Elizabeth R. Escobedo. From Coveralls to Zoot Suits: The Lives of Mexican American Women on
the World War II Home Front. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013. 240 pp.
$34.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-4696-0205-9.
Reviewed by Elizabeth Jozwiak (University of Wisconsin-Rock County)
Published on H-USA (May, 2014)
Commissioned by Donna Sinclair
Beyond Rosie the Riveter
In this well-researched work, Elizabeth R. Escobedo
has made a valuable contribution to the literature on
women in the World War II era. Looking specifically at
Mexican American women, primarily in the Los Angeles
area, she examines women challenging social norms, exploring identity, and making their way economically in
the war years and beyond.
able in war plants, independence, and patriotism. They
were encouraged to join the war effort as part of the
“Americans All” campaign by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (of the Office of War Information), which also promoted the idea with employers. Part of that second mission was rehabilitating the
image of Mexican American women in a press that had
sensationalized the “zoot suit” element of the Los AnUsing archival sources and especially a plethora of geles Mexican American community. Escobedo points
oral interviews, Escobedo builds on the work of Ed- out that whether they were zoot suiters or not, Mexican
uardo Obregon Pagan’s Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon, Race American women found that their fathers’ and brothers’
and Riot in Wartime (2003) and Catherine Ramirez’s The
absence during the war meant gaps in traditional male
Woman in the Zoot Suit: Gender, Nationalism and the Culsupervision and authority. As wage earners, they gained
tural Politics of Meaning (2009). Like the young men of
personal independence and new status in the family hithe barrio, young women also explored elements of style erarchy as providers.
that challenged social norms and brought them the label of delinquents or “pachuca.” Escobedo argues that
One of the recurring themes in the book is the “near
these girls, while showing a “spirit of adventure and in- white” status of Mexican Americans in this era. It
dependence” with their short skirts, makeup, hairstyle, seems that this status could be problematic. For inand even a female version of the zoot suit, threatened stance, in the “Americans All” spirit, there was often
norms within and outside their communities (p. 30). mixing across white/Mexican American lines at wartime
The author clearly demonstrates that these young women dances. However, on the one hand, this characterizawere not simply making a fashion statement, but often tion of “whiteness” caused problems if Mexican Ameriwere, somewhat contradictorily, simultaneously embrac- can women danced with black men. On the other hand,
ing “American” style while venturing outside their segre- on the job, while Mexican Americans were usually not
gated world and consciously defending their racial iden- treated equally to white women, their “near white” statity (p. 132).
tus at least put them in a better position than African
Americans.
Mexican American women, like other “Rosie the Riveters,” became war workers for the higher wages availEscobedo shows that Mexican American women
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were secure in their own ethnic identity. For example, in their relationship with the United Service Organizations (USO), they fought stereotypes while remaining true to themselves. Many Mexican American women
felt that they should be more specifically providing social opportunities for Mexican American servicemen but
hit roadblocks. The USO administration was not receptive to their ideas to serve tacos and other Mexican food
that would let the men feel a taste of home. They always served doughnuts and were not about to change.
The Y Owls (a Young Women’s Christian Association
[YWCA] club for Mexican American girls) worked with
the Coordinating Council for Latin American Youth (an
organization of young Mexican American professionals)
to change this policy. Through diligent efforts and not
taking no for an answer, they prevailed upon the USO
to create a Spanish-speaking USO in the Los Angeles
area. They were able to organize one, which the women
called “Senoritas USO” where they could offer Mexican
food and organize fiestas. To some extent, as Escobedo
notes, they had to “prove” they were ladylike good girls–
fighting the pachuca. stereotype–to win over the authorities. It would have been interesting to find out more
about the young women who were part of the Y Owls.
What made them different from the zoot suit girls or was
there overlap?
Throughout the book, the author showcases Mexican American women as navigating ethnic and gender
traditions, and being agents in their own lives. The
book is mostly limited to looking at the Los Angeles
area, raising the question of whether Mexican American
women’s experiences in other areas were the same. Perhaps the author will expand her study in future work.
Through her use of oral histories, Escobedo has enriched
our understanding of this era and Mexican American
women’s lives. This feature and the book’s readability
make it an attractive resource for undergraduate courses
in women’s history and ethnic/racial history.
If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at:
https://networks.h-net.org/h-usa
Citation: Elizabeth Jozwiak. Review of Escobedo, Elizabeth R., From Coveralls to Zoot Suits: The Lives of Mexican
American Women on the World War II Home Front. H-USA, H-Net Reviews. May, 2014.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=41782
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoncommercialNo Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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