Synopses & Reviews
In the turbulent decades following the Mexican Revolution, Mexico City saw a drastic influx of female migrants seeking escape and protection from the ravages of war in the countryside. While some settled in slums and tenements, where the informal economy often provided the only means of survival, the revolution, in the absence of men, also prompted women to take up traditionally male roles, created new jobs in the public sphere open to women, and carved out new social spaces in which women could exercise agency.
In Deco Body, Deco City, Ageeth Sluis explores the effects of changing gender norms on the formation of urban space in Mexico City by linking aesthetic and architectural discourses to political and social developments. Through an analysis of the relationship between female migration to the city and gender performances on and off the stage, the book shows how a new transnational ideal female physique informed the physical shape of the city. By bridging the gap between indigenismo (pride in Mexicoandrsquo;s indigenous heritage) and mestizaje (privileging the ideal of race mixing), this new female deco body paved the way for mestizo modernity. This cultural history enriches our understanding of Mexicoandrsquo;s postrevolutionary decades and brings together social, gender, theater, and architectural history to demonstrate how changing gender norms formed the basis of a new urban modernity.
Review
andldquo;Ageeth Sluis has opened the history of the Mexican Revolution to the gendered gaze of urbanization, art, theater, and modernity. . . . A fascinating study.andrdquo;andmdash;Donna Guy, emerita professor of history at Ohio State University and author of Sex and Danger in Buenos Aires: Prostitution, Family, and Nation in Argentinaand#160;and#160;
Review
andldquo;Deco Body, Deco City offers cutting-edge analysis and a sweeping look at subjects never before studied in twentieth-century Mexican history: markets, opera performers, urban parks, and how women navigated a revolutionary regime.andrdquo;andmdash;James Garza, associate professor of history and ethnic studies at the University of Nebraskaandndash;Lincoln and author of The Imagined Underworld: Sex, Crime, and Vice in Porfirian Mexico Cityand#160;and#160;and#160;
Review
andldquo;This is a great book. It enriches our understanding of the postrevolutionary decade and brings together social, gender, theater, and architectural history in the way that only the best cultural historians of Mexico can.andrdquo;andmdash;Victor Macandiacute;as-Gonzandaacute;lez, professor of history and womenandrsquo;s gender, and sexuality studies at the University of Wisconsinandndash;La Crosse
Synopsis
Women's bodies have become a battleground. Around the world, people argue about veiling, schooling for Afghan girls, and -SlutWalk- protests, all of which involve issues of women's sexuality and freedom. Globalization, with its emphasis on human rights and individuality, heats up these arguments. In Of Virgins and Martyrs, David Jacobson takes the reader on a fascinating tour of how self-identity developed throughout history and what individualism means for Muslim societies struggling to maintain a sense of honor in a globalized twenty-first century.
Some patriarchal societies have come to see women's control of their own sexuality as a threat to a way of life that goes back thousands of years. Many trace their lineage to tribal cultures that were organized around the idea that women's virginity represents the honor of male relatives and the good of the community at large. Anyone or anything that influences women to the contrary is considered a corrupting and potentially calamitous force.
Jacobson analyzes the connection between tribal patriarchy and Muslim radicalism through an innovative tool--the tribal patriarchy index. This index helps to illuminate why women's sexuality, dress, and image so compel militant Muslim outrage and sometimes violent action, revealing a deeper human story of how women's status defines competing moral visions of society and why this present clash is erupting with such ferocity.
Synopsis
Explores the role of women's status, bodies, and sexuality in global conflicts.
Women's bodies have become a battleground. Around the world, people argue about veiling, schooling for Afghan girls, and SlutWalk protests, all of which involve issues of women's sexuality and freedom. Globalization, with its emphasis on human rights and individuality, heats up these arguments. In Of Virgins and Martyrs, David Jacobson takes the reader on a fascinating tour of how self-identity developed throughout history and what individualism means for Muslim societies struggling to maintain a sense of honor in a globalized twenty-first century.
Some patriarchal societies have come to see women's control of their own sexuality as a threat to a way of life that goes back thousands of years. Many trace their lineage to tribal cultures that were organized around the idea that women's virginity represents the honor of male relatives and the good of the community at large. Anyone or anything that influences women to the contrary is considered a corrupting and potentially calamitous force.
Jacobson analyzes the connection between tribal patriarchy and Muslim radicalism through an innovative tool--the tribal patriarchy index. This index helps to illuminate why women's sexuality, dress, and image so compel militant Muslim outrage and sometimes violent action, revealing a deeper human story of how women's status defines competing moral visions of society and why this present clash is erupting with such ferocity.
About the Author
Ageeth Sluis is an associate professor of history at Butler University. Her work has been published in several journals, including the Journal of Transnational American Studies, Journal of Urban History, and The Americas.