LGBT literature in Argentina

LGBT Literature in Argentina comprises Argentine authors using themes or characters that form a part of, or are related to, sexual diversity. It forms part of a tradition dating back to the 19th century, although LGBT literature as its own category in the Argentine humanities did not occur until the end of the 1950s and beginning of the 1960s, on par with the birth of the LGBT rights movement in the country.[1]

The first examples of LGBT relationships in Argentine literature had a negative connotation. These relationships illustrated the idea of the supposed social degradation in the working class and as an antagonistic paradigm of the platform that the country wanted to promote. The oldest is found in the story "The Slaughter Yard" (1838) by Esteban Echeverría, a classic of Argentine literature in which sex between men is used as a metaphor for barbarism. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, examples of homosexual characters were negative, and many culminated in tragedy.[2][3] Among these, a standout piece is the theatrical work Los Invertidos ("The Inverts," 1914) by José González Castillo, which was banned after its debut due to its subject matter. Los invertidos follows a bourgeois man who has a secret homosexual lover and who decides to commit suicide when his wife finds out about his sexual orientation.[4][5]

The 1959 story La narración de la historia ("The Narration of the Story") by Carlos Correas marked a paradigm shift, becoming the first Argentine literary work in which homosexuality is shown as a normal trait for the protagonist and not something harmful. However, its publication was controversial and there was a trial over its supposed immorality and pornographic content, in addition to a series of attacks on the author and the "homosexual/Marxist" conspiracy.[6] Also in 1956, Silvina Ocampo published Carta perdida en un cajón ("Letter Lost in a Drawer"), the first of her stories to include lesbian references.[7] A few years later, in 1964, Renato Pellegrini published the first LGBT novel in Argentina, Asfalto ("Asphalt"), which narrates the story of a young homosexual who discovers Buenos Aires' gay subculture and for which the author was sentenced to four months in jail for the crime of obscenity.[8]

In the latter half of the 20th century, Argentine authors began to incorporate LGBT acts or characters with political subtext about Peronism or military dictatorships.[9] Prominent in this was Manuel Puig, author of The Buenos Aires Affair (1973) and, in particular, Kiss of the Spider Woman (1976), one of the most well-known works in Spanish-language 20th century Latin American queer literature.[10][11][12] In the novel, Puig follows the story of Valentín and Molina, a left-wing revolutionary and a homosexual cinema fan, respectively, while they share a cell during Argentina's period of state terrorism.[13] Other works with LGBT characters or where violent homosexual acts are employed as a metaphor to tackle political topics are La invasión ("The Invasion," 1967) by Ricardo Piglia,[14] La boca de la ballena ("The Mouth of the Whale," 1973) by Héctor Lastra,[9] and El niño proletario ("The Proletarian Boy," 1973) by Osvaldo Lamborghini.[9] Although it not related to politics,[15] another of this era's notable figures was Alejandra Pizarnik who explored lesbian sexual violence in some of her works.[16]

During the last Argentine dictatorship, some novels came to light that were considered foundational in the Argentine lesbian narrative: Monte de Venus ("Mount Venus," 1976) by Reina Roffé and En breve cárcel ("Soon Prison," 1981) by Sylvia Molloy.[17] The first takes place in a school and narrates the story of a young lesbian who recounts her amorous adventures and wanderings through the city through recordings,[17][18] while the second novel follows a woman who writes her story from a room in which she waits in vain for the woman she loves.[19] Because of their themes, both novels were affected by censorship. Another historically important lesbian novel is Habitaciones ("Rooms") by Emma Barrandeguy, originally written in the 1950s but not published until 2002.[20]

The 1990s saw the publication of various famous LGBT works such as El affair Skeffington ("The Skeffington Affair," 1992) by María Moreno,[21][22] Plástico cruel ("Cruel Plastic," 1992) by José Sbarra,[23] Plata quemada ("Burning Money," 1997) by Ricardo Piglia, and [24] Un año sin amor ("A Year without Love," 1998) by Pablo Pérez, in which the author explores his experience living with HIV.[25] In the 21st century, LGBT literature has gained greater visibility in Argentina due to commercial success from authors like Gabriela Cabezón Cámara,[26] who began to explore sexual diversity in her novel La Virgen Cabeza ("Slum Virgin," 2009)[27] and achieved international fame with Las aventuras de la China Iron ("The Adventures of China Iron," 2017); and Camila Sosa Villada, in particular with her novel Las Malas ("Bad Girls," 2019).[26]

  1. ^ Melo, Adrián (2011). Historia de la literatura gay en la argentina. Representaciones sociales de la homosexualidad masculina en la ficción literaria [History of gay literature in Argentina. Social representations of masculine homosexuality in literary fiction] (in Spanish). Ediciones LEA. pp. 12, 13. ISBN 978-987-634-531-6.
  2. ^ Melo, 2011, p. 14–19
  3. ^ Melo, 2011, p. 155
  4. ^ "Página/12 :: libros". 7 March 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  5. ^ Melo, 2011, p. 94–101
  6. ^ Melo, 2011, p. 12
  7. ^ Arnés, Laura A. (2016). Ficciones lesbianas: Literatura y afectos en la cultura argentina [Lesbian fiction: Literature and its affects on Argentine culture] (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Madreselva. pp. 124–133. ISBN 978-987-3861-07-9. OCLC 985305089.
  8. ^ ""Asfalto": así es la primera novela gay argentina, que hoy resulta casi imposible conseguir - Infobae". 4 June 2022. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Melo, 2011, p. 215–233
  10. ^ "Lista completa de las 100 mejores novelas en castellano del siglo XX > elmundolibro - Anticuario". 3 March 2016. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Un mundo raro: Un mapa de libros gay de América Latina - Homosensual". 24 June 2022. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Los libros LGTB imprescindibles para celebrar el World Pride de Madrid". 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Manuel Puig y la sexualidad total | En el 90 aniversario de su nacimiento | Página12". 31 December 2022. Archived from the original on 31 December 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  14. ^ Melo, 2011, p. 233–236
  15. ^ "Hoy cumpliría 85 años Alejandra Pizarnik". 5 February 2023. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  16. ^ Arnés, 2016, p. 233–236
  17. ^ a b Arnés, 2016, p. 142–159
  18. ^ "Página/12 :: soy". 31 August 2022. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  19. ^ "Página/12 :: soy". 20 March 2016. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  20. ^ Arnés, 2016, p. 164–167
  21. ^ Arnés, 2016, p. 233–245
  22. ^ "A treinta años de su edición original vuelve "El affair Skeffington" de María Moreno | Página12". 25 November 2022. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  23. ^ "SALIÓ | Página12". 31 July 2017. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  24. ^ Melo, 2011, p. 341–344
  25. ^ "Página/12 :: soy". 11 February 2009. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  26. ^ a b "La literatura sobre disidencias sexuales gana voces y narrativas innovadoras". 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  27. ^ "Existencias lésbicas: Gabriela Cabezón Cámara - Periódicas". 29 January 2022. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2024.