CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2011
| Author | Escobedo Lastiri, Diana |
|---|---|
| Title | Representations of Juchitan: A Heterotopia of Deviation |
| Summary | In this thesis I examine four documentary films made in the 21st century about Juchitán de Zaragoza, a city in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, with a rich history of representation that has emphasized its alleged matriarchy and “third gender” category, muxe. Typically associated with male cross-gender behavior and homosexuality, I problematize the salient use of this category. Building on post-colonial studies and visual anthropology, I examine how the representation of Juchitán constructs it as a space that is Other from the dominant West, based on its seemingly distinct gender and sexuality system. Through the notion of authenticity, and its intersection with ideas about nature, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender, I look into the asymmetry of power between the Other and the dominant culture. Furthermore, I examine how the films represent Juchitán as a place “we” are unable to understand, and thus turn it into what Michel Foucault calls a “heterotopia,” or a “heterotopia of deviation.” In the latter, Foucault argues for the existence of people whose behavior is outside the norm and this premise enables me to examine the mechanisms of societal order and control refracted through the visibility of the deviant. Thus, I argue, despite the liberatory projects of the films, their represention of Juchitan constructs it as an Other space and, in fact, ends up reinscribing hegemonic notions of gender and sexuality as organizing features of modern society. |
| Supervisor | Renkin, Hadley |
| Department | Gender Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2011/escobedo-lastiri_diana.pdf |
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