Queer Latinidad: Identity Practices, Discursive Spaces (Sexual Cultures Series)

Rating:
Summary: Latin@s del ambiente meet cultural studies
Review: Professor Rodriguez is trying to answer what phenomena constitute "queer Latinidad" and what do these phenomena signify. Therefore, she analyzes the HIV prevention organizatoin Proyecto Contra SIDA in San Francisco, the political asylum case of gay Brazilian Marcelo Tenorio, and LGBT Latin@ chatrooms. She describes these phenomena as "subjects in process" in order to avoid the traps of essentialism and identity politics but to promote the transgressive and postmodern qualities of the aforementioned events.

Rodriguez makes her knowledge about Latin American history and politics obvious. This book equally mentions Latin@s in the US and Latin Americans outside of it. By mentioning a Brazilian asylee, her Spanish internet lover, the independence debates on Puerto Rico, and Chicano clubs in the Bay Area, Rodriguez proves her commitment to pan-Latinidad. In many books that address racial and sexual minorities, only one gender is featured. Manrique's "Besame Mucho" or Moraga's "This Bridge Called My Back" are examples of that. Rodriguez, however, brings up people of all genders (and there are more than two) here. Further, this book mentions gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and the transgendered equally. Thus, I understand her use of the controversial term "queer." The author is just pretty darn inclusive.

Given the three phenomena she analyzes, the reader can easily tell that Rodriguez is trying to expand the perameters of what is considered cultural studies. She cites critical race legal theory which is surprising because critical legal theorists usually already borrow so many ideas from traditionally-trained academics, like herself, outside of the law. The book is short in page length, yet it still takes quite a while to read. The bibilography is a great guide for works by "queer" academics of color.

Rodriguez is an extroverted, sex-positive lesbian academic similar to Gayle Rubin, Joan Nestle, and (as of late) Lillian Faderman. I think her students will be shocked at how open she is about her sex life in this text. On the back cover of the book, Jose' Quiroga praises her writing. Rodriguez writes in an exhaustive fashion about cultural products just like Quiroga, so I wasn't surprised to see his name here. I don't mean to imply that LatinAs can only imitate their white female or LatinO counterparts; it's just that her influences in this book stand out.

The front cover of the book shows a split papaya (or guava?). She informs us that this is a poster for San Francisco's Proyecto, but its symbolic representation of the female body is quite lesboerotic and reminds me of Georgia O'Keefe's flowers. The front and back covers are red, gold, and purple: a somewhat loud clash of colors. It somewhat reminds me of the Venezuelan flag, but Rodriguez states that she is Cuban-American. I think the vibrant color scheme is meant to represent the ideas of Latin@s as being lively and living in warm climates.

I really liked this book, but I do have to make two warnings. First, the reader should know in advance what this text is. THIS IS A VERY ACADEMIC CULTURAL STUDIES TEXT FROM A PhD. Though Rodriguez proves that she is very knowledgeable about "queer" Latin@ organizing, this book does not answer "How to start a Latin@ LGBT club," "Who's Who Among Gay Latin@s," or "What is the history of Queer Latin@ Activism." Potential readers who assume this book is a repeat of "Compan~eras" or "Chicana Lesbians" will be disappointed.

Additionally, many of Rodriguez's analyses could be interpreted differently. For example, she states that gay Latino academics (like Mun~oz and Quiroga) transgressively "queer" scholarship by discussing more than one medium within the same text. Well, given that homosexuality was the love that dare not speak its name and that the subaltern had no voice (as writers have mentioned in the past), it's not surprising that academics have to glean from what they can find in order to discuss "queer" Latin@ cultural works. What she thinks of as subversive, I think of as a reflection on oppression. Still, this was a great work.

Rating:
Summary: Latin@s del ambiente meet cultural studies
Review: Professor Rodriguez is trying to answer what phenomena constitute "queer Latinidad" and what do these phenomena signify. Therefore, she analyzes the HIV prevention organizatoin Proyecto Contra SIDA in San Francisco, the political asylum case of gay Brazilian Marcelo Tenorio, and LGBT Latin@ chatrooms. She describes these phenomena as "subjects in process" in order to avoid the traps of essentialism and identity politics but to promote the transgressive and postmodern qualities of the aforementioned events.

Rodriguez makes her knowledge about Latin American history and politics obvious. This book equally mentions Latin@s in the US and Latin Americans outside of it. By mentioning a Brazilian asylee, her Spanish internet lover, the independence debates on Puerto Rico, and Chicano clubs in the Bay Area, Rodriguez proves her commitment to pan-Latinidad. In many books that address racial and sexual minorities, only one gender is featured. Manrique's "Besame Mucho" or Moraga's "This Bridge Called My Back" are examples of that. Rodriguez, however, brings up people of all genders (and there are more than two) here. Further, this book mentions gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and the transgendered equally. Thus, I understand her use of the controversial term "queer." The author is just pretty darn inclusive.

Given the three phenomena she analyzes, the reader can easily tell that Rodriguez is trying to expand the perameters of what is considered cultural studies. She cites critical race legal theory which is surprising because critical legal theorists usually already borrow so many ideas from traditionally-trained academics, like herself, outside of the law. The book is short in page length, yet it still takes quite a while to read. The bibilography is a great guide for works by "queer" academics of color.

Rodriguez is an extroverted, sex-positive lesbian academic similar to Gayle Rubin, Joan Nestle, and (as of late) Lillian Faderman. I think her students will be shocked at how open she is about her sex life in this text. On the back cover of the book, Jose' Quiroga praises her writing. Rodriguez writes in an exhaustive fashion about cultural products just like Quiroga, so I wasn't surprised to see his name here. I don't mean to imply that LatinAs can only imitate their white female or LatinO counterparts; it's just that her influences in this book stand out.

The front cover of the book shows a split papaya (or guava?). She informs us that this is a poster for San Francisco's Proyecto, but its symbolic representation of the female body is quite lesboerotic and reminds me of Georgia O'Keefe's flowers. The front and back covers are red, gold, and purple: a somewhat loud clash of colors. It somewhat reminds me of the Venezuelan flag, but Rodriguez states that she is Cuban-American. I think the vibrant color scheme is meant to represent the ideas of Latin@s as being lively and living in warm climates.

I really liked this book, but I do have to make two warnings. First, the reader should know in advance what this text is. THIS IS A VERY ACADEMIC CULTURAL STUDIES TEXT FROM A PhD. Though Rodriguez proves that she is very knowledgeable about "queer" Latin@ organizing, this book does not answer "How to start a Latin@ LGBT club," "Who's Who Among Gay Latin@s," or "What is the history of Queer Latin@ Activism." Potential readers who assume this book is a repeat of "Compan~eras" or "Chicana Lesbians" will be disappointed.

Additionally, many of Rodriguez's analyses could be interpreted differently. For example, she states that gay Latino academics (like Mun~oz and Quiroga) transgressively "queer" scholarship by discussing more than one medium within the same text. Well, given that homosexuality was the love that dare not speak its name and that the subaltern had no voice (as writers have mentioned in the past), it's not surprising that academics have to glean from what they can find in order to discuss "queer" Latin@ cultural works. What she thinks of as subversive, I think of as a reflection on oppression. Still, this was a great work.

Rating:
Summary: Queer Latinidad!
Review: The glistening ripe red papaya on the cover of Queer Latinidad is a suggestive image for a powerful discourse of how identity intersects with sexuality and culture. Focusing on case studies in activism, immigration and cyberspace, Juana María Rodríguez examines queer "latinidad," which is defined beyond geography, language, and history to encompass complexities such as race, legal status and (post)(neo)colonialism. Written from an insider's point of view-the author is a Cuban lesbian activist scholar-this book is full of references to Latin@ lesbian and gay organizations, events, icons, artists, activists, and political issues. While this is in itself significant, Rodríguez furthers her work by giving serious consideration to real-life spaces such as bars and courtrooms and real-life documents such as e-mail messages, flyers, and retablos. She does this with an engaging writing style that is poetic, personal, philosophical and theoretical. Well-documented, the book includes informative notes, an extensive bibliography, and an exceptional index that even has listings for yuca, dildos, and La Lupe. While the central text is written in English, the book includes many passages in Spanish that are immediately followed by the English translation. A valuable contribution to scholarship in cultural studies, queer studies, women's studies, and Latin@ studies, this book is highly recommended.