Female Oppression in Erika L Sanchez’s I am not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Abstract

This study is entitled “Female Oppression in Erika L Sánchez I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Novel.” The topic discussed in this study is the oppression of female experienced by the main character in the novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (2017). The aim of this study is to analyze the issue of oppression and the main character resistance against oppression in the novel. The novel centers on a Mexican-American teenager, Julia Reyes, who grew up with her parents, who have always been over-protective of her in Chicago. Julia's mother gives her even less freedom after her 22-year-old sister died when she was hit by a bus. Julia becomes increasingly oppressed and emotional as her mother removes even more of her freedoms, then Julia’s parents sent her to visit relatives in Mexico to get rid of her depression and Julia’s depression improves with counseling and medication. The method used in this thesis is a qualitative descriptive method. The primary data of this study was taken from the novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. Meanwhile, the data were analyzed through feminist theory using the Five Faces Oppression theory by Iris Marion Young (1990). There are two objectives in this study; to show the issue of oppression and to analyze how does the main character resistance against the oppression. The results of this study are the main female character gets five faces of oppression, the five oppressions are classified in several forms; marginalization, exploitation, powerlessness, violence, and cultural imperialism. However, at the end of the story, the main female character managed to fight back and bravely fought for her rights so that she could become a writer and make peace with her mother.

Keyword: female oppression, five faces oppression theory, iris marion young.