Reading, Pleasure, Play, and The Art of Gay Chicano Literature

Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Garcia, David
- Graduate Program:
- English
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 03, 2022
- Committee Members:
- Tina Goudie, Major Field Member
Amy Allen, Outside Unit & Field Member
Janet Lyon, Professor in Charge/Director of Graduate Studies
Claire Colebrook, Co-Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Chris Reed, Co-Chair & Dissertation Advisor - Keywords:
- Chicano
Chicana
queer
literature
latino
latina
latinx
queer theory
chicanx
gay and lesbian - Abstract:
- Reading, Pleasure, Play and The Art of Gay Chicano Literature aims to bring pleasure and play into the conversation taking place in gay Chicano literary studies in a sustained way. This study begins by considering the pros and cons of a critical framework built around pleasure and play through an examination of what queer theorists and Chicana/o literary scholars have said about pleasure and play over the last twenty-five years. These sections consider how pleasure and play can be co-opted by neoliberal ideology while also considering how pleasure and play can push back against neoliberal forms of life, especially those forms characterized by individualism and privatization. After discussing the pros and cons of pleasure and play from a queer (of color) perspective, this study proceeds to make a case for reading gay Chicano literature in ways that are pleasurable and playful. Drawing on the work of French literary critic Roland Barthes and that of queer theorist Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, this section demonstrates how taking pleasure in the act of literary interpretation can provide a vital form of nourishment and sustenance much needed by individuals like gay Chicanos who face multiple forms of oppression while navigating the world. This section also shows how turning to pleasure can help reinvigorate gay Chicano literary studies, which has maintained for too long that focusing on pain and mourning is the best way to challenge and eliminate forces like homophobia and racism. Reading, Pleasure, Play then goes on to offer readings of three gay Chicano texts—City of Night (1963) by John Francisco Rechy; Hunger of Memory (1983) by Richard Rodriguez; and The Rain God (1984) by Arturo Islas. These readings demonstrate what it looks like to read gay Chicano literature in pleasurable and playful ways and show further what we stand to gain from re-centering our interpretive practices around pleasure.