What Did I learn?
To start this blog I will first show a diagram of what I have learned in this course:
These are all the things I have learned from this course. For this blog I am going to focus on the LGBTQ and the gender roles in Latin America.
“Mexican Heaven”
I want to share the poem “Mexican Heaven” by Jose Olivarez, because it talks about gender roles, in Latin American society.
all the Mexican women refuse to cook or clean or raise the kids or pay bills or make the bed or drive your bum ass to work or do anything except watch their novelas, so heaven is gross. the rats are fat as roosters & the men die of starvation.
This poem is in the book called Citizen Illegal, page 22. I am including this poem because in this blog I am focusing on gender roles and LGBTQ, and I think this poem breaks gender roles. The quote that says “women refuse to cook or clean,” is breaking the gender roles that are imposed by Latin American society. It also brings to light how important women are in society and how much men depend on them, due to these gender roles. The quote that says, “men die of starvation,” showcases this idea because it talks about how because men never learned to cook for themselves, and women are refusing to do it for them, they are dying. This poem shows how gender roles are bad for everyone and need to be broken. Lastly, I want to connect this poem to this movie clip, from the movie called “Feminists: What Were They Thinking?”, from Netflix. This movie also talks about breaking gender roles for women, which relates to this poem.
Dulce Pinzon and Graciela Iturbide
In relation to breaking gender roles, I want to show these two pictures, by the artists Dulce Pinzon and Graciela Iturbide.
These two pictures, one by Dulce Pinzon and the other by Graciela Iturbide, both images show men. The difference is that Pinzon’s picture shows a man dressed in women’s clothes, and Itubide’s shows a man wearing traditional male clothing. I chose these pictures because of how different they are. Dulce Pizon’s image shows a man that is wearing clothes that are usually worn by women. The man in the picture is wearing makeup, and bodysuit, a pearl necklace, and a hat, while posing like traditionally women do. Graciela Iturbide’s image shows a man in a traditional male suit while posing like traditionally men do. I like to compare the two images because one of them is more socially accepted than the other, especially in Latin American countries, where these pictures were taken. Pinzon’s image is breaking traditional gender roles and stereotypes that are imposed by society. The way the man in that picture is dressed and posing, it is not completely accepted by society. On the other hand, Iturbide’s image shows how men are supposed to look and act according to the gender roles in our society. The way that man is dressed and acting in that photo is socially accepted. These two pictures show men acting and dressed whoever they like. The problem is that one of them is not widely accepted in our society, especially in Latin American, where men and women who do not fit their gender roles are still having to fight for their rights. Both of the men in the pictures should be allowed to dress however they want, without society interfering and judging their decisions.
“Pandora’s Box”
Also concerning gender roles, I want to include an article which relates to the story, “Pandora’s box.” This also relates to the LGBTQ and the trans community in Latin America, and the struggles they have.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/oct/08/trans-women-in-colombia
The Story, “Pandora’s Box” by Arturo Arias talks about a Latin American man who was always admiring a woman, called Pandora, for her body. One day he becomes a woman, and throughout the reading, he learns how hard it is to be a woman. He also discovered he likes men too. The reading talks about the journey of the man that has become a woman, and how he accepts himself as a woman. He also learns to love and appreciate women for more than just their bodies. Even though this reading does this story does not explicitly depicts the man as transgender, it could be interpreted that way. I chose an article by The Guardian called, “The trans experience in Colombia: ‘This is where we work – and this is where we are killed’” because I believe it relates to the story.
Even though “Pandora’s Box” does not talk about the struggles of being transgender in a Latin American country, it does talk about a man who became a woman and had to go through the struggles of being one. In the story even though the man had it easier being a man than a woman, he still accepted himself as a woman, because that is who she was. This relates to this article because trans women in Latin America go through a lot of issues and struggles, but they do not stop being who they are because of it, just like in the story. The article, written by Kate Lyons, talks about the hardships of being a trans woman in Colombia. It talks about how they are beaten, abused, and they struggle to find jobs, therefore many of them are forced to work as sex workers. There is a quote from the article that talks about the experience of a trans woman, it says, “Cáceres began taking hormones and, when her breasts started growing, she bound them so people wouldn’t notice. But they did. First, she lost her job, then the local rightwing militia sent her a note saying she had 24 hours to leave the town or they would kill her.”This showcases the dangers of being a trans person in a Latin American country. But it also shows how people put their lives in danger just to be who they are. Trans people just want to be themselves, but their lives are put at risk because of it. But they still accept themselves for who they are. A quote from Arias’ reading that connects to this is when the main character says, “I have also given up trying to become a boy again. Resplendent with happiness, I have learned to put up with PMS, a feeling of powerlessness, fear of men, not being listened to, having to help everyone all the time without being helped myself.” This quote even though it does not talk about violence against trans women directly also shows the struggles of a man who became a woman, and how he was happy with their decision even though it was hard for them. Just like real trans people, in the story, the main character had to learn to accept themselves and be themselves even though it was harder for them this way. Trans people in Latin America still struggle to get rights, many people do not accept them, but they are still facing these struggles, and being themselves. This is because they recognize they matter and that they deserve to live just like everyone else. Just like in the story, they deal with all the struggles of being trans, but they still decide to be themselves.
“La Guera”
In relation to accepting and embracing yourself, even though it might be hard sometimes, I want to include my reflection on the story “La Guera,” by Cherrie Moraga. I will also talk about my personal experience with accepting myself.
“Kimberle”
In relation to feeling out of place, and feeling like you don’t belong I want to include a Spotify playlist I created to match the story “Kimberle,” by Achy Obejas. This story talks about depression, which can be caused by you feeling like you don’t belong. This story also talks about the LGBTQ community in Latin America.
I created a Spotify playlist called “Kimberle,” to represent the short story of the same name by Achy Obejas. This reading talks about two Cuban women who live together. One of them is Kimberle, who is depressed and suicidal, and her friend has to take care of her. Her friend ends up falling in love with her, but Kimberle does not seem to reciprocate her love. For this playlist I included four songs, they are, “1-800-273-8255,” by Logic and Juanes, “Mujer Contra Mujer,” by Mecano, “Habana Blues”, by the artist Habana Blues, and “Fuimos Amor,” by Esteman. I chose these songs because I think they all relate to the story in some way.
The first song “1-800-273-8255,” by Logic and Juanes, is a song that brings light to the issue of suicide and mental health. I chose this song because Kimberle, as said by the author, Obejas, was suicidal. There is a quote that says, “She was asking me to keep her from killing herself.” I felt this song goes with this quote because it is about preventing suicide and helping people overcome their depression, which is what the author was talking about.
The second song I chose was Mujer Contra Mujer,” by Mecano. This song talks about normalizing lesbian and guy relationships. I chose this song because in the story Kimberle and her friend are part of the LGBTQ. The author let us know this by stating that Kimberle and her were having relationships with other women. I think this song fits the story because the story tries to normalize lesbian relationships, just like the song does.
The third song I chose was “Habana Blues”, by the artist Habana Blues. This song talks about Cuba and the problems with it. The characters in this story are Cuban, the author let us know in this quote, “I don’t really know when I met Kimberle. It seemed she had always been there, from the very day we arrived from Cuba.” In this quote, she talks about how both of them are from Cuba. Even though in the story the author never talks about the problems in Cuba, the reason that many Cuban people move to the United States is that there is a lot of struggles in the country, and they want a better life. I infer that one of the reasons why those women move to the United States is because their families wanted to give them a better life. I chose this quote because it can be connected to their Cuban heritage and why they moved.
The last song I chose is “Fuimos Amor,” by Esteman. This is also an LGBTQ song. This song talks about two men who were together but now are separated, and one of them cannot forget their love, but the other one is not going to get back together with them. I chose this song because it relates to the situation Kimberle’s friend was on. She liked Kimberle, but Kimberle did not like her back in the same way, even though they had good times together, which is similar to what the song is about. In the quote that says, “‘Kimberle, don’t you ever think about what we’re doing—about us?’ ‘Us? There is no us.’” It is shown how Kimberle does not love her friend, therefore their love is one-sided. This is similar to what the song talks about, and that is why I chose it.
“Porcupine Love”
To finalize this blog post, I want to end with my alternative ending to the story, “Porcupine Love,” by Tatiana de la Tierra. This story also relates to the LGBTQ in Latin American society and unrequited love.
The reading “Porcupine Love,” by Tatiana de la Tierra, talks about a woman who is in love with another woman, who she calls Antenna. The problem is that her lover moves away from her and now she is not able to see her anymore. She has not seen her in fourteen years and she misses her. She acknowledges that she was not the best girlfriend and that she treated her lover badly, but she wants to change and see her again. In the end, she seeks help from Santeros and she becomes very spiritual, but she does not get to see her lover. Here is my alternative ending for this story:
She cannot forget the love of Antenna, she is unhappy with her life, and she wants to change it. She cannot leave for New Zealand, because her jobs would not let her, and she does not have the money. But she cannot stand her life anymore. All she does is think of Antenna, which has made her become really depressed. She decides to email Antenna to see if she still has feelings for her and to see if she wants her back. When she receives a response back from her ex-lover, she is surprised to see how she still wants her, and how she is asking her to move to New Zealand with her. She cannot believe this, all this time she has felt like the worst person in the world, she thought Antenna resented her because of how she treated her during their relationship. But this was not the reality, Antenna still loved her. The next day she quitted her job, and she bought herself a one-way ticket to New Zealand. She packets all her belongings and while she wanted the day for her to leave to come, she would only fantasize about how amazing her life would be, once she was reunited with her lover. The day finally came and she was excited to see Antenna again for the first time in fourteen years. When she arrived, she saw Antenna waiting for her at the airport, she rushed to her to hug her and kiss her. After that, they went to Antennas house, which would become her new home. The first few weeks in New Zealand were amazing, she felt like she was happy again. She felt like she was now at home, and she did not want to leave. But shortly after, she started to act as she acted back when she and Antenna first started dating. She started to be cold towards Antenna, and to push her away. Antenna was not happy with this, she thought that in fourteen years her lover would have changed, but she had not. Antenna tried talking to her, to figure out what was wrong, but not even her lover knew what was wrong with her. She felt ashamed of the way she was treating Antennal, she wanted to stop, but she could not. She remembered what her therapist had said to her about why she acted this way, but she did not know how to stop her insecurities from controlling her. She did not want to let Antenna know that she was scared, that even though she loved her new life, she was still scared of letting her guard down. But Antenna did not want to give up trying, she really loved her, so she kept on trying to get her girlfriend to tell her what was wrong until eventually, she did. She told her that she was scared, and that is why she used anger to cope with her fears. Antenna decided that the best for them was to get therapy, so they did. They started taking therapy together, and like this, they became closer, and she was able to open up to Antenna and let her guard down. They were able to have a better relationship with each other, and they lived happily together, having adventures in New Zealand.
Throughout this blog, I focused on different experiences regarding the LGBTQ and the gender roles in the Latin American community.
