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Sex and State Making in Revolutionary Cuba, 1959-1968

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Sex and State Making in Revolutionary Cuba, 1959-1968 SEX AND STATE MAKING IN REVOLUTIONARY CUBA, 1959-1968 Rachel M. Hynson A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2014 Approved By: Kathryn J. Burns Emily Susan Burrill John Charles Chasteen Miguel La Serna Raúl Necochea López Lars Schoultz ©2014 Rachel M. Hynson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT RACHEL M. HYNSON: Sex and State Making in Revolutionary Cuba, 1959-1968 (Under the direction of Kathryn J. Burns) This dissertation explores the construction of the revolutionary state in order to trace the entwinement of familial health and national security during the first decade of the Cuban revolution. It analyzes campaigns deployed by government officials to remake sexual norms and produce families deemed healthier than those under capitalism. More specifically, my dissertation examines state efforts that normalized patriarchy by criminalizing abortion, legitimized marriage through collective weddings, schematized the workforce by condemning female prostitution, and restructured economic gender roles via the rehabilitation of chulos (loosely translated as “kept men”). Through close analysis of print media, speeches, travel narratives, and oral histories, my work makes two major contributions to the study of Cuban sexuality. First, by joining prerevolutionary context to an analysis of revolutionary policies, I demonstrate that the sexual behaviors lauded by state officials as new measures of revolutionary well-being were in fact traditional criteria recycled from prior Cuban regimes. Second, I assert that revolutionary leadership of the 1960s attempted to remake the state by challenging popular definitions of terms such as marriage, family planning, sex worker, and chulo. But while laying claim to language seemed to give the government control over patterns of intimacy, it also created space for individuals to exert autonomy by mobilizing language to their benefit. By uncovering the methods by which Cuban leaders constructed the state, my project maps the role of sexuality iii in the landscape of 1960s Cuba and illuminates connections between sexual and more broadly based sociocultural changes. iv In loving memory of my grandfather, Dr. Leon O. Hynson (1930-2006) v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project has taught me that it takes a village to write a dissertation. The generous support that I have received from both individuals and institutions is impossible to repay, and I can only hope that they know of my deep gratitude. Kathryn Burns has guided my writing since the first semester of graduate school, and her subsequent offer to advise this project was an unexpected gift for which I am forever indebted. I am grateful to her for carefully reading my prose, challenging my assumptions, and giving me space to grow. Lorraine Bayard de Volo is the reason for my abiding fascination with gender in revolutionary Cuba, and I am thankful to her for leading me to graduate school and encouraging my work for over a decade. Much gratitude goes to John Chasteen who taught me that a historian’s responsibility is not merely to make an argument, but also to tell a good story. I am especially thankful to Emily Burrill, whose words of encouragement and unflagging support for this project helped push me beyond moments of self-doubt. I certainly owe tremendous thanks to my dissertation committee—Kathryn Burns, Emily Burrill, John Chasteen, Miguel La Serna, Raúl Necochea López, and Lars Schoultz. Without their discerning comments and provocative insights, this dissertation would be a second-rate version of what it is today. I am also grateful for the generous financial support of numerous institutions. My first research trip to Cuba was supported by the Institute for the Study of the Americas at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and it has continued to fund me year after year. I am especially thankful to staff members Beatriz Riefkohl Muñiz and Shelley Clarke both for vi their friendship and for guiding me through the many documents required to travel to Cuba. The Cuban Heritage Collection at the University of Miami likewise provided essential research support and a delightful archive in which to work. In particular, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the assistance provided by Esperanza de Varona, Lesbia Varona, María Estorino Dooling, Glady Gómez Rossié, Rosa Monzón-Álvarez, and Amanda Álvarez. I am also grateful for the funding provided by the Program in Sexuality Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, which allowed me to conduct essential research at the final hour. I am particularly appreciative of the teaching opportunities and research support that I have received from the UNC Department of History. Staff members, including Violet Anderson, Joy Mann Jones, Joyce Loftin, and Nancy Gray Schoonmaker, made walking into the office a true pleasure. Finally, David Library and its Interlibrary Loan staff graciously tolerated my many requests for obscure sources, without which I could never have written this dissertation. While in Cuba I enjoyed the friendship and support of numerous individuals. Belkis Quesada Guerra at the Instituto de Historia always processed my paperwork with a smile, even while working in the midst of construction. At the Instituto Cubano de Investigación Cultural Juan Marinello, Ileana Sánchez Tejeda patiently fielded my requests and introduced me to other patrons. Staff at the archive of the Federación de Mujeres Cubanas likewise welcomed una yuma into their space and guided me through their material. I am eternally grateful to Yasnay Cuesta at the Instituto de Literatura y Lingüística who befriended me on my first day and made it her personal mission to locate sources and find interview subjects for me. Her abilities in the kitchen far surpassed my own, and I ate better because of her. I owe great thanks to Abel Sierra Madero who treated me like an old friend, even when our vii friendship was new. My profound gratitude goes to Rolando Llanes and Martha Pis who welcomed me into their home and made me their daughter. They picked me up from the airport, fed me at their table, and shared their memories of life under the young revolution. Times spent with them, Nerea, Mauro, and Mauricio were some of my happiest in Havana. Lastly, my life in Cuba would not be the same without Lupe Vicario, Tania Fajardo, and Dieguito, to whom coming home at the end of the day was always a pleasure. The love and encouragement of friends and colleagues in the United States has sustained me throughout graduate school. Many thanks to the Ladies of Pemberley— Rike Brühöfener, Nora Doyle, Anna Krome-Lukens, and Kim Kutz—who made me laugh and cry at all the right moments. I owe a great debt to Devyn Spence Benson who unhesitatingly shared her wisdom and knowledge gained from many trips to Cuba. Just as valuable were the times that she opened her home to me, even while in the midst of packing. Lisi Martínez Lotz also offered me her spare bedroom, but it is our walks on the Bowling Creek Trail that I most value. I am thankful for the many days that she dragged me out of the house to enjoy the North Carolina sunshine with her, Nicolas, and Alisia. Special thanks to Zsolt and Karla Nagy who kept me grounded with the help of Skype and whiskey. To the Latin Americanists in the History department, including Justin Blanton, Angélica Castillo, Jeffrey Erbig, Clarisa Mondéjar, Toby Nathan, Teo Radford, and Benjamin Reed, I am deeply grateful for the warm and supportive scholarly community that we created at UNC. Thankfully, João Gonçalves was part of my community in Miami, a city that I came to love, in part, because of him. viii Last, but certainly not least, special love and gratitude to my family. While they may not have always understood what I was studying in graduate school, their support for me has never wavered. From my mother, I learned the value of hard work and childlike joy; from my father, the importance of critical thinking and humility. My siblings—Rebekah, Taylor, Dakota, and Levi—inspire me daily. Samara Dixon moved to Chapel Hill as I started writing this dissertation, and I am so grateful that she did. She, Zachary, and Tucker remind me that there are things more important in this world than a dissertation. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. 1 CHAPTERS I. Cuban Abortions and Chilean IUDs: Negotiating Fertility Control, 1959-1966. .19 Background: Abortion Capital of the Western Hemisphere. .22 The Birth of “Generation Fidel,” 1959-1964. 34 The Zipper Ring and Dr. Celestino Álvarez Lajonchere, 1964-1966. 50 II. Revolutionary Weddings: Defining Citizenship through Marriage, 1959-1968. .63 Background: Notions of Republican Marriage . 66 Operation Family, 1959-1965. 69 Beer, Cake, and Wedding Palaces. 90 III. “Count, Capture, and Reeducate”: The Campaign to Reeducate Female Sex Workers, 1959-1966. 101 Pre-Revolutionary Prostitution . 104 Redefining Sex Workers . 109 Phase One: Census, Outreach, and Persuasion. .121 Phases Two and Three: Reeducation and Repression . 128 IV. “Sowing Eucalyptus in Guanahacabibes”: The Rehabilitation of Chulos and Vagrants, 1959-1965. 148 Background: Unemployment and Estado Peligroso. .153 Defining Chulos . 155 The Campaign Against Vagrants, Chulos, and other Lumpen. .161 Serving Time at Guanahacabibes . .172 EPILOGUE . .87 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 193 Oral History Interviews. 193 Periodicals. .193 Government Publications. 194 Speech Databases. 195 Other Primary Sources. 195 Secondary Sources . 201 x INTRODUCTION In late 1961, amidst rumors that the Cuban government would terminate parental rights, Minister of Justice Alfredo Yabur Maluf asserted, “Unlike the lifestyle imposed by the capitalist regimes, the socialist State and the popular democracies place real emphasis on strengthening the family.”1 His remarks were a response to widely-circulated claims that revolutionary leadership intended to ship Cuban children to Soviet work camps.
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