Transvestism, Masculinity, and Latin American Literature

This text is about transvestism and the performance of gender in Latin American literature and culture. Ben. Sifuentes-Jaregui explores the figure of the transvestite and his/her relation to the body through a series of canonical Latin American texts. By analyzing works by Alejo Carpentier, Jose Donoso, Severo Sarduy and Manuel Puig (author of "Kiss of the Spiderwoman"), alongside critical works in gender studies and queer theory, Sifuentes-Jauregui shows how transvestism operates not only to destabilize, but often to affirm sexual, gender, national and political identities.