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The first attempts to subvert the erotic representation in Puerto Rican literature can be found in literary works produced in the middle of the twentieth century. These representations were at first timid, and then gradually they became more explicit in the seventies, but it was not until the eighties and nineties that erotic visions became more common.
The purpose of this research is to analyze the erotic representation in the works of Mayra Santos Febres, especially in El cuerpo correcto . The intention is to bring forward a topic that ironically has had both a persistent presence and a relegated position in Puerto Rican literary tradition. By taking into account Puerto Rican Erotic Literature from the end of the nineteen century to the present, predominantly women's short stories, I attempt to trace the erotic patterns that are subveredt in Santos Febres' short stories. I also study the correlation between Santo Febres' fictional and nonfictional works to establish if it is possible to talk of an erotic poetics in her works. My final objective is to show how the writing of this contemporary author shifts the erotic tradition in Puerto Rican literature. Santos Febres achieves this objective when, in El cuerpo correcto , she includes some sexual practices that are considered as paraphilias or perversions and places emphasis on their human part. This approach to perversions makes this book unique in Puerto Rican Literature.