Between Camp and Cursi: Humor and Homosexuality in Contemporary Mexican Narrative

254 Pages·2021·4.294 MB·English

by  Brandon P. Bisbey

Between Camp and Cursi
SUNY series, Genders in the Global South
—————
Debra A. Castillo and Shelley Feldman, editors
Between Camp and Cursi
Humor and Homosexuality in
Contemporary Mexican Narrative
BRANDON P. BISBEY
Cover art from Wikimedia is entitled “El baile de los 41 maricones” (1901);
by Jose Guadalupe Posada.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2022 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system
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magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior
permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Name: Bisbey, Brandon P., author.
Title: Between camp and cursi : humor and homosexuality in contemporary
Mexican narrative / Brandon P. Bisbey.
Description: Albany : SUNY Press, [2021] | Series: SUNY series, genders in
the global south | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021036724 (print) | LCCN 2021036725 (ebook) | ISBN
9781438486659 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438486673 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Mexican literature—History and criticism. | Homosexuality
in literature. | Queer theory. | Humor in literature. | Gender identity—
Mexico. | LCGFT: Literary criticism.
Classification: LCC PQ7122.H66 B57 2021 (print) | LCC PQ7122.H66 (ebook) |
DDC 860.9/972353—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021036724
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021036725
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Para Alicia

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
Chapter 1
The Other Mexican Revolution: Camp and Cursilería in the
Queer Self-Construction of Salvador Novo 13
Chapter 2
Homosexuales de corazón: Humor, Homophobia, and How to be
a Man at the End of the 20th Century 51
Chapter 3
Dressing the Part: Literary Portrayals of Travestis, Locas, Vestidas,
and Jotas 79
Chapter 4
Having Your Cake and Eating It Too: Bisexual Bildungsromane
from Dismodern Mexico 117
Chapter 5
Machorra Camp and Lesbian Cursilería: Sexuality, Gender,
and Humor in Narratives by and about Queer Women 157
Conclusions 185
viii Contents
Notes 191
Works Cited 207
Index 223
Illustrations
Figure 1.1 José Guadalupe Posada, “Los 41 maricones” 30
Figure 1.2 José Guadalupe Posada, “El feminismo se impone” 31
Figure 1.3 Masculine and Feminine Scripts 32
Figure 1.4 Modern and Unmodern Scripts 34
ix