René Marqués, Ángel Lozada, and the constitution of the (Queer) Puerto Rican national subject
Titel:
René Marqués, Ángel Lozada, and the constitution of the (Queer) Puerto Rican national subject
Auteur:
Villanueva Collado, Alfredo
Verschenen in:
Centro journal
Paginering:
Jaargang XIX (2007) nr. 1 pagina's 178-191
Jaar:
2007
Inhoud:
In this essay, I explore the subject of the binary homophobia/homosexual desire as a component of the Puerto Rican personal and national masculine subject. I focus on two novels, La mirada by René Marqués and La patografía, by Ángel Lozada, exploring the ways in which both focus on the homosexual subject and conflate it with a national identity. I have approached this material as an informed queer reader, who has tried to find since adolescence positive queer role models in the literature of my country. La mirada has not received the critical scrutiny it deserves. Critics have emphasized its pathological elements without exploring its deep structure, which subverts the surface message. On the other hand, La patografía exposes internalized homophobia as a component of Puerto Rican queer writing and unwittingly buttresses the parameters of heterosexual dominant discourse. My conclusion: our political identity plays a decisive role in our imaginal gender identity.
Uitgever:
City University of New York : Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños (provided by DOAJ)
Tijdschrift beschrijving