YA Latina Lesbians: On Mayra Lazara Dole’s Down Seriously To the Bone

Writer & Educator

A cuban-American high school junior, is forced to come-out when her Catholic school teacher reads Laura’s private texts to her girlfriend aloud to the entire class in Mayra Lazara Dole’s1 Down to the Bone (2012) Laura. As being a total outcome, Laura is humiliated, kicked away from college, and asked by her mom to go out of their property. Dole’s description of Laura’s coming-out is significant, among many and varied reasons, given that it focuses a Latina lesbian protagonist. Inspite of the increased understanding for the requirement of diverse children’s literature many gaps nevertheless exist—diversity in queer and gay YA literature being among those gaps. Down seriously to the bone tissue stays one of many few YA novels having a Latina lesbian character written by a Latina/o author.2 The shortage of supply or knowing of publications like these signals a opposition and aversion commonly skilled by Latina lesbian.

Certainly, this is basically the instance in Dole’s novel. Laura’s mom is specially aggressive about maybe maybe perhaps not Laura that is accepting as lesbian. The opposition and aversion that Laura feels from her mom, nevertheless, is very much indeed linked with their Cuban-American tradition. Because Laura views her mother as an embodied representation of her Cuban-American history at the start of the novel she associates everything Cuban-American to her mother’s homophobia. This basically means, the only path Laura understands how exactly to escape the homophobia she experiences is through trying to abandon her Cuban-American traditions. Through the novel there clearly was positively stress between Laura’s sex along with her tradition; her frustration comes from being unsure of just how to get together again both right components of her. Interestingly, Laura’s mom utilizes the tradition of females requiring economic safety from males to be able to justify her behavior towards her child. A book about two young girls that could potentially grow up to be romantically involved and her mother threw it away fear that Laura might be influenced by those ideas at the beginning of the novel, Laura remembers that as a child she brought home. Laura’s mom states:

“Authors like these plant seeds in girls’ minds about selecting lifestyles that are different they’re all developed. Girls may do such a thing they set their head to. You will be president, but nobody will employ you for the task in the event that you develop into a lady bored with males. We don’t want you transforming into some of those.” (11)3

For Laura’s mom, gender is certainly not an impediment to achieve your goals; but, a woman’s orientation that is sexual determine her access to things such as work. Once again, it is vital to explain that monetary safety is exactly what matters to Laura’s mom. In this situation, the homophobic arguments have little related to procreation and faith and alternatively highlight problems of course and course mobility. The partnership between course and identity that is queer something which additionally arises in other novels and films that center young adult Latina lesbian experiences.

Likewise, in Aurora Guerrero’s movie Mosquita y Mari5 (2012) Mosquita and Mari’s relationship is threatened when Mari partcipates in sex with a guy for the money so that you can assist her mother spend the rent. The connection between course and queer identification, in cases like this, is further complicated because of the undeniable fact that Mari and her family members are undocumented. Mosquita, unacquainted with some of these details, knows Mari’s actions as being a betrayal of these relationship and she chooses to date the man that is young is pursuing her. Mosquita and Mari’s relationship is really a tender, intimate, and passionate friendship. Each regarding the young women can be in a stage of self-discovery in order to find solace in on another in addition to unique relationship they have actually produced. Nevertheless, the purity within their relationship and love for starters another is quickly soiled by the realities and obligations their course statuses enforce. Her household’s survival becomes Mari’s concern and she chooses to complete whatever she must so that you can assist them to. Mosquita additionally discovers that dating a man that is young her moms and dads and her buddies, whom were becoming resistant to her friendship with Mari. The many pressures of the course status as well as Mari’s not enough course mobility collide utilizing the girls that are young expression of the queer identification.

Writer & Educator

As down seriously to the Bone develops, it becomes more obvious that course is something which dramatically impacts the characters’ construction of these queer identity. Marlena, Laura’s (ex)girlfriend, is hitched down after her parents find out about her relationship with Laura. The wedding is recognized as one which will financially protect Marlena as will cure her of her deviancy. Laura momentarily dates a child and it is invited home by her mom. Nonetheless, Laura understands she will not like to take part in a false relationship to be able to feel she is kicked out of her home once again like she belongs and. Overall, an opportunity is presented by the novel to produce discussion concerning the experiences of young Latina lesbians. The novel reveals that course, as exemplified by the necessity for monetary protection, plays a role that is substantial the construction of young Latina lesbians and also the growth of their queer identification. Down seriously to the bone tissue additionally demonstrates that course dilemmas differ within Latina/o communities. Laura, Marci, Mosquita, and Mari try not to experience course into the ways that are same. In other words, that simply since the figures are Latinas doesn’t mean they go through the globe within the exact same way. These distinctions is amongst the factors why there clearly was a serious importance of more Gay YA novels that center Latina lesbian characters.

1 Lazara Dole may be the composer of Drum, Chavi, Drum! (2003), Birthday into the Barrio (2004), and lots of brief stories.Down to the Bone was initially posted in 2008.

2 Other young adult publications with Latina lesbian figures consist of Ellen Wittlinger’s rough appreciate (2001) and like & Lies: Marisol’s tale (2008) which defines Marisol Guzman’s tribulations with friendships and love. While Carla Trujillo’s What Night Brings (2003) just isn’t an adult that is young it really is narrated by way of a queer Chicana son or daughter, Marci Cruz. The character that is main self-identified white-Mexican E.E. Charlton-Trujillo’s Fat Angie (2013) is really an adult that is young but her competition or ethnicity just isn’t clear. Finally, Sandra Cisneros’s the home on Mango Street (1984) just isn’t a young adult novel but young Esperanza’s relationship with Sally has frequently supplied queer readings.

3 Dole, Mayra Lazara. Right down to the Bone Tissue. NYC: Harper Teen & Bella Books, 2012. Print.

4 Further discussions about what Night Brings are needed to be able to explore Marci as perhaps being fully a transgender character.