UNRULY IMAGINARIES: the RELATIONAL LIVES of QUEER and TRANS MIGRANTS by Ruben Zecena
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Unruly Imaginaries: The Relational Lives of Queer and Trans Migrants Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Zecena, Ruben Citation Zecena, Ruben. (2021). Unruly Imaginaries: The Relational Lives of Queer and Trans Migrants (Doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA). Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 05/10/2021 17:16:34 Item License http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/660203 UNRULY IMAGINARIES: THE RELATIONAL LIVES OF QUEER AND TRANS MIGRANTS by Ruben Zecena __________________________ Copyright © Ruben Zecena 2021 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF GENDER & WOMEN’S STUDIES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2021 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by: Ruben Zecena titled: and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _________________________________________________________________ Date: ____________May 6, 2021 Eithne Luibheid _________________________________________________________________ Date: ____________May 6, 2021 Maritza Cardenas _________________________________________________________________ Date: ____________May 6, 2021 Francisco J Galarte _________________________________________________________________ Date: ____________May 6, 2021 Adela Licona _________________________________________________________________ Date: ____________May 7, 2021 Mary Murphy Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. _________________________________________________________________ Date: ____________May 6, 2021 Eithne Luibheid Gender and Women's Studies 3 Acknowledgements My writing on relationality is animated by the people who bring meaning to my life. Amidst so much disarray in the world, I am grateful to have studied amongst generous mentors whose enseñansas deserve much more recognition than a few lines. I will continue to thank you for all that you have given me. My dissertation chair, Eithne Luibhéid, believed in this project from the start and treated my writing with the kindest eyes. Because of her, I started to find my voice as a writer—which has been the best experience of graduate school. I tried to make you proud when submitting chapters, but in the back of my mind I knew that regardless of what I submitted you would congratulate me on completing a draft and offer superb feedback. Thank you for the support, the care, and most of all, thank you for asking me to not “hide my light under a bushel.” I promise I won’t. Maritza Cardenas, the first and only Central American professor I have ever had, I am grateful for your ability to ask questions that helped solidify my arguments. Sometimes, your feedback motivated me during times when I seriously doubted my ability to complete a chapter or draft a job talk. Thank you for asking the important questions, pushing me to read texts closely, and teaching me about the theoretical possibilities embedded within poetry. Francisco Galarte, I will always see you as the cool Tio who will be there for anything. During my first semester of grad school, you arranged a dinner so I could meet Maritza. I am forever grateful for this kind gesture and for teaching me how to read texts generously. Even from far away, knowing I could count on you brought ease to my anxious virgo spirit. Adela Licona, your femtorship gave me permission to have fun while writing and find beauty in the project’s imperfections. Your teachings on the both/and—and the spaces in- between—helped to form and inform many of my arguments on relationality. Gracias for all the adelantes and joy! And finally, Kaitlin Murphy, you taught me to own my arguments and stand by them (an important lesson that I continue to work on). It has been a gift to learn about performance studies from you along with seeing my writing grow—which is a result of your fierce writing support. To all of my dissertation committee, mil gracias!! While I enjoyed my time as a graduate student, it has been a struggle (to put it kindly). I am beyond grateful that I experienced the struggle bus of grad school with this fabulous crew: Juan Ochoa (queer Jota supreme), Joanna Sanchez-Avila (Central American Darkz Diva), Aly Higgins (a chic writing partner with whom to pretend to write); and the best co-organizers with the Graduate Students of Color Collective: Connie Lira-Saavedra, Desiree Esquivel, and Cindy Trejo. Working at the Institute for LGBTQ Studies gave me a wonderful queer family: Angela Labistre-Champion, Sarah Maaske, Luna Chung, and hair icon (plus fabulous boss) Jill Koyama. I am also grateful to Andrew Huerta for your pedagogical mentorship every summer with UROC. To my academic sisters, Lizeth Gutierrez and Veronica Sandoval, las quiero mucho chingonas! Muchisimas gracias to the amazing mentors who continue to offer wisdom and care since I was an undergraduate student: Linda Heidenreich, Nishant Shahani, Ashley Boyd, and Marian Sciachitano. You sent me kind emails, checked up on me, collaborated on publications (hey Ashley!), introduced me to women of color feminism and young-adult literature, and gave me much needed support while on the job market. Thank you for teaching me what feminist mentorship looks like! Thank you for the laughs, drinks, and fun times to the best girls a gay could ask for: Patricia Flores, Anna Villatoro, Deyanira Lozano, Jacquie Contreras, Claudia Olguin, Marissa 4 Olguin, Carolina Silva, and Trisha Bautista Larson. Patty, in particular, has been my go-to for new adventures and trying out new restaurants since we were in high-school. Gracias amiga for bringing joy to my life and lots of cookies. In terms of how my research is influenced by my life, my family taught me about the beauty of migration and what it means to imagine new worlds. Their unconditional love and encouragement led this sissy brown boy to become a doctor. In many ways, my dissertation is indebted to their sacrifices. My parents, Sandra Zecena and Luis Zecena, always encourage me to imagine the impossible. Whether I was worried about getting enough scholarships to enroll in college as an undocumented student, or applying to jobs during the pandemic, my mom gave me the courage and energy to keep going. Gracias por todo a mis papas, my older brother Luis Zecena, my tios y tias, and my abuela. Throughout the writing process, my furry babies Miss Lola and Mr. Toby kept me company and reminded me when it was time to take a break from writing. Lola, in particular, has a tendency to demand my attention by putting her paw on the keyboard—a diva gesture that reminds me to live in the moment. I owe both of you many treats and walks for your spirited love. And finally, Josh Carter, you followed me to the desert and taught me about selfless love. This degree is as much yours as mine, as you have been my rock in times when the ground felt shaky and held me when I most needed it. And at times, you brought me hot Cheetos when you knew I had writing deadlines (proof that you are definitely “the one”). I am excited for the new worlds we will make together in Texas. 5 Table of Contents List of figures……...…………………………………………………………..…………………..6 Abstract..………...…………………………………………………………...……………………7 Introduction..…………………………………………………………………...………………….8 Materials and Methods…………………………………………………………………...13 The Relational Lives of LGBTQ Migrants………………………………………………15 Intervention: Between Rights-Bearing Subjects and Impossible Subjects………………20 Chapter Summaries………………………………………………………………………22 Chapter 1..…………………………………………………………………..……………………25 Migrating Like a Queen: Visuality and Performance in the Trans Gay Caravan Testimonios and Performance at the Border……………………………………………..28 Queens that Assemble……………………………………………………………………37 Photojournalism and the Everyday………………………………………………………45 Queen Relationality……………………………………………………………………...54 Chapter 2…………………………………………………………………..……………………..56 Undocumented Subjects: Queer Negotiations of Time, Rights, and Nation-Based Citizenship Relational Politics: Digital Spaces, Public Cultures……………………………………..58 Deferred Temporalities…………………………………………………………………..68 Relational Identities……………………………………………………………………...79 Queer Negotiations………………………………………………………………………84 Chapter 3…………………………………………………………..………..……………………86 Transgressing Representation: The Unspoken Desires of Migrant and Diasporic Lesbians Just Friends? Queerness and Relational Ways of Life…………………………………...88 Silence and Queer Latina Gestures……………………………………………………..101 Unspoken Desires………………………………………………………………………111 Chapter 4……………………………………………………………………..…………………113 The Materiality of Being: Narration, Nostalgia, and Non-Belonging Nostalgic Recollections, Nostalgic Reclamations……………………………………...115 Narrating Material Deviance……………………………………………………………122 Queer Embodiment,