By Maria I. Bryant 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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© COPYRIGHT by Maria I. Bryant 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DEDICATION To all the “Others” of the Nation PUERTO RICAN WOMEN‟S ROLES IN INDEPENDENCE NATIONALISM: UNWAVERING WOMEN BY Maria I. Bryant ABSTRACT This dissertation investigates the construction of women and feminism in the Puerto Rican nationalist project as presented in Claridad, “the newspaper of the Puerto Rican nation.” This study relies on an interpretive approach to methodology which weaves together several strands of sociological analysis. The research method is content analysis to study the newspaper Claridad as a social artifact for analysis. The sample of articles for analysis consists of 769 newspaper articles using content analysis to code and interpret the textual material from Claridad in the period 1980 to 2006. I also consult a range of other materials and observations as background for analysis. The analysis concentrates on women‟s roles in independence nationalism in Puerto Rico. The work of Anthias and Yuval-Davis (1989) and Yuval-Davis (1997) offer tools for inquiry into the roles or frames for women as heuristic devices to conduct the analysis of gender and nationalism. This study finds that the coverage of women‟s roles and feminism in independence nationalism in Puerto Rico is minimal or only 1.5 percent of the coverage, and that for the notion that Claridad is “the newspaper of the Puerto Rican nation,” women‟s roles in this independence project are marginal. My study ii affirms Anthias and Yuval-Davis‟ (1989), Yuval-Davis‟ (1997), Enloe‟s (1990) and Nagel‟s (1998) assertions that nationalism relegates women to certain frames and roles and consequently, gender as social relation of power is reproduced through men‟s interests, notions of masculinity, and by the discourses that use women to mediate the relationship between gender and nation. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Research is a collaborative process of struggle. This struggle would not have seen an end if I had not had the unwavering support of countless people. Dr. Gloria Ann (Gay) Young chaired my dissertation committee and throughout my long research process was always there to listen, to clarify, to support, and to guide. She also chaired my gender comprehensive examination and pushed my knowledge into crossing borders. I will always be indebted to you for all you did for me as a teacher all of these years at American University. You made it possible for me to believe that I could finish this process. Dr. Salvador Vidal-Ortiz served as member of the committee; I am so glad to have met you. My conversations with you pushed me to finish; although I never had the opportunity to take a course with you, I have learned so much about collective identity through our exchange of ideas and information. Dr. Karen E. Rosenblum, my first “gender” course teacher at George Mason University. You have continued to challenge and inspire me as a mentor, a teacher, and friend. You exposed me to feminist theory and feminism through “the meaning of difference.” My dear family has always been there for me. My partner/husband Brian and my daughter Ashley have been there with encouragement and support through so many crises. I followed my interests, and they gave me “a room of my own” or the whole house iv as our version of the “nation.” My sister, Eileen Serrano Mercado, has clarified many questions about the Puerto Rican experience and also helped me locate resources at local libraries in Puerto Rico and provided me with transportation. She is an engineer with a sociological eye. My parents gave me the discipline and love for education. Don Tomás Serrano García, papi/dad and Dona Toñita Mercado Rodríguez, mami/mom instilled in me the desire to persevere and to reach high and above. For all of your sacrifices for me and my brothers and sisters, thanks always. Education knows no frontiers. I also want to acknowledge the help of the library staff at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico and the Sala Luisa Capetillo at the University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus for their help and guidance. I also want to recognize the College of Southern Maryland library staff: Barbara Bowling, Anita Warnes, Bonnie White, Vincent Dobbs, and Joyce Hohn for their help with locating resources and interlibrary requests. Finally, I also want to thank my alma mater, the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and the teachings of Dr. Ruth Silva Bonilla for a rigorous education that demonstrated the importance of sociological analysis and scholarship. Dr. Silva Bonilla was my “first” feminist teacher during my undergraduate work at the UPR, thank you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................................. xi Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 Research Questions ..................................................................................... 6 Significance of the Study and Key Terms .................................................. 7 Limitations of Qualitative Research ......................................................... 12 Plan of the Dissertation ............................................................................. 14 2. HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF NATIONALISM AND FEMINISM .............. 17 Indigenous Society before Spanish Colonization ..................................... 22 Spanish Colonization of 1493 ................................................................... 25 Transnational Bodies as the Independence Nation ................................... 28 The Dawn of the Nation as a Political Entity ........................................... 32 The Emergence of Feminism .................................................................... 38 The American Colonization of 1898 ......................................................... 43 Nationalist Activism through Party Politics ............................................. 48 The Nationalist Revolts of Women........................................................... 53 vi The Modernization Project for Puerto Rico .............................................. 55 Political Radicalism in the Diaspora ......................................................... 57 Feminism and Socialism as Double Militancy ......................................... 61 Rethinking Feminism and Nationalism .................................................... 74 Analytic Conclusion.................................................................................. 80 3. THEORY ON NATIONS TAKING INTO ACCOUNT GENDER AND FEMINIST CRITIQUE ....................................................................................... 87 Nations and Nationalisms ......................................................................... 89 The National Question in Puerto Rico .................................................... 107 Puerto Rican Intellectuals Critique the Nation ....................................... 120 Puerto Rican Women in Nationalism ..................................................... 127 Analytic Conclusion................................................................................ 135 Conclusion .............................................................................................. 138 4. METHOLOGY, METHOD, AND MATERIALS.......................................... 140 Methodology ........................................................................................... 141 Method and Materials ............................................................................. 148 Coding and Analysis ............................................................................... 166 Limitations of the Study.......................................................................... 172 5. THE MASCULINE PROJECT OF INDEPENDENCE NATIONALISM ....178 Contextualizing Women‟s Roles in Claridad ......................................... 181 Commemorating the History of Colonization......................................... 182 Martyrdom and Sacrifice for the Nation ................................................. 186 The Masculinized Women as Political Prisoners.................................... 187 The Next Wave of Prisoners from Diaspora ........................................... 196 vii Political Prisoners as a Sample of the Nation ......................................... 201 Analytic Conclusion: Gender and Nation ............................................... 204 6. WOMEN‟S HISTORY AND WOMEN WORTHIES FOR COMMEMORATING THE NATION…………………………………………207 The Nationalist Story of Women‟s History ............................................ 208 Women Worthies .................................................................................... 214 International Worthies and Country Profiles .......................................... 223 Summary ................................................................................................. 229 7. FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF THE NATIONALIST PROJECT ...................... 233 Feminists Speak Out for Themselves ..................................................... 234 Feminism Critiques Nationalism ...........................................................