Chicana

American  

[chi-kah-nuh, -kan-uh] / tʃɪˈkɑ nə, -ˈkæn ə /

Or chicana

adjective

1. of or relating to female Mexican Americans or their culture.

   a conference on Chicana issues.

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noun

1. a Mexican American girl or woman.

Etymology

Origin of Chicana

First recorded in 1965–70; from Mexican Spanish, feminine of Chicano

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Chicana

Such posthumous recognition was also in store for the late portraitist Aguilar, who, between the 1980s and 1990s, pushed the boundaries for Chicana lesbians and other queer communities of color.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

For the artist Valdez — whose photographic work is displayed on the gallery’s red wall — being a Chicana photographer in the 1970s and 1980s presented challenges within the city’s fast-growing immigrant community.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Valdez was the only Chicana artist in the Asco collective, an avant garde performance group that formed in East L.A. in 1972.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

She said she chose to specialize in Indigeneity in the Latina community after being drawn to powerful Chicana activists, whose stories and struggles inspired her first book, “¡Chicana Power!”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2025

“I’m not as cool as Janet Jackson,” the Chicana and Chicano studies professor said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2025