Machos, Mistresses, Madonnas : Contesting the Power of Latin American Gender Imagery

Challenging the stereotypical images of the dominating male and the subservient woman, this book addresses the variety of representations of in Latin American culture. Ranging across homosexuality, prostitution, football, politics and ethnic relations, this study analyzes the many potent images of gender, from Maradona, the child trickster of Argentinian football, to La Malinche, mistress of a Conquistador and traitor to her nation. Based on social anthropological fieldwork, the essays present ethnographic material from Mexico city to the highlands of Ecuador. Drawing particular attention to the cultural and symbolic meanings of gender, the contributors redress the economic bias that has underpinned research in Latin America. Together, the essays reveal the central role of gender differences in the making of ethnic, national, political and economic divisions. Kristi Anne Stolen is the co-editor of "Gender and Social Change in Developing Countries" and "Power and Social Change in the Argentine Praire".