Amidst the rise of the civil rights, feminist, and queer rights movements, the Chicano revolution was born. Focused on fighting for equal opportunities for both Hispanic immigrants and Hispanic-Americans, the movement priotitized activism towards voting rights, political recognition, farm labor regulation, and equality in education.
Women such as Dolores Huerta, Francisca Flores, and Martha Cotera fought alongside men to drive the movement forward. However, they, alongside other Chicana activists, often faced pushback from both men working within the cause and white feminists- the men rejecting them for their sex and the feminists rejecting them for their race.
This led to the dichotomy of Chicanas in the movement, some rejecting feminist acts and referring to themselves as loyalists, believing that fighting for abortion rights, equality for women in education, and the abolition of traditional marriage roles was inherently against the core of the movement. Others believed that there could be a balance of the traditional Chicano cause and a new feminist ourlook, however the rejection they faced forced them to form a seperate Chicana Feminist movement entirley, as the culture of the Chicano Movement restricted women from rising to high enough positions to instill a feminist agenda.