DISPELLING THE MALE ONLY MYTH: CHICANAS AND CALO
Existing primarily throughout the Southwest in urban and rural areas, the Chicano1 com munity is heterogeneous, complex, and dynamic. Within this macroscopic entity there exist various subcultures such as the Pachucos. This subculture is characterized as having its own ethos, lifestyle, and even mode of dress, and it is this group which will be the primary focus of this study. The Pachuco is especially noted for possessing a unique value system and language.2 This language has been classified by sociolinguists as "calo" or "pachuco Spanish."3 Since the 1940s, the members of this subculture have been the focus of numerous studies dealing with the sociological as well as the linguistic aspects of this group. In addition to the diverse elements that made each study a significant contribution to the database of information on this topic, they have had at least three elements in common: (1) the target groups of study were primarily male Chicano youths; (2) most of the studies were conducted by male researchers; and (3) they con sistently overlooked the woman's role within the pachuco social structure, and more specifically her own linguistic competence as well as her attitudes toward calo. Existing literature and studies on calo and its users do indeed reveal that they have been con ducted from a male perspective with a primary focus on male subjects. There is a noticeable lack of research on the Chicana, and those studies that briefly touched on women as users of calo la beled them as prostitutes, barmaids, or mates of gang members. Because sociolinguistic research concerning the Chicana has remained an untapped source of information, this study has proposed to look at a select group of Chicanas in order to obtain in sight into: