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Eithne Luibhéid and Lionel Cantú Jr., eds.
Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2005
199pp. Paperback
ISBN 0-8166-4466-7
, $20.00
Critical scholars today love to use concepts like "border" and "queer" metaphorically. Thanks to pioneers like Gloria Anzaldua who introduced the idea of mestiza consciousness to examine the oppressive forces of law, culture and heterosexism in the lives of latinas and queers, progressive scholars have frameworks that urge them toward a multidimensional perspective in their studies. As an early member of the LatCrit movement, however, I've not forgotten the time that a few organizers seemed to be paying lip service to the idea of multi-dimensionality while in practice a few voices and perspectives ended up being marginalized at a particular conference, some people got very upset, and the essays in the symposium issue that followed displayed as much reflection as emotional reaction. No doubt, Queer Migrations is a great supplement to immigration and citizenship studies with narratives on the experiences under a body of law intent on exclusion rather than inclusion, of sexual migrants from places like Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador and the Phillipines. But I was really disappointed at this book's glaring failure to say more about Latina lesbians. Sadly it reinforces Lourdes Torres' comment and reasons for her own work Tortilleras ,1 that there is a "historical tendency to focus on men's sexuality,"2 in sexuality studies. To their credit, the editors at least recognize the limitation.3 Readers may appreciate also that this was a project probably published quickly as a tribute to Lionel Cantu who did not live long enough to finish his book project.
But Queer Migrations does fill a huge gap in existing immigration studies. Reading it triggered the memory of my meeting a young woman several years ago in Austin, Texas who had left Mexico to be with a woman she broke up with not long...