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Eroticism and Sexual Cynthia Duncan, Transgression in Dos Mujeres and Amora
Eroticism and Sexual Cynthia Duncan, Transgression in Dos Mujeres and Amora
Eroticism and Sexual Cynthia Duncan, Transgression in Dos Mujeres and Amora
Fiction in Mexico
Author(s): Cynthia Duncan
Source: Confluencia, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Spring 2011), pp. 72-84
Published by: University of Northern Colorado
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41351017
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Eroticism
and
and
Amora
Sexual
: Shaping
in Dos
Transgression
the
Voice
of
Lesbian
mujeres
Fiction
in Mexico
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
, bymakinglesbiansexualityvisiblethrough
space,languageand thebody,but Dos mujeres
theuse offetishesand theillusionof masquerade,invitesvoyeuristic
participationbymale
will belongto an
that
readers
Amoraoperateswiththeunderstanding
readers.In contrast,
"insider"groupof lesbianswho alreadyknowwhatwomen do in bed together;thus,the
mechanismsof lesbiansex do not need to be explainedto "outsiders."How much can or
should be said about the femalebody and its relationshipto femininedesirebecomes a
or not, to a free-market
centralissue in both works,and it is tied,intentionally
economy
thatmeasuresa books successby thenumberof readersit can attract.
On a theoreticallevel, the discussionof femininedesireevokes a long-standing
debate surroundingthe problemof publishingtruthsabout women'slivesthatcould be
appropriatedand objectifiedby voyeuristicmasculine readers.While some argue that
women not only have the rightbut the imperativeto writeabout theirbodies and their
sexualexperiencesin open and authenticterms,othersclaim thatlanguagecannotescape
a phallocentriclogic thatpositionsthe femininein binaryoppositionto the masculine
with lesbian fiction,we
and subordinatesit to male desire.3When dealing specifically
textcan speak as a woman who desiresanotherwoman
mustask how the "I" in a literary
withoutslippinginto the "mans role"as it is prescribedthrougha heterosexualparadigm.
Is the rhetoricof male desirethe only languagewe have to describeeroticencounters
withwomen?As JudithRoof notes,"Attemptsto depictor explainlesbiansexualityspur
of lesbiansexualityundo
anxietiesabout knowledgeand identity"because "configurations
discursiveclaims to masteryand wholenessand occupy positionsof penultimateness,
and incompletenessthat existalongsideof, but not in opposition to, neat
immaturity,
closure"
(5). While bothAmoraand Dos mujeresresistthe kind of closureRoof
systemic
of feminine
describes,theydo so in verydifferent
ways. By studyingthe representation
desirein thesetwo novels,we can gain insightinto the powerand the limitsof language
it has
women'sexperiences.At thesame time,we can appreciatehow difficult
to represent
been forlesbianwritingto finda place in Mexico'sMasterNarrativeand whyit is so often
relegatedto themarginsof nationaldiscourse.
Unlike the traditionalBildungsromanor autobiographicalnovel,Dos mujeresdoes
not begin with Valeria'schildhood and followin chronologicalorderher psychological
developmentintoadulthood.Instead,it takesas itspointof departureValeria'sdecisionto
come out of the closetas a lesbian.As partof the comingout process,she feelsshe must
rejectmen and the traditionalroles theyhave assignedher,come to termswith herself
as a lesbian,and develop an identitythatwill giveher the strengthto deal withsociety's
condemnation.Roof has pointedout thatin mainstreamfilmsabout lesbians,"The male
are not
charactersfunctionas a partof thevoice of normal'culture...Thus the narratives
of
social
dilemma
the
but
also
romances
or
same-sex
out
stories
exemplify
just coming
but
women's
the
endorses
in
that
a
not
lesbian
a
choice,
preference, in
clearly
way
making
wreakon nuclear
a
choice
can
such
the
features
a way thatsubtlyand insistently
damage
families,rejectedboyfriends,careers,communities,etc."(56). By establishingValeria's
thesexualprowessof herex-husbandand
forlesbianismearlyin thenarrative,
propensity
male loverscannot be called into question because her "deviant"preferenceforfemales
has alreadybeen made clear.Roof identifiesthisas a line of defensein lesbiannarratives,
"somethingthat alwaysbringsthe women'schoice into question"(56). Valeria'sneed to
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5ClaudiaSchaefer-Rodrguez
in
identifies
Dosmujeres
as"abestseller
inMexicosinceitsappearance,
"
American
ofherfamily's
tothwart
andstoring
salesbypurchasing
copiesofthebook(Latin
spite
attempts
as"theEnglish
TheTwoMujeres
describes
Writers
onGayandLesbian
Themes
, 1991).AuntLutescatalogue
list
Ten
BestSellers
s
on
Mexico
remained
Mexican
novel
that
oftheextraordinarily
translation
Top
popular
itsinitial
<http://www.auntlute.com/two_mujeres.htm>.
publication."
longafter
5Sergio
as'literatura
critics
coinedthisbest-seller
"Mexican
dela Moraexplains,
light,'
phenomenon
areconsidered
therefore
and
novels
romantic
works
of
these
because
are,
speaking,
generally
many
ostensibly
El
novels
norhighliterature"
works
serious
neither
(147).Best-selling
bymen(suchasGarcaMrquez's
more
elaborate
For
a
into
this
are
not
orFuentes'
declera
amor
enlostiempos
category.
put
Viejo)
Gringo
inMexicointhe1980s,seeDannyJ.Anderson.
trends
andpublishing
ofliteratura
discussion
light
inthe
ofwomen's
forms
inpromoting
invested
housestrongly
wasa publishing
7Planeta
writing
popular
translations
as
such
Diana
classics,
Editorial
whereas
language
Spanish
1980s,
literary
publishes
generally
ofTirsodeMolina
andtheplays
likeDonQuijote
classics
andBronte;
ofTolstoy,
Stendhal,
peninsular
The
andFuentes.
likeGarca
novelists
ofmajor
andLopedeVega;andtheworks
Mrquez
contemporary
have
which
withliteratura
associated
,
wasparticularly
Fbulaseries
Coleccin
initially
may
stigmatized
light
inprint
Amora
Because
forwomen.
meant
entertainment
novelas"lowbrow"
onlya year
Roffiel's
appeared
onLeviCaldern's
work
hadanyimpact
thatRoffiel's
ofDosmujeres
thepublication
before
, itisunlikely
atthetimeDos
novelinMexico,
lesbian
thefirst
forproducing
isnowcredited
Roffiel
Although
writing.
in
Lesbianism
Mexican
traced
has
Irwin
McKee
Robert
known.
well
was
not
Amora
appeared,
mujeres
"Until
he
but
20th
and
notes,
late
the
from
centuries,
texts
19th
male-authored
literature
early
through
willremain
its'Sapphists'
twentieth
from
Mexico,
areunearthed
ofevidence
someother
century
early
types
elusive
as
but
(109).
national
in
the
visible
Although
shadowy,
figures"
blurry,
only
landscape,
apparition,
thatbesttothe1980s,itislikely
fiction
lesbian-centered
werenotproducing
women
Mexican
prior
los
veranos
todos
mar
de
mismo
, 1978)
Esther
writers
stories
(El
short
and
novels
Tusquets
bySpanish
selling
inMexicoandmayhave
la marcoma penyora
, 1975)werecirculating
amor,
andCarmeRieras{Tedeix,
abouttheir
moreopenly
towrite
there
lesbians
experiences.
prompted
artforherbooksas
ascover
ofherself
hasuseda nudephotograph
LucaEtxebarria,
8TheSpanish
novelist,
sales.SeeChristine
sextoincrease
ofusing
common
aboutthemarketplace's
statement
a parodie
strategy
sales
toMexico's
contrast
inSpainasaninteresting
oftheliterary
fora discussion
Henseler
marketplace
in
Film
and
Narrative
Women's
in
Akiko
and
Bermdez
Silvia
Also
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