgender.” (Ruby Bracamonte, 3 points)
Paragraph 6: A feeling of familia/family with GLLU. (Laura M. Esquivel, 3 points)
Paragraph 7: The L.A Gay and Lesbian Center not hiring Del Martinez as ED. (Laura M.
Esquivel, 3 points)
Paragraph 8: The feminist/separatist consciousness that helped form Lesbianas Unidas/ United
Lesbians. (Laura M. Esquivel, 3 points)
Paragraph 9: Laura’s greatest legacy (Laura M. Esquivel, 3 points)
Paragraph 10: Conclusion and Ru
ic (3 points)
-Your almost done, lets wrap it up.
-Provide your own personal feedback about Ruby Bracamonte and Laura M. Esquivel’s efforts to
create an equitable society. (2 points)
-Paragraph must be a minimum of five sentences. (1 point)
Body Paragraph Ru
ic (3 points scale)
1. Paragraphs must be a minimum of five sentences. (1 point)
2. Paragraphs must include citations, the last name and the co
ect page number.
(1 point)
3. Paragraphs must articulate accurate context. (1 point)
Essay Assignment Checklist
1. Complete the essay outline.
2. Include a creative title.
3. No cover page necessary.
4. Essay must be typed, double space, with 12 font letters. These are the basic rules of the MLA
format.
5. All paragraphs must be at least five sentences.
6. Paragraphs 2-9 must include the cited pages.
7. Only provide accurate context.
8. Students can write as the first person (optional)
9. Proofread your paper to co
ect minor grammar e
ors.
10. Make sure to complete the entire essay outline. (organization)
11. The essay assignment submission portal will be in week 14 module. Submit your paper in a
word document or pdf.
Criteria For Success
The essay is a high-stake assignment worth 30 points. Complete the essay outline and follow the
u
ics.
"My Story Is Really Not Mine": An Interview with Latina Trans Activist Ruby Bracamonte
"My Story Is Really Not Mine": An Interview with Latina Trans Activist Ruby Bracamonte
Author(s): Sharon Doetsch-Kidder and Ruby Bracamonte
Source: Feminist Studies, Vol. 37, No. 2, RACE AND TRANSGENDER STUDIES (Summe
2011), pp XXXXXXXXXX
Published by: Feminist Studies, Inc.
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Is Really Not Mine":
An Interview with
Latina Trans Activist
Ruby Bracamonte
Sharon Doetsch-Kidde
Ruby Bracamonte is a Latina trans activist and national spokesperson on issues oj violence
against transgender people. She grew up in El Salvador in a middle-class family that became
working class after her parents' divorce, when she was seven or eight. Her father was an elec
trician, and her mother worked in a factory. She lived with her mother after the divorce, hut he
father continued to pay for her to attend an international school, where she studied English. She
fled El Salvador in 1986, at the age of sixteen, after surviving kidnapping and gang rape. With
more than thirty other Salvadorans, she traveled to Mexico with a guide, then spent a few days
waiting in a house in Tijuana. She was awakened in the middle of the night, packed with a
group of people into the hack of a truck, and driven to Los Angeles. A family friend bought he
a ticket to the Washington, D.C., area with money Bracamonte's father had sent. There, she
stayed in Maryland with family friends, who received money from her parents.
Bracamonte paid a lawyer to help her apply jor rejugee status after she a
ived in 1986.
A few years later, she realized she did not have legal status and was told the government neve
received an application for her. She received temporary immigration status, and, after the 1991
settlement of the American Baptist Churches v. Thornhurgh lawsuit, she obtained a green card
and was granted permanent resident status under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central
Relief Act of 1997.'
In the Washington area, Bracamonte worked a number oj low-wage jobs and jocused on
learning English. At the time, she thought of herself as a feminine gay boy and went on dates
with gay men. After meeting a transgender woman, she started to realize that she wanted to be
Feminist Studies 37, no. 2 (Summer XXXXXXXXXXO 2011 by Sharon Doetsch-Kidde
441
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442 Sharon Doetsch-Kidde
"something more" than a feminine gay boy. She started to cross-dress and perform in drag
shows, winning the Miss El Salvador pageant in 1999. Then she became known as Ruby and
"just didn't go back" to being a man.
Bracamonte has been involved with local support groups for Latinajo transwomen and gay
men as well as the national Latina Transgender Leadership Summit. She has advocated with
the Metropolitan Police Department and other Washington, D.C., agencies for better treat
ment of trans people. In 2003, she gained national attention speaking out against violence afte
the murder of her friend, Bella Evangelista. She helped build Washington's Latin@s en
Accwn into an established nonprofit community organization and participated in the creation of
Unid@s, a national Latinajo LGBT organization. With all of her public speaking and organ
izing, however, the activism that means the most to Bracamonte is the personal support she
provides to those who are "really marginalized" even within the trans community, those who are
homeless, sex workers, addicts, or HIV positive, those she calls her "daughters." I interviewed
Ruby Bracamonte in Washington, D.C., in three sessions, on October 6, 18, and 25, 2004, as
part of a larger project collecting oral histories of activists who work at the intersections of race,
class, gender, sexuality, disability, and nation.
—Sharon Doetsch-Kidde
Ruby Bracamonte: I was born in 1970 in a subu
of San Salvador in El
Salvador. Went to school there, finished high school. I had some uncles
who were politicians, and there was an incident where they kidnapped
some of the members of the family, including me. After that, my family
decided that it wasn't safe for us to be there. I was sixteen.
Sharon Doetsch-Kidder: What do you remember about the kidnapping?
R.B.: I had two uncles that were politicians, and they had some influence
in the political arena. Somehow [the gue
illas] looked to me and anothe
cousin of mine to have us go back and forth and give information. Then
they kidnapped us and, unfortunately, I got the short end of the stick. 1
was raped by like seventeen people in that particular group. Eventually I
had to admit that 1 wanted to be part of that group, so then, I was released,
because according to them I was a member of that group. But I wasn't; I
just wanted to be free. Then we left. It all happened just in about a week. I
don't talk too much about it. That part is tough.
S.D.: What was your life like before that?
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Sharon Doetsch-Kidder 443
R.B.: It was very good. I had a good family. I had just finished high school. I
was very
ight. My family was very loving. My dad and my mom raised
me to be independent, to do the things that I wanted to do. I remembe
being a leader. Then all of a sudden I was stripped of a normal life. I think
the hardest part that even up to this day I haven't really rationalized is the
incident