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LGBTQ+ Latino Literature

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LGBTQ Latino literature is a form of written art that addresses the lives and complex experiences of Latinos who are part of the LGBTQ community. It can be considered as a subtopic of Latino literature as all the authors are of Latin American descent while also identifying within the lesbian, Gay, bisexual, transgender, or other queer sexualities and gender identities. To be considered queer Latino literature, the author, subject matter, and or characters much be connected in some way to the LGBTQ+ and Latino Community, however that identity is not required to encompass the complete written work. Many of the works are by authors who have grown up or are living in the United States, such as Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans, etc. Much of the literature is written in English, with some also written bilingually in English and Spanish. To be considered queer Latino literature, the author, subject matter, and/or characters much be connected in some way to the LGBTQ+ and Latino community.

Prominent authors include: Achy Obejas, Gloria Anzaldúa, Terri de la Peña, Carla Trujillo, Francisco X. Alarcón, Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano, Emanuel Xavier, Tatiana de la Tierra, Denise Frohman, Carlos Mock, Cherríe Moraga, Emma Pérez,

Gloria Anzaldua. Oakland, CA, 1988.

Latino Queer theory

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Queer theory was born as an academic study in the early 1990s used to address the growing representation of queer identities,[1] where it originally branched out of gay/lesbian studies.[2] Through their works, theorists such as the Chicana author Gloria Anzaldúa challenged the idea that heterosexuality is the norm or standard by arguing that sexualities and gender orientations exist and hold cultural practices different from heterosexuality and cis-normativity.[3][4]

A professor of Mexican American and Latina/o/x Studies at the University of Texas, Michael Hames-Garcia, wrote on his experience with queer theory as a gay Chicano. He theorized that many queer studies that came out of the nineties has erased or forgotten to include Latinos,[1] and that "people of color were to provide raw experience for white academics to theorize", but not to contribute to the field of study.[1] Thus there is need to "Revisit" the concept of queer theory within the lens of being a person of color, and more specifically a person for Latin American desendent. Viewing Latino literature, and other cultural practices through Queer Theory gives voice and understanding to previously marginalized voices.[5] Another scholar in Latino Studies, Frank García agrees with Hames-Garcia and the need for "selective specificity"[5] when it comes to studying queer theory and connecting it to the Latina/o/x community. The fight is to bring Latinos into the conversation of queerness, which is made possible through politics, literature, and academia.[6][5]

The Chicana Feminist Movement made much of the growing representation possible for LGBTQ+ Latinos to gain a voice and recognition in Queer theory.[2] The movement pushed authors and activist so much so that lesbian studies are the more advanced area of Latino Queer Theory and Literature.[2]

Types of literature and themes

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Poetry

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A form of written art that is in verse form, poetry is a space for authors to express themselves lyrically and abstractly while also evoking strong emotions.[7] LGBTQ Latino authors express themselves, and readers can connect with the abstract material and find deeper understanding and, in many cases, a community in its words.[8] According to Emilie L. Bergmann and Paul Julian Smith, poetry became a figurative "Underground Railroad", meaning if the reader understood the writings, it was for them, and they would be connected to the queer community.[8]

Feminist and lesbian poetry are connected in many ways as they were born through the Chicana Feminist Movement; they are intertwined to the point that much of the scholarship and literature cannot separate them. The works of Lucha Corpi, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Pat Mora, Julia Alvarez, Rhina Espaillat, and many others were composed to combat patriarchy and establish a voice and their respective sexualities. Lesbian Latina poetry will also advocate for the "Latina Body", or the image of the female Latina, protecting their bodies and thus the feminine past and future.[9] They also present poetry in different ways, some in free verse, others recalling long ago heritage by using a formal short-line Spanish format, (a form used extensively by Lucha Corpi), and other is spoken word poetry/slam poetry, which is a performance centered free verse style poem, an example would include Denise Frohman's

Seattle Pride 1995 - Latino contingent 01.

Francisco X. Alarcón's book Ya Vas, Carnal (1985) was the first published collection of gay Latino poetry, in which he advocates for the need to see homosexuality and poetry writing together. His poetry follows a "poetic rhythm and a penetrating, staccato to celebrate Latino identity",[10] meaning that Alacrón's strict and flowing rhythm is broken by short breaks in the flow, following a free verse style. His work celebrates their identity while pushing back against homophobia and xenophobia.[10]

Free verse, which does not require strict rules for the poem composition, is a common form of poetry for contemporary LGBTQ+ literature. More formal forms of composition are also utilized, such as the sonnets and the villanelle, where there are specific and fixed numbers of lines and syllables. These forms can also be used in conjunction with free verse, where the formal requirement becomes a shadow guide for the work is a trademark of Rafael Campo's work.[10] Examples of the mixing of free verse and sonnet by Campo include: What the Body Told (1996)[11], Landscape with Human Figure (1994),[12]and The Other Man Was Me (1994).[13]

Dramas and plays

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Drama and theater are performative literature that typically take place on a stage and offer commentary on a variety of subjects, but for this article, Latino LGBTQ theater works comment on homosexuality, homophobia, identity, and community.[14] Chicano theater scholar Jorge Huerta wrote in his book Chicano Drama: Performance, Society, and Myth discussing the theatrical works of Chicanos and includes a number of queer subject matters and performances.[14] Huerta gives the historical context of Latino LGBTQ+ theater, stating that the topic of sexuality was avoided in drama until the 1990s but was still discouraged by many theater houses and was entirely taboo in many Chicano homes.[15] The result was commented on by scholar Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano as play writes were encouraged to challenge to the heteronormative scenes and for "the exploration of questions of sexuality."[16]

Changing tides in Latino/Chicano LGBTQ+ representation in theater emerged in 1972 with Day of the Swallows by a heterosexual playwright Estela Portillo-Trambley.[14] The play follows two women in their forbidden and clandestine relationship as they search for security and an escape from repressive male ideals for women, and it ends with a tragic suicide.[14][17] The reception of the play varied with praise and, criticism that Huerta refers to as "stereotypical or uninformed" heterosexuality,[14] where the lesbianism of the characters are only seen as a response to difficult situations with men. While characters and their journeys were confused and in ways, misinterpreted, Day of the Swallows paved the way of other playwrights to enter center stage. Playwrights such as Cherríe Moraga, Josephina López, Guillermo Reyes, Edgar Poma, Oliver Mayer, María Irene Fornés, Dolores Prida, and Janis Astor del Valle, lend their voices on stage to topics of immigration, bi-culturalism, and constantly shifting identities to give viewers an inside look on the cultural situation faced by may Latinos and LGBTQ+ Latinos.

Huerta describes different representation types of LGBTQ+ characters and themes, dividing them into lesbian or gay side characters, closeted characters, and or lesbian/gay main characters.[14] His scholarship argues that to be considered queer literature, the plot and themes do not have to strictly revolve around the LGBTQ+ characters and situations but that their representation in Latino and Chicano theater demonstrates greater understanding of Latino subculture.[14][9]

Novels

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A novel is a form of literature that is dependent on prose for the length of a piece of fiction. The extended length and general format of a novel allows authors to get more in-depth with and complex with their subject matters than is possible in poetry, theater, or short story.[10] Latino studies scholar Frederick Luis Aldama argued that novels were typically and historically more difficult to publish with, especially for Latinos/as, as publishing companies were hesitant to sign on Latinos or those that would not fit the presumed mold of best-selling authors.[10]

Gay Latino Float (623151097).

The discrimination did not stop Latinas from writing, but instead, they worked to include the novel as another writing format to their writing repertoire.[10] This meant that many Latina authors that wrote about lesbian relationships or we're queer relationships had turned to novel writing having already established themselves in short stories poetry or dramas. Latinas began to use the novel in autobiographical ways and as historical fiction to demonstrate in-depth coming-of-age stories. for example, author Emma Pérez Gulf Dream (1996) focuses on an unnamed protagonist as she discovers her place as a Chicana and her own sexuality while being confronted by violence against women and homosexuals in her community.[18] Pérez also relies heavily on the theme of desire as it shapes the narrative.[19] The themes present in Gulf Dreams are also represented similarly in Carla Trujillo's What Night Brings with her book following the experiences of young girl “unveiling her queer existence, where the girl is faced with the dangerous realities of homophobia."[18][19]

The use of the novel for narrative fiction is also demonstrated in books such as Sor Juana's Second Dream by Alicia Gaspar de Alba, and many gay authors such as Lawrence La Fountian-Stokes, Arturo Islas, and Elías Miguel Muñoz. Specific to novels by gay authors, the narrative will comment on the Latino family, and rape (referred to in many Latino works as "sodomize"), while also offering a place for authors, like Islas, to reflect on personal experiences.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Hames-García, Michael (2011), Hames-García, Michael; Martínez, Ernesto Javier (eds.), "Queer Theory Revisited", Gay Latino Studies, Duke University Press, pp. 19–45, doi:10.1215/9780822393856-002, ISBN 978-0-8223-4937-2, retrieved 2025-04-05
  2. ^ a b c Tatum, Charles M. (2006). Chicano and Chicana literature: otra voz del pueblo. The Mexican American experience. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-8165-2427-3. OCLC 67922049.
  3. ^ Watson, Katherine (2005-03-01). "Queer Theory". Group Analysis. 38 (1): 67–81. doi:10.1177/0533316405049369. ISSN 0533-3164.
  4. ^ de Lauretis, Teresa (1991-07-01). "Queer Theory: Lesbian and Gay Sexualities An Introduction". differences. 3 (2): iii–xviii. doi:10.1215/10407391-3-2-iii. ISSN 1040-7391.
  5. ^ a b c García, Frank (2024-08-01). "Practicing Latinx: queer theory and the deradicalization of Latinx". Latino Studies. 22 (2): 238–253. doi:10.1057/s41276-024-00460-8. ISSN 1476-3443.
  6. ^ González, Liliana C. (2019-06-25), "Queerness in Latina/o/x Literature", Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.013.348, ISBN 978-0-19-020109-8, retrieved 2025-04-06
  7. ^ Johnson-Laird, Philip N.; Oatley, Keith (2022-04-01). "How poetry evokes emotions". Acta Psychologica. 224: 103506. doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103506. ISSN 0001-6918.
  8. ^ a b Bergmann, Emilie L.; Smith, Paul Julian, eds. (1995). ¿Entiendes? queer readings, Hispanic writings. Series Q. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-1615-2.
  9. ^ a b Aldama, Frederick Luis (2013). The Routledge concise history of Latino/a literature. Routledge concise histories of literature. New York: Routledge. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-415-66787-6.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Aldama, Frederick Luis (2013). The Routledge concise history of Latino/a literature. Routledge concise histories of literature. New York: Routledge. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-415-66787-6.
  11. ^ Campo, Rafael (1996). What the body told. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-1742-5.
  12. ^ Campo, Rafael (2002). Landscape with human figure. Durham, N.C: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-2875-9.
  13. ^ Campo, Rafael (1994). The other man was me: a voyage to the New World. Houston: Arte Público Press. ISBN 978-1-55885-120-7.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g Huerta, Jorge A. (2000). Chicano drama: performance, society, and myth. Cambridge studies in American theatre and drama. Cambridge [England] ; New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-521-77119-1.
  15. ^ Huerta, Jorge (2000). Chicano drama: performance, society and myth. Cambridge studies in American theatre and drama. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-521-77119-1.
  16. ^ Yarbro-Bejarano, Yvonne (1986). "The Female Subject in Chicano Theatre: Sexuality, "Race," and Class". Theatre Journal. 38 (4): 389–407. doi:10.2307/3208283. ISSN 0192-2882.
  17. ^ Detwiler, Louise (1996). "The Question of Cultural Difference and Gender Oppression in Estela Portillo-Trambley's "the Day of the Swallows"". Bilingual Review / La Revista Bilingüe. 21 (2): 146–152. ISSN 0094-5366.
  18. ^ a b Gouvêa, Nathália Araujo Duarte de (2017). "but ive always been the wrong way : Chicana identity negotiations framed through sexuality and violence in Emma Pérez s Gulf dreams and Carla Trujillo s What night brings". Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro.
  19. ^ a b Hernández, Ellie (2003), Arredondo, Gabriela F.; Hurtado, Aida; Klahn, Norma; Najera-Ramirez, Olga (eds.), "Chronotope of Desire: Emma Pérez's Gulf Dreams", Chicana Feminisms, Duke University Press, pp. 155–183, doi:10.1215/9780822384359-006, ISBN 978-0-8223-3105-6, retrieved 2025-04-08
  20. ^ Aldama, Frederick Luis (2013). The Routledge concise history of Latino/a literature. Routledge concise histories of literature series. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-415-66788-3.
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