Comments on Viva la Feminista: Book Review - Hijas Americanas

thanks rosie, you putting my question in context s...

2008-05-30T10:27:00.000-05:00

thanks rosie, you putting my question in context so eloquently. i'll see if the campus where i work has a copy in the bookstore. if they don't, they should.

Thanks for stopping by Rosie! And for answering ou...

2008-05-29T22:30:00.000-05:00

Thanks for stopping by Rosie! And for answering our questions.

Veronica, I so appreciated reading your thoughts a...

2008-05-29T15:36:00.000-05:00

Veronica, I so appreciated reading your thoughts about the book. It's always interesting to learn what resonated with people-- and I appreciate your thoughtful commentary.

Javacat, your comment reminded me of what my grad school professor said when I told him I didn't want to publish. He looked me in the eye and said, "Would it have made you feel better at 17 if you had been able to read then what you just spent 2 years writing?"

r@d@r, you asked a great question about the cover. After it was presented to me, I learned that the designer was trying to find a way to evoke the idea that the book was about the coming of age experiences of Latinas especially with regard to ethnic identity, body image, and beauty perception without assigning one face to the notion. The photo, I believe, was from stock images that the designer/ publisher purchased to use for the cover. I wonder if the young woman has ever walked into a book store, saw the cover, and thought, "They cut my face off." That's the weird thing I think about-- that young woman, probably now a woman, discovering this cover. Actually, I sometimes play it out in my head like an Everybody Hates Chris or Seinfeld episode. Maybe I should write a blog about that!

Getting an education is a paradox. It seems that ...

2008-05-29T14:51:00.000-05:00

Getting an education is a paradox. It seems that once we go to college we become "not Latina" enough. It's as thought setting the lowest possible expectations for ourselves is paramount to belonging to our communities. I could have used this book 20 years ago but could enjoy it retrospectively today.

This definitely sounds like something I should pic...

2008-05-29T11:18:00.000-05:00

This definitely sounds like something I should pick up. From a couple of the things you pointed out like:

"I've also been told plenty of times that I wasn't Puerto Rican enough, or even Puerto Rican at all." - page 6.

Molinary spends a good chunk of time going over the hardships that Latinas face including being raised to please everyone but yourself (page 67) that may leave many unable to negotiate sexual relationships. Not to mention having to negotiate the way society and our families frame Latina sexuality (page 94).

... this is my life! I'm not Cuban enough for anyone (because I was born here and speak more english than Spanish), but then when I travel North, I'm a "spic" (hate, hate HATE that word!), so which is it? And the not being able to please everyone, um yeah! All the freaking time! Nobody's every happy with anything I do. They just want to suck the soul out of me!

Enough ranting, thanks for the heads up!

what's with the cover, though? is there some reas...

2008-05-29T10:08:00.000-05:00

what's with the cover, though? is there some reason why we are presented with this image of a person without eyes? sorry, i just think about weird things like that. publishers think about visual marketing very carefully when they package a book - i can't imagine that it's simply some random image. what do you think?

Sounds like an interesting book. I may check it ou...

2008-05-29T07:42:00.000-05:00

Sounds like an interesting book. I may check it out :) Thanks!

Found you through NaCoLeavMo.