The International Journal of Literary Humanities

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"El Proceso" of Argentine Imprisonment: An Historical Perspective Regarding Marianismo Representation in Manuel Puig's "Kiss of the Spider Woman"


     

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The universal trend of feminizing male inmates - arguably the ultimate punishment - emerges upon examining male penal narratives within the governmental prison reform and legislative activity subsequent to their publications. Manuel Puig's sexually subversive text "Kiss of the Spider Woman" blends the worlds of Argentine gender dynamics and inmate experiences under the tyrannical El Proceso regime, which dominated the country from 1976 to 1983. Puig utilizes the motif of the marianismo figure, a concept highly prevalent in Latin American gender exchanges, to illustrate the feminization of the male inmate under the dictatorial administration. President Carlos Menem's mass exoneration of junta leaders by 1990 demonstrates the emphasized femininity expected of the victims under the administration of El Proceso, actualizing Puig's literary contention.

Keywords

Connell, Gender, Hegemonic Masculinity, Latin America, Literature, Marianismo, Prison, Theory.
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  • "El Proceso" of Argentine Imprisonment: An Historical Perspective Regarding Marianismo Representation in Manuel Puig's "Kiss of the Spider Woman"

Abstract Views: 173  |  PDF Views: 1

Authors

Brian Michael Padgett
, United States

Abstract


The universal trend of feminizing male inmates - arguably the ultimate punishment - emerges upon examining male penal narratives within the governmental prison reform and legislative activity subsequent to their publications. Manuel Puig's sexually subversive text "Kiss of the Spider Woman" blends the worlds of Argentine gender dynamics and inmate experiences under the tyrannical El Proceso regime, which dominated the country from 1976 to 1983. Puig utilizes the motif of the marianismo figure, a concept highly prevalent in Latin American gender exchanges, to illustrate the feminization of the male inmate under the dictatorial administration. President Carlos Menem's mass exoneration of junta leaders by 1990 demonstrates the emphasized femininity expected of the victims under the administration of El Proceso, actualizing Puig's literary contention.

Keywords


Connell, Gender, Hegemonic Masculinity, Latin America, Literature, Marianismo, Prison, Theory.

References