Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 16 (2012). Se ille, Spain, ISSN 1133-309-X, 167-180
CULTURAL MIGRATIONS AND GENDERED
SUBJECTS: COLONIAL AND POSTCOLONIAL
REPRESENTATIONS OF THE FEMALE BODY. Sil ia
Pila Cas o Bo ego and Ma ía Isabel Rome o Ruiz,
eds. Newcas le upon Tyne: Camb idge Schola s
Publishing, 2011. ISBN (10): 1-4438-2646. 160 pp.
CARME MANUEL
Uni e si a de València
ca men.manuel@u .es
This olume, edi ed by Sil ia Cas o Bo ego and Isabel Rome o Ruiz,
bea s es imony o i s edi o s’ con inuous and p aisewo hy e o s o s udy he
gende ed subal e n in pos colonial li e a u es and cul u es. Cul u al Mig a ions and
Gende ed Subjec s is hei la es a emp o o e an explo a ion o “ he con ibu ions
o women o he cons uc ion o knowledge h ough cul u al and li e a y
ep esen a ions in an e e -changing global wo ld as mig an subjec s” (1). As a
collec ion o essays anging om an analysis o nine een h-cen u y B i ish p ess
w i ings on p os i u ion o an in-dep h s udy o black women’s ep esen a ion in
popula hip hop ideo cul u e, i poses a challenge o he na u aliza ion o gende -
based expe iences and his o ies o Eu opean, Eu o-Ame ican, A ican and A ican
Ame ican women. Fu he mo e, i a es s o Cas o’s and Rome o’s claim o he
need o an in e disciplina y c i ical me hod as well as o a e hinking o women
schola s as “cul u al wo ke s”, as b inge s o “a body o knowledge which os e s
sel -de e mina ion and sel - ep esen a ion” (2).
The book includes an “In oduc ion” by he edi o s and six chap e s— wo
o hem w i en by he edi o s hemsel es and he es by well-known specialis s on
A ican-Ame ican and pos colonial heo ies and li e a u es— ha ocus “on he
his o ical and li e a y aspec s which a e connec ed wi h he social conside a ion o
he emale body in se e al academic discou ses, as amed by ac o s such as gende ,
class, ace and e hnici y, challenging s e eo ypes abou women’s ep esen a ions and
women’s iden i ies” (1). In he In oduc ion, “Repossessing Ou Bodies and
Ou sel es”, he edi o s explain he heo e ical unde pinnings o he essays ollowing
and cha he me hodological pe spec i es ha unde lie he di e en app oaches
aken by he con ibu o s. G ounding hei esea ch o con empo a y issues on he
colonial pas and on he di e si y o women’s expe iences, Cas o and Rome o
con end ha he de ini ions o women’s iden i ies explo ed he e a e based on
168 Ca me Manuel
Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 16 (2012). Se ille, Spain, ISSN 1133-309-X, 167-180
women’s own expe iences, “seeking he ways in which he public ma king and
ma ke ing o he emale body wi hin he Wes e n imagina y con ibu es o he
making o women’s social and pe sonal iden i ies” (1). The edi o s ollow closely
Jacqui Alexande ’s and Chand a Talpade Mohan y’s call abou he need o p oduce,
in he i s place, “c i ical ools and ways o eading ou eali ies ha p oduce
libe a o y knowledge”, which “‘enable collec i e- and sel -de e mina ion o
colonized peoples’”; and secondly, o “di ec he e hics o ou hinking owa ds
p oducing he kind o knowledge which aims a decoloniza ion in he wen y- i s
cen u y” (2). Thus hey i mly back hei app oach on Sa ya Mohan y’s heo y o
expe ience (Mohan y Sa ya, “The Epis emic S a us o Cul u al Iden i y”, 1993) as
well as on Alexande ’s and Mohan y’s eminis analysis (Feminis Genealogies,
Colonial Legacies, Democ a ic Fu u es, 1997) on ques ions such as sexual and
gende poli ics, ma ginali y bo h in he economic and cul u al sphe es, and acis and
colonial p ac ices in he Wes e n wo ld. In ac , Cas o and Rome o espond o
Chand a T. Mohan y’s call in he Feminism Wi hou Bo de s: Decolonizing Theo y,
P ac icing Solida i y (2003, xxx iii) when hey decla e ha hey would like “ o
b eak a new pa h, oge he wi h o he schola s, owa ds an epis emology o an i-
colonial eminis s uggle” (2). Ou o he h ee models o doing eminis heo y
p esen ed by Mohan y in Feminism Wi hou Bo de s ( he eminis -as- ou is , he
eminis -as-explo e and eminis solida i y), Cas o and Rome o align hei e o s
o he hi d model, he ela ional app oach, which ela es global and local issues
unde a commi men owa ds solida i y ac oss women a ound he wo ld. Likewise
Mohan y, hey wea e oge he se e al hema ic app oaches. Fi s ly, hey highligh
he impo ance o expe ience, hey add ess he necessi y o enego ia e he poli ics o
iden i y and o de elop a poli ics o solida i y o es ablish a uly ansna ional
eminis discou se, connec ed o he p ocesses o globaliza ion and ale o he
connec ions o ace, gende , class, and na ion. Thus, hey skill ully p esen he
essays as pa o hei schola ly esis ance agains he disman ling o wha Chand a
T. Mohan y calls he poli ics o solida i y in a common con ex o s uggle. In iew
o he la es wo ld e en s, his is pe haps a u opian aim, bu espec able and
admi able, none heless.
In Chap e 1, “Toni Mo ison’s Lo e: The Celes ial Who e and O he Female
‘Ou laws’”, Jus ine Tally p esen s a commendable analysis o how Mo ison
p o ides ano he example o he ne e -ending p ojec o e ie al o he pas o
A ican Ame ican his o y h ough he p esen o isibilize aspec s igno ed by he
o icial eco d. The no el ells he s o y o he now dead Bill Cosey and he women
who lo ed him h oughou nine chap e s ha ace he waning o Cosey Ho el and
Reso and wi h i , he mo al and physical decline o i s amily membe s. The man,
dep i ed o he p i ilege o being he elle o his own s o y, is na a ed abou by
hese o he cha ac e s, and hus his omnip esence is a long shadow haun ing and
da kening he li es o hose su ounding him. In he chap e s i led “Po ai ”,
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“F iend”, “S ange ”, “Bene ac o ”, “Lo e ”, “Husband”, “Gua dian”, “Fa he ”,
“Phan om”, Mo ison p o ides eade s wi h di e en pieces ha help ecompose he
puzzle o Cosey’s enigma ic pe sonali y and iden i y, a pa ia ch who used and
opp essed women in wen ie h-cen u y Ame ica.
The di e si y o cha ac e s encompasses se e al geog aphical loca ions as
well as social and in e acial his o ies. Tally o e s a de ailed un-down o he
his o y o he places ha se e as backg ound o he no el which is ins umen al o
comp ehend he complexi y o he black communi y and, consequen ly, he
laye edness o he cha ac e s. In Chap e 1, o example, he ocalize is Junio
Vi ianne, a un-away om he co ec ional, who lacks knowledge abou he pas
and ela es o he s o y o The Ramapo Moun ain people, in no hwes New Je sey, a
degene a e ace o social ou cas s— enegade Indians, ugi i e sla es, Hessian
me cena y dese e s, Wes Indian p os i u es, known as he Jackson Whi es—who
li ed in isola ion and abou whom ales ha e been old e e since he Re olu iona y
pe iod. Tally sums up he e he his o y o his communi y as explained by Da id
S e e Cohen in his The Ramapo Moun ain People (1974), as well as by William
Ca los Williams’s e sion o hei o igins in his epic poem Pa e son (1947). Chap e
2, ocalized h ough Sandle , in oduces he eelings o Vida, his wi e. In con as o
he communi y o he Jackson-Whi es, “Oceanside”, p obably a seaside own in
Flo ida, migh be inspi ed, acco ding o Tally, by he his o y o weal hy black
people li ing a Fe nandina Beach, on Amelia Island, wen y- i e miles no h o
Jackson ille Flo ida. Chap e 3, “S ange ”, ells he s o y o he “Se lemen ”,
Junio ’s co ec ional, and he yea nings o he a he . Chap e 4, “Bene ac o ”,
ocalizes on Heed and he de o ion o Cosey as he sa ed he om a li e o po e y,
as well as on Ch is ine and he ma iage o a soldie . Chap e 5, “Lo e ” ocuses on
Junio ’s a ai e wi h Romen, Sandle ’s ou een-yea -old g andson, and ecalls he
escape om he sexual ha assmen she su e ed a he hands o he adminis a o o
he co ec ional, which ended up wi h he expulsion one week be o e she g adua ed
as an exempla y s uden . Chap e 6, “Husband”, explains he dis ancing be ween
Heed and Ch is ine as Cosey ma ied he o me a age 11. Chap e 7, “Gua dian”,
ells abou Cosey’s p o ec ion o Junio . Chap e 8, “Fa he ”, desc ibes Ch is ine’s
adolescence and ea ly adul hood as a membe o a Black Re olu iona y g oup
du ing he 1960s, hen he li e as he mis ess o a ich doc o and he e u n, once
disca ded by his man, o Cosey’s house. Chap e 9, “Phan om”, concen a es on he
disappea ance o Cosey om he li es o all he women excep “L” and “Celes ial”,
who a e also bo h dead.
These emale cha ac e s, “ou laws” escaping om “pa ia chal
de e mina ion” (16), p o ide desc ip ions ha con o m wha Tally calls “pic u es o
ex emes” (16), and h ough hese aluable allusions o hei “dis emembe ed’
ci cums ances”, Mo ison p esen s eade s wi h an excep ional accoun o “ he
‘his o ical o igins’ o a a ie y o black people cu en ly in he U.S.” (15). Wha
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ma e s, hough, is ha , Mo ison’s cha ac e s ca y he bu den o hei communal
pas , be i one o po e y and abandonmen o ichness and social a luence, e en
wi hou being awa e o i . Fo Tally, Lo e is, hen, a ex abou he Ci il Righ s
Mo emen and i s con adic ing consequences. This is so because i , on he one
hand, i was clea ly a u ning poin in he ad ancemen o A ican Ame icans, on he
o he , i inc eased he di e ences be ween hei middle classes and he unde -
classes. Mo ison’s condemna ion, Tally clea ly o eg ounds, alls hen on hose
A ican Ame icans who be ayed acial communal esponsibili y and sold
hemsel es ou o he gilded a ac ions o wha Zillah R. Eisens ein in Agains
Empi e: Feminisms, Racisms, and he Wes (2004) calls “capi alis acialized
pa ia chy”, embodied in he no el in he cha ac e o Bill Cosey.
In Chap e 2, “Women’s Iden i y and Mig a ion: S ead’s A icles in he Pall
Mall Gaze e on P os i u ion and Whi e Sla e y” by Ma ía Isabel Rome o, analyzes
William Thomas S ead’s inno a i e jou nalis ic wo k on child p os i u ion,
published unde he i le o “The Maiden T ibu e o Mode n Babylon” in he
summe o 1885 in he Pall Mall Gaze e. These a icles igge ed wo ele an
consequences— he enac men o he C iminal Law Amendmen , popula ly called
S ead’s Law, and he c ea ion o he Na ional Vigilance Associa ion. In p e ious
a icles Rome o had ho oughly s udied S ead’s con ibu ions o he in-de-siècle
Vic o ian B i ish deba es on whi e sla e y and child p os i u ion and how his a icles
p o oked an up oa ha led o he inal enac men o he C iminal Law Amendmen
Ac o 1885 (“An Ac o make Fu he P o ision o he P o ec ion o Women and
Gi ls, he Supp ession o B o hels, and O he Pu poses”), a legal s a u e designed o
p o ec women, and specially young gi ls, om sexual exploi a ion (i aised he age
o consen om 13 o 16), and c iminalize hose p o i ing om p os i u ion as a
business. He s udies on nine een h-cen u y p os i u ion and e o m ins i u ions ( he
London Lock Hospi al, o example) a e pa icula ly ins uc i e o an unde s anding
o he di e en discou ses egula ing sexuali y and he ole o e o m mo emen s in
Vic o ian England.
In his pa icula essay Rome o seeks o s udy “issues o women’s and
child en’s iden i ies and he ole o hei bodies in he cons uc ion o such
iden i ies”, on he one hand, and, on he o he , “issues o he e ec o mass media
like newspape s on socie y” (27). Taking in o accoun Judi h Walkowi z’s Ci y o
D ead ul Deligh : Na a i es o Sexual Dange in La e-Vic o ian London (1992)
and he esea ch on Elizabe h A ms ong’s case and i s consequences based on an
app oach o wo king-class iden i ies, Rome o ex ends he explo a ion o wha
Walkowi z calls “ he echnologies o powe ” o he es imony o he women
ec ui ed o p os i u ion, as well as ha o o he indi iduals in ol ed in hese
ansac ions—p ocu e s, p ocu esses and a icke s, among o he s, as well as o an
analysis o how no ions o wo king-class and middle-class espec abili y in o med
he cons uc ion o Vic o ian women’s sexual iden i ies.
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To ully g asp he signi icance o W.T. S ead’s sensa ionalis jou nalis ic
con ibu ions, Rome o, i s ly, aces he signi icance o wo p e alen no ions in
Vic o ian socie y, pu i y and innocence, and how hey e e ed o he lack o sexual
knowledge in bo h women and child en, as well as hei ele ance in he discou ses
ela ed o sexuali y and sexual de iancy (Hen y Mayhew’s London Labou and he
London Poo , 1851; William Ac on’s P os i u ion Conside ed in i s Mo al, Social
and Sani a y Aspec s in London and o he La ge Ci ies wi h P oposals o he
Mi iga ion and P e en ion o i s A endan E ils, 1857). She p esen s an
enligh ening examina ion o he ole o middle-class mo ali y and how women we e
cons uc ed as asexual subjec s in con as wi h men who we e con olled by hei
lus y impulses. Women’s ai s, as de ined by he Vic o ian cul o he angel o he
house, we e p opaga ed h oughou all ypes o li e a u e, conduc manuals and
pe iodicals. Men’s and women’s di e ences, a icula ed on hese bina y opposi ions,
a ec ed hei economic and poli ical igh s. P os i u ion, he G ea Social E il, was
conside ed o be he esul o indus ializa ion, and a g ea h ea o he pa ia chal
amily and social mo al o de . Ye , as Rome o igh ly explains, he a i udes in
public opinion and legal s a us owa ds he p os i u e o he allen woman we e
a he ambi alen and she was simul aneously ega ded as a h ea (as a igu e o
con agion and disease, a c iminal dese ing punishmen ) and a social ic im o be
pi ied and in need o help. As a as child en a e conce ned, hey we e also
cons uc ed in e ms o hei mo al innocence and lack o sexuali y. De iancy om
hese images was linked o social class. Mo eo e , whe eas sexual abuse o boys
was silenced, gi ls’ loss o hei innocence ans o med hem in o pollu ing igu es
and a po en ial menace o o he child en. As Rome o concludes, hese wo images o
bo h igu es a e “con adic o y” since “ hey a e iewed as ic ims o co up ion and
seduce s, as social ou cas s” and “dange ous indi iduals” because hei sexual
knowledge was in opposi ion o he ideals o pu i y and innocence, p edica ed on
behal o hei cons uc ions as women and child en (50).
These public ideas owa ds he mo al and physical wel a e o p os i u es
and child en explain how Vic o ian e o s we e di ec ed owa ds he e o m o he
legisla ion and he es ablishmen o escue mo emen s o p o ec hem om
exploi a ion, e en hough hese middle-class e o s we e idden by social hypoc isy,
as she shows in he eading on W. T. S ead’s a icles. S ead’s conce n o child
p os i u ion sp ung ou o engagemen wi h e o m causes. Ye hey mus be seen in
he ligh o his new jou nalis ic echniques and a s yle o w i ing embedded in
Vic o ian sensa ionalism and melod ama. A a ime whe e wha Ma hew A nold
desc ibed as “ he New Jou nalism” was expanding and he libe al p ess was
sympa he ic o wo king-class aspi a ions o espec abili y, S ead in oduced hemes
and oices, be o e unhea d, ha ecoun ed hei i s -pe son na a i es o sexual
exploi a ion and abuse in his Pall Mall Gaze e. P os i u ion was egula ed as a as
i had consequences on public diso de , ag ancy and p o ec ion agains ene eal

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diseases in ec ions, ha is o say, i was no egula ed as a c ime in i sel . Ye , as
Rome o a gues, S ead aimed his in es iga ions unde he belie ha “i was no ice
bu c ime which needed he en o cemen o he law” (33) and, o ha aim, he
es ablished he “Sec e Commission”, a g oup o h ee o ou people cha ged wi h
he ask o explo ing “ he sale and pu chase, and iola ion o child en, he
p ocu a ion o i gins, he en apping and uin o women, he in e na ional sla e
ade in gi ls and he a oci ies, b u ali ies and unna u al c imes” (33). Di e en ly
om o he social in es iga o s on p os i u ion—William Tai , William Ac on o
William Mille , o example—who blamed he low mo al ibe o women o hei
own sexual exploi a ion, S ead, acco ding o Rome o, “did no wan o c iminalize
ice when i was a ee choice on he pa o women”, bu “ o pu an end o he
ec ui ing o innocen gi ls o he anks o p os i u ion by o ce o aud”, and also
o “ he a icking in women who we e obliged o be p os i u es agains hei wills”
(36-37).
To expose his c i icis m o child p os i u ion in his a icles en i led “The
Maiden T ibu e o Mode n Babylon”, S ead used he my h o he Mino au . Rome o
ag ees wi h Walkowi z’s unde s anding o he way S ead cha ac e izes he Mino au
as “a eminized mons e ”, a cha ac e iza ion ha “was mean o make women
esponsible o sexual diso de in he London wo ld o ice which S ead iden i ied
wi h he Laby in h” (35). Ye , Rome o goes beyond Walkowi z’s analysis o he
s o y o Elizabe h A ms ong p o ided by S ead, since she e eals ha his conce ns
ex ended o o he indi iduals implied in he p ocess o exhibi ing he c iminali y o
child p os i u ion. Thus, he in e iews o wo b o hel-keepe s and o he cha ac e s
in ol ed in he p ac ice (an ex- a icke and o eign impo ed gi l) come unde
Rome o’s sc u iny and she e eals how S ead’s use o d ama ic language and
melod ama ic plo s we e s a egies o p o oke ou age and disgus in his eade s,
awaken hei awa eness o he exis ence o hese p ac ices ha iola ed p ecisely
hei own ideals o Vic o ian eminini y. Fu he mo e, she explo es an aspec
o e looked by schola ship on S ead— he a icking o women inside B i ish
na ional bounda ies and be ween England and Eu ope. Fo he , he sys em
ans o med hese women in o “mig an subjec s in he hands o ile, hea less sla e
ade s” (41). Un o una ely, e en hough she p esen s his concep o mig a ion as
pa o he iden i y o women who we e in ol ed in he sla e ma ke , eade s a e le
wonde ing why she does no del e in o his app oach mo e ho oughly. In ac , he
language she uses becomes dange ously close o he melod ama ic ones used by
S ead himsel in his desc ip ions.
In he analysis o he ials, Rome o d aws a en ion o he ac ha hey
we e conduc ed in a way ha highligh ed a mo al judgmen o he wo king classes,
as hey we e desc ibed as elemen s o dep a a ion and immo ali y, a concep ion ha
e ealed he biased opinions eigning among he middle-class e o mis s. The poo
we e conside ed o be esponsible o hei own mo al and physical debasemen , and
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a he same ime, he igu e o he Mino au (compa ed o he uppe -class seduce
exploi ing i gins) was condemned, ins illing class esen men and b inging ou he
success o S ead’s campaign. Fo Rome o, S ead’s ocus on gi l child en and women
as ic ims o male lus o e looked a undamen al mani es a ion o Vic o ian
p os i u ion: male p os i u ion and he sexual abuse o boys, as well as he
concealmen o homosexuali y. W.T. S ead’s a icles spu ed he enac men o he
C iminal Law Amendmen Ac and he Na ional Vigilance Associa ion, bu
pa adoxically o igina ed a highe deg ee o su eillance o women and mo e social
condemna ion o wo king-class mo he s as unsuccess ul Vic o ian angels o he
house. As a conclusion, Rome o p o ides new insigh s in o “ he ep esen a ion o
women and child en h ough he media in e ms o sexual iden i ies, and he
iola ion o hese iden i ies h ough p os i u ion and whi e sla e y” (28). Thus he
con ibu ion s ands as an in-dep h o e iew o he mo al, social, and medical
implica ions o p os i u ion on Vic o ian li e and i s con empo a y w i ings.
In Chap e 3, “Black Bodies in His o y: Be na dine E a is o’s Fic ion”,
Pila Cude analyzes Be na dine E a is o’s ou no els—La a, The Empe o ’s
Babe, Soul Tou is s, and Blonde Roo s—, published in he app oxima e span o en
yea s (1997-2008). As a black B i ish w i e , E a is o can be included in he g oup
o non-whi e B i ish women w i e s whose way o publica ion only ully eme ged in
he inal decades o he wen ie h cen u y. E a is o’s p ojec o building a collec i e
his o ical memo y h ough he ew i ing o he pas o sla e y and acism echoes
p e ious and con empo a y A ican Ame ican and black B i ish w i e s’ endea o s
o Mo isonian e-memo y. Cude , hen, s udies how E a is o ew i es His o y
insc ibing he black p esence in o i and places he ic ion in he con ex o ecen
B i ish ic ion which is conce ned wi h his eclama ion as well as a consciousness
o he cons uc edness o he pas . Rela ing E a is o’s no els o o he black B i ish
w i e s’ wo ks, Ca yl Phillips’s Camb idge (1991), Da id Dabydeen’s A Ha lo ’s
P og ess (1999) and And ea Le y’s Small Island (2004), Cude a gues ha ,
simila ly o hese au ho s, E a is o’s “main aim is didac ic” since “she pu po s o
e isi he pas om a esh pe spec i e, o lay open he wo kings o ace in B i ain
h oughou i s his o y and o ill in he gaps o he o icial eco d” (57). E a is o’s
li e a y p ojec esi ua es B i ain’s pas and p esen and alloca es i in o a
anscul u al ela ional web o cul u al hyb idi y.
This e isi ing, howe e , changes h oughou he ic ion, Cude ale s. He
i s and second books, La a and The Empe o ’s Babe, a e no els in e se. La a is
he i s o deal wi h he his o ical as a sou ce o iden i y. His o y becomes
genealogy in he sense ha he p o agonis ’s access o i comes h ough he amilial
oo s. As a Bildgungs oman, he na a i e aces he o ma ion o Omila a, a woman
whose lineage comes om Nige ia, England and I eland, a ac ha igge s he
iden i y con lic and he explo a ion o wha i mean o be black in he London o
he 60s and 70s. La a’s pains o g owing a e idden wi h acism and s e eo ypical
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images o blackness. The dea h o he ma e nal g andmo he will p ecipi a e an
eage ness o look o he oo s, no in I eland, bu , su p isingly, in A ica. The ques
o an iden i y, hen, akes he o he geog aphy a elled by he pa e nal amily—
Nige ia and B azil, in wha can be unde s ood as a na a i e o e u n in which she
inally comes o e ms wi h he mixed ances y and cul u al hyb idi y. The
Empe o ’s Babe del es in o he meaning o black B i ish iden i y e acing London
mul icul u al his o y o i s oo in Roman imes and, hus, sub e s, acco ding o
Cude , he Wind ush my h, ha is, he adi ional idea ha he black p esence in
G ea B i ain can be da ed back o 1948, he beginning o he a i al o mig an s
om he Wes Indies. A ex in luenced by An igone, i aces he s o y o black
Zuleika and he opp ession a he hands o a pa ia chal acis socie y. Di e en ly
om o he c i ics, o Cude , The Empe o ’s Babe is agic and shows he
de enselessness agains he gende and ace limi a ions imposed by B i ish socie y.
Soul Tou is s, E a is o’s hi d no el, uses p ose and e se and, in con as
o he wo p e ious ones, has a male p o agonis and ocuses on he cons uc edness
o black B i ish masculini y. S anley Williams’s jou ney o sel -knowledge
becomes hus a cons an in e oga ion o di e en na ional o icial his o ies as he is
a wi ness o he appa i ions o ele en ghos s o colo — om a black p os i u e in
Elizabe han London o Alessand o de Medici, he mula o son o Pope Clemen
VIII—who ac as media o s o awaken his sense o belonging o Eu opean his o y.
Ye , Cude a gues ha E a is o’s use o hese ghos ly p esences e inces a didac ic
in usi eness which e ges on o e s essed p eachiness (68). This sense o
didac icism can also be de ec ed in he ou h no el, Blonde Roo s, which has an
i onic i le echoing Alex Huxley’s celeb a ed no el Roo s as well as i s ilm e sion.
The na a i e examines he his o y o he iangula sla e ade, and can be classi ied
as a neo-sla e na a i e aimed a young eade s o examine he o igins o a black
A lan ic iden i y which anscends he bo de s o na ional and con inen al
limi a ions. Ye wha makes i di e en om p e ious pos mode nis e eadings o
sla e y is he way E a is o e e ses acis ca ego ies—whi e people a e ensla ed
while blacks a e he sla e owne s—and challenges eade s o e hink he pas
h ough he coinage o a new language which exhibi s he s uc u es o poli ical
opp ession, echoing Geo ge O well’s use o “Newspeak” in 1984. As a whole, o
Cude , E a is o’s pu pose in ew i ing Eu opean mas e his o ical na a i es
b inging o ligh he p esence o blacks including acial, gende and class ca ego ies
is laudable in ha i complica es he unde s anding o black B i ish iden i y as
encompassing bo h new A o Eu opean and black A lan ic dimensions.
In Chap e 4, “Gende , Mig a ion and Iden i y: Agnès Agbo on’s Canciones
del poblado y del exilio”, Ma Gallego s udies Agnès Agbo on’s poe y as a decisi e
example o he impac o mig a ion in con empo a y Spain and a challenge o he
homogeniza ion o mig an iden i ies. To coun e ac gi en iden i ies and gene al
assump ions, Gallego a gues o he need o o eg ound mig an women’s agency
Re iew Essay: Cul u al Mig a ions 175
Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 16 (2012). Se ille, Spain, ISSN 1133-309-X, 167-180
and, speci ically, hei cul u al con ibu ions, since hey allow us “ o anscend
monoli hic and homogenous de ini ions o hei subjec i i y e ealing hei
p oac i e ole as cul u al agen s oo” (85).
As an in e na ionally epu ed schola on gende and mig a ion s udies,
Gallego accu a ely places Agbo on’s wo k in ela ion o he issue o mig a ion and
diaspo ic mo emen s, and he public discou ses’ cons uc ion o he gende ed
mig an subjec in Eu ope om a mul icul u al and in e disciplina y pe spec i e, and
s udies how his a ec s he cons i u ion o new ansna ional subjec i i ies. Fo
Gallego, he e is a p essing need o in eg a e mig an women in o he inclusi e
pa adigm o his o ical eminini y and, ollowing Chand a Tapalde Mohan y, o
inco po a e hei oices in o de o d aw new “ca og aphies o eminis s uggle”,
pa icula ly in Spain, whe e be o e he beginning o he hi d millennium, hey had
emained p ac ically in isible. Ye ha in isibili y, she is ale o o eg ound, when
ans o med in o isibili y ea i ms a hype isibili y which encapsula es a
p oblema ic ca ego y in some public discou ses as hey a e always iewed as ic ims
and no agen s.
In he i s wo pa s o he essay, she p esen s a ema kable a gumen a i e
exposi ion o heo e ical app oaches o he idea o women, mig a ion and
ansna ional iden i ies. Gallego es ablishes he need o add ess he ac o mig a ion
om a gende ed pe spec i e. Taking in o accoun he iews o Paul Ca e , Ca men
G ego io, Debo ah Boehm and Elisabe a Zon ini, among o he heo is s, she e lec s
upon he new o ms o eminini y and masculini y o igina ed by hese ansna ional
mo emen s. Mig a ion, acco ding o Gallego, implies h ee consequences: a
linguis ic and cul u al displacemen , associa ed wi h concep s o belonging,
ci izenship and p ocesses o inclusion/exclusion (78). In mig an women w i e s she
iden i ies wo main ideas ela ed o hei ole as p o agonis s: hei new s a us hanks
o hei own sense o au onomy and empowe men , closely linked o hei economic
and social s a us as he keepe s o he amily bo h in he des ina ion socie y and back
a home; and hei majo au onomy closely linked o he ans o ma ion o adi ional
gende oles, bo h in o igin and des ina ion socie ies (79). A he same ime, his
sense o au onomy en e s in o con lic wi h he pa ia chal s e eo ypes encoded in
hei communi ies, whe e hey a e disciplined o become keepe s o cul u e and
adi ions, ac i e agen s o cul u al ep oduc ion who, a he same ime, mus also
acili a e he access o a new cul u e.
F om Gallego’s pe spec i e, “ he cul u al consequences o ansna ional
mig a ion en ails an in igo a ed eading in o he e i o ial and cul u al
con igu a ions his mig a ion is o ging” (82). She adhe es o he no ion ha
o eg ounds no only “ ansna ional communi ies pe se” bu “how hey a ec
ansna ional subjec i i ies”. Ian Chambe ’s (1994) idea o mig an s ’ “oblique look”
and Rosi B aido i’s (2004) “nomadic subjec i i y” a e, o he , wo sugges i e
a icula ions o ansna ional subjec i i ies. The o me con i ms he c umbling o