Gender in Hispanic Literature and Visual Arts eds. by Bolaños-Fabres, Patricia, Tania Gómez, and Christina Mougoyanni Hennessy (review)

The editors of Gender in Hispanic Literature and Visual Arts aim “to reveal the cultural perspective around gender in the Hispanic world” (ix). Moreover, because today’s “theoretical approaches” must account for “infinite gender identities within a continuous spectrum,” the issues at stake, namely the power of “Western patriarchal and privileged androcentric systems,” require that the “mimetic mediums of social values and stances,” namely literature and cinema, be addressed by a “polyphonic” range of viewpoints (ix–x). To this end, with an eye toward exposing strategies of resistance, the ten contributors consider works of fiction, poetry, performance, and film from artists of Latin America and Spain. The intended audience, no doubt, will find little to question about the merit of this project, but may feel the execution falls short. Despite some novel insights, much of the writing remains problematic.

A successful chapter is that of Christina Karageorgou-Bastea. Her reading of the relationship between word and visual image in the poetry of Cristina Peri Rossi engages the reader. Claims about the “inherent violence hidden in the ekphrastic practice” (121) make evident how the Uruguayan poet, as “female curator” (127), captures the gendered layers of the “eye/I” (125) in history and aesthetics. The argument stresses the “historiographical rather than the semiotic” (130) dimension inherent in Peri Rossi’s “embodied utterances” (131). Likewise, Elizabeth G. Rivero’s chapter on formerly incarcerated women central to the documentary Memorias de mujeres (2005) is noteworthy for problematizing “the black-and-white distinction that separates heroes from traitors” (146), which should not hold in cases of torture but often does. Finally, Marcela T. Garcés looks at the subversive face of fashion in Spain during the post-dictatorship transition and concludes her chapter on the film El Calentito (2005) with reflections on the word libertad literally worn on the backs of women in the final scene (167).

Yet, by contrast, in discussing Sandra Monterroso’s performance piece, Tus tortillas mi amor (2004), Emilia Barbosa contradicts herself. For example, “women are not advancing in Guatemala” (101) is followed by “the current situation for women in Guatemala has improved” (102), or Monterroso “becomes a site of remembrance” (110) while she “distances herself from mere memory” (110). Other passages ring hollow, “if all women resist and put up a fight, can patriarchal rule keep pinning women down by their bodies?” (112). And, noticeably longer than other contributions, Barbosa’s runs amok in repetition, including complete sentences that appear verbatim on consecutive pages, “She mimics oppression toward the Other and convincingly shows that the Other, in her role as a tortillera is, ultimately, one’s self” (115, 116). The final generalization, “women may empower and value themselves both in the home and outside the family as citizens of their country and the world we share” (117), signals a need for better editing.

Similarly, as an editor of the volume and institutional colleague of the other two editors, Tania Gómez raises concerns about the criteria for publication with her own contribution. She elaborates on her choice of two Colombian films by male directors with, “Since the filmmakers are men, the films say that at least some men want gender equality as well. More men should want to join these ranks after seeing these films made by their fellow men. More women may be inspired to beat the obstacles and direct more than documentaries, and perhaps they can even co-direct a film with men” (87). She then argues that to present “a thoughtful and decisive woman” is to imagine “the possibilities of a new feminine world” (87). The woman in question is one who, after being raped nightly by her husband, bites off his penis. Goméz explains, “The fact that a male director would show the image of a man’s worst nightmare reveals that the directors feel the pain of...