Modernity and the Nation in Mexican Representations of Masculinity - (New Directions in Latino American Cultures) by H Domínguez-Ruvalcaba

Book Synopsis

This book looks at representations of the male body, sexuality and power in the arts in Mexico. It analyses literature, visual art and cinema produced from the 1870s to the present, focusing on the Porfirian regime, the Post-revolutionary era, the decadence of the revolutionary state and the emergence of the neo-liberal order in the 1980s.

Review Quotes

"In this work, Domínguez-Ruvalcaba has achieved depth and scope by analyzing entire periods of Mexican nationalism through the lens of male body representations. The principal objective of this magnificent work is to explain clearly and insightfully how male body representations evolve and deconstruct themselves throughout the period from the 1870s to the present in Mexico, and to demonstrate their relationship to nationhood and Mexican modernity. This work opens a new era in the study of Mexican visual arts in relation to the formation and deformation of masculinity through male transvestism from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present." - Emilio Bejel, Professor of Spanish, University of California at Davis, and author of Gay Cuban Nation "This text nourishes bibliographies on masculinity and amply illustrates the field of Mexican modernity through the representation of masculine bodies. Domínguez-Ruvalcaba shows the aporias of this representation and the distinction between seeing and reading. He makes the compelling assertion that the representation of masculinity as sensuality is a way of normalizing the coloniality of power, and a medium for transforming being into performance. This is a timely contribution that will be valuable in both undergraduate and graduate courses." - Ileana Rodríguez, Humanities Distinguished Professor of Literatures and Cultures of Latin America, Ohio State University

About the Author

Hector Domínguez-Ruvalcabais Assistant Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Texas at Austin.