This research explored the self-concept of Chicanas in terms of their lived experiences and how those experiences influenced the shaping of their identity. It examined the multiple labels Chicanas use to self-identify and the context or situations in which they use specific labels. Moreover, it took into account the influence of gender, ethnicity, language, race, and culture on their concept of self. My study employed interpretive and collaborative research methods and included my own narrative story as part of the analytical process. It draws on a Chicana femenista (feminist) pedagogy that is heavily influenced by an Indigenous perspective as the conduit for the construction and transmission of knowledge. My objectives during the course of the study were to explore the many facets of Chicanas' experiences and challenge prevailing notions about our identity. The chief method for collecting data was interactive, dialogic interviews with five Chicana participants. During the loosely structured interviews, the women were asked to narrate their life stories as they related to the shaping of their concept of self. The women's detailed narratives and personal reminiscences as well as my own provided the data that was analyzed and interpreted to examine Chicana identity. The women were co-participants in "making sense" of the data. They provided guidance, expressed opinions, and helped to construct the meaning of their lived experiences. The results of the interpretation process indicated that culture and the intersecting factors of gender, language, age, ethnicity, and race shaped the participants' concept of self. Hence, their identity was culturally learned and mediated via their perceptions of the world. In turn, their worldview was influenced by the aforementioned factors. The women's narratives also suggested that they used multiple identity labels and that they were contextual. Thus, identity can change or evolve over the course of one's lifespan and through one's lived experiences. As such, Chicana identity is not fixed. As Chicanas we are constructing our own identity rather than allowing it to be imposed by others. Moreover, we are extending the possibility that we continually construct our identity. / Graduation date: 2004

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