1st Edition
Deysi, Gender, and Violence Making a Life Under Democracy and Dictatorship
This book shares the life narrative of Deysi Quiñones to shed light on the intricate relationship between her life and the wider cultural, political, social, and historical contexts of the Dominican Republic.
Deysi’s life narrative is a microhistory that sheds light on the intersection of gender, violence, and poverty under the Trujillo regime and in its wake. Her story recovers pieces of rural life, which has been disrupted, transformed, and made less visible by the neoliberal order. It emphasizes the significance of expanding the Trujillo regime archive to encompass a broader spectrum of perspectives and attract more scholarly attention to Petán Trujillo’s legacies. Deysi’s life story can provide meaningful lessons and insights for today in the realm of gendered violence and children’s exploitation.
This book is intended as reading for sociology, gender and women’s studies, history, Latin American politics, and Caribbean and Latin American Studies courses and for a general educated audience. The book intersects with topics that are widely covered in research in the humanities and social sciences and is appropriate for both advanced undergraduate and graduate courses. The book can appeal to human rights activists, novelists, and individuals and organizations interested in history, politics, authoritarian societies, and gendered violence.
List of figures
List of tables
List of abbreviations
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Introduction
Gender and Violence: La Vida Trágica de una Niña
Chapter 2: “Fate” and “Trauma”: The Creation of a Life Story
Spawned from Herminia’s Whim
The Curse
More Evidence
With Papa’s Gun
Running Scared
Unfathomable: The Abandonment
Crushing Events
Bad Decision- Makers
Almost Raped
The Ultimate Betrayal of Trust
Moments of Joy
Author’s Corner: Perspectives and Interpretations
Chapter 3: Echoes of Fate and Trauma: From Childhood to Adolescence
Work and Punishment and no Love
Sick and Slandered
Fear and Obedience
A Teacher Makes a Difference
Finding God and Safety
A Predator Father
First Love
Dangerous Beauty
“Sold” to Petán
Learning to Please Petán
Author’s Corner: Perspectives and Interpretations
Chapter 4: Being One of Petán’s Women in Bonao
Power and Fear
Intimacy with Petán
Special Conversation
Beauty and Glamour
The Other Women
The End of the Affair
God and Survival
Leaving Bonao
Making Sense of the Petán
Beaten Up
Saying Goodbye to Mercedita
Returning to Bonao
Author’s Corner: Perspectives and Interpretations
Chapter 5: The Warrior Mother: he Warrior Woman
Gualey 1961-1965
Love, Loss, Work, and Motherhood
The Greatest Joy
Herminia’s Love
Motherhood, Marital Conflict and Entrepreneurship
My Brother’s Assassination
Life in Santiago: 1972-1977
A Hard Knock Life
Back in Capotillo: 1977-1983
Guarícano (1983- ) New Beginnings and New Challenges
Author’s Corner: Perspectives and Interpretations
Chapter 6: Contemplations and Reckonings
Chapter 7: Epilogue
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Ana S.Q. Liberato is Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies Program at the University of Kentucky. She was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. She is the author of Joaquín Balaguer, Memory, and Diaspora: The Lasting Political Legacies of an American Protégé (2013). Her research interests include inequalities of race, gender and class, political sociology, international migration, and cultural studies.
