Estudio Comparativo Sobre la Prostitucion en la Ficcion Latinoamericana y en el Testimonio: 1888-2015

Esther Teixeira, Purdue University

Abstract

This research aims to build a historical panorama of prostitution through selected literary works from Latin America – from late 19^th century to 21^st century – to demonstrate that despite their geographical and temporal distance, these works respond to similar anxieties regarding the prostitute´s status in our society that have not been resolved. The novels selected are Mercedes Cabello’s Blanca Sol (Peru; 1888), Aluisio Azevedo’s The Slum (Brazil; 1890) and Laura Restrepo’s The Dark Bride (Colombia; 1999). In the fictional work analyzed predominates an image of the prostitute as the ultimate symbol of poverty and social chaos. These writers’ approach is corroborated by well-known feminists who argue that prostitution is a consequence of the lack of education and labor opportunities for women. To question this approach, the last chapter focuses on testimonies from sex workers to seek an understanding of prostitution through testimonial writings. Therefore, I analyze the autobiographies I, Woman of the Streets (Brazil; 1992), Daughter, Mother, Grandmother and Whore: the Story of a Woman who Decided to be a Prostitute (Brazil; 2009) by Gabriela Leite, and original testimonies collected in Brazil in 2015. I examine the correlation between these testimonies and more traditional – or rather hegemonic – representations of the prostitute by fictional writers and feminist scholars, to argue that not all sex workers want to be seeing as victims of social injustices, nor want to be “rescued” by well-intended feminists and intellectuals.^

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Marcia Stephenson, Purdue University, Paul Dixon, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Latin American literature|Gender studies

COinS