MEDIATING the INTERSECTIONS: FEMINISMS, QUEER THEORIES and TESTIMONIAL LITERARY PRODUCTION ABOUT WOMEN in CENTRAL AMERICA, 1977-1987 by ALLISON L
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MEDIATING THE INTERSECTIONS: FEMINISMS, QUEER THEORIES AND TESTIMONIAL LITERARY PRODUCTION ABOUT WOMEN IN CENTRAL AMERICA, 1977-1987 by ALLISON L. GLOVER B.A., Allegheny College, l992 M.A., Middlebury College, 2003 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Spanish and Portuguese 2018 This thesis entitled: Mediating the Intersections: Feminisms, Queer Theories, and Testimonial Literary Production About Women in Central America, 1977-1987 written by Allison L. Glover has been approved for the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Leila Gómez, Ph.D. Tania Martuscelli, Ph.D. Andrés Prieto, Ph.D. Celeste Montoya, Ph.D. Robert Buffington, Ph.D. Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. ii Glover, Allison Lee (Ph.D., Latin American Literature Department of Spanish and Portuguese) Mediating the Intersections: Feminisms, Queer Theories and Testimonial Literary Production About Women in Central America, 1977-1987. Thesis directed by Associate Professor Leila Gómez This dissertation explores the different ways testimonial narratives about Central American women represent and resist repressive governments, patriarchal culture and North American imperialism during the Cold War. The texts I study are: (1) Margaret Randall’s “Somos millones…”: la vida de Doris María, combatiente nicaragüense (1977), (2) Elizabeth Burgos’ Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así me nació la conciencia (1983), and (3) Medea Benjamin’s Don’t be Afraid, Gringo. A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart: The Story of Elvia Alvarado (1987). I use feminist and queer analytics to explore the narrators’ diverse positionalities and reveal the conditions from which their unique brands of de-colonial feminism emerged. This dissertation also analyzes the forms of gendered oppression that the speakers describe in their testimonies, including but not limited to: a lack of decent paid employment opportunities for women (Doris Tijerino), rape as a tactic of war (Rigoberta Menchú), and domestic violence (Elvia Alvarado). iii This dissertation is dedicated to the courageous women who fought and continue to fight for more just and democratic societies in Central America. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you Dr. Leila Gómez for directing this project. Thank you Dr. Tania Martuscelli, Dr. Andrés Prieto, Dr. Celeste Montoya and Dr. Robert Buffington for serving on my committee. Thank you Doreen Williams for your assistance over the years and Dr. Esther Brown for your help during the rough patches. Thank you Anne Becher for putting me in touch with Margaret Randall, and Dr. Nancy Uvalle-Ordónez for introducing me to Dr. Ileana Rodríguez and helping me conduct research in the archives at el Instituto de Historia de Nicaragua y Centroamérica (IHNCA). Thank you Margaret Randall and Medea Benjamin for granting me interviews in your homes, and Dr. Ileana Rodríguez and Dr. Margarita Vanini for deepening my understanding of feminist movement in Nicaragua. Thank you Andrés, Brooke, Courtney, Dulce, Fernanda, Gillian, Jennifer, Kelly, Meghan, Molly, Nancy, Richardo and Rómer for keeping my head above water. Thank you Dr. Rutledge Currie and Arleta Currie (1942–2016) for your generosity, and Andrew, Deborah, Effie, Elizabeth, Izabel, Katherine, Malcolm, Mia, little Rutledge and Sarah for understanding why I’ve missed so many family gatherings. Thank you John T. Glover (1943–1991), my father, for insisting I mind my manners and Melanie M. MacKenzie (1946– 2016), my mother, for instilling in me a work ethic that would serve me throughout my life. Thank you J.T. Glover, my older brother, for reminding me to be happy and grateful, Christian Glover, my younger brother, for encouraging me to draw a line in the sand, and Arya Aziz Glover-Torab, my niece, for motivating me to be the best Auntie I can be. Thank you Daniel R.W. Currie, my husband and PB, for your optimism, sense of humor and unconditional love. Your creative brilliance, adventurous spirit and playful attitude make our life together exciting and fun. You are the world’s greatest teammate. v CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 Historical and Politcal Context ......................................................................... 1 National Libertation Movements and Testimonial Narratives………………...8 Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………….14 Positionalities and Testimony Psychotherapy ............................................... 27 Women, Speech and Gendered Violence ....................................................... 35 CHAPTER II. MEDIATED TESTIMONIAL LITERATURE, DECOLONIAL FEMINISM AND CONTEMPORARY DEBATES ABOUT GENDER AND GLOBAL JUSTICE………………………………………………………………………….41 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 41 Intertextuality ............................................................................................................... 43 The Speaker .................................................................................................................. 44 Women and Weapons ................................................................................................... 48 The Mediator ................................................................................................................ 50 Historical and Political Context ................................................................................... 52 Women, Gender and Global Justice ............................................................................. 57 A Precursor to De-colonial Feminist Thought: "There are millions of us…" The Life of Doris María, a Nicaraguan Combatant ................................................................... 62 A Female Revolutionary Geneology in Literature and Life ......................................... 71 The Voices of the Subaltern…………………………………………………………..81 vi Doris Tijerino: Girlhood ............................................................................................... 83 Doris Tijerino: Adolscence .......................................................................................... 85 Doris Tijerino: Motherhood and Militancy .................................................................. 87 Prison, Interrogation and Torture……………………………………………………..90 CHAPTER III. TRACES OF QUEERNESS IN ME LLAMO RIGOBERTA MENCHÚ Y ASÍ ME NACIÓ LA CONCIENCIA [I, RIGOBERTA MENCHU, AN INDIAN WOMAN FROM GUATEMALA] ............................................................................ 95 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 95 Guatemala: A Stomping Ground for Spaniards and Gringos ..................................... 101 The Logics of Heteropatriarchy ................................................................................. 108 Birth Ceremonies ........................................................................................................ 109 Marriage Ceremonies ................................................................................................. 112 Queer Ecologies ......................................................................................................... 115 Queer Failure .............................................................................................................. 118 Knowledge Production in the Street and Field ........................................................... 125 Queer Futurity ............................................................................................................ 127 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 129 CHAPTER IV. CONSCIOUSNESS RAISING, AFFECTIVE SOLIDARITY AND FEMINIST STANDPOINT EPISTEMOLOGY .................................................. 130 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 130 Letting Go of 'We' and Embracing 'Me' ..................................................................... 137 vii “I'd call him a drunk and he'd call me a communist." ................................................ 141 "I was a rebel from the time I was born." ................................................................... 144 Honduras: Christopher Colombus, Capitalism, and the C.I.A.. ................................. 146 Consciousness Raising, Affective Solidarity and Feminist Stanpoint Epistemology 151 "We have to fight with more courage, more conviction, more strength." .................. 162 “We'd surely do a better job of running our country than these rich guys can." ........ 166 "Ever since the Sandinistas came to power, the United States as been building bases all over our country." .................................................................................................. 168 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 171 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 173 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................