Performing Masculinity, Performing the Self: Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima and Heart of Aztlan
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: This article explores how Bless Me, Ultima and Heart of Aztlan, the two earliest novels by \nacclaimed Chicano writer Rudolfo Anaya, problematise and negotiate Chicano masculinity \nissues. I will focus on the main characters of the novels, who, at different vital moments of \ntheir lives, question the meaning of manhood amidst important socio-economic changes and \nconflicting cultural traditions. Anaya reveals the complexity of being “mestizo” in American \nsociety, and exposes how hegemonic standards of masculinity are Manichean, restrictive and \nreliant on gender inequality. I will finally examine whether the novels challenge hegemonic \ngender orders, successfully negotiate non-heterosexist ideals of manhood, and ultimately \ncontribute to the advancement of egalitarian gender relations for the Chicana/o community
Author: Aishih Wehbe Herrera
Language: English
Subfield: Cultural Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W215298386