Domestic Disturbances: Re-Imagining Narratives of Gender, Labor, and Immigration

219 Pages·2014·4.64 MB·English

by  Irene Mata

Domestic Disturbances

Domestic Disturbances
Re-Imagining Narratives of Gender, Labor, and Immigration
by irene mata
University of Texas Press, Austin
Copyright © 2014 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2014
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to:
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∞ The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997)
(Permanence of Paper).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mata, Irene, 1972–
Domestic disturbances : re-imagining narratives of gender, labor, and immigration / by Irene Mata.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-292-77131-4 (cl. : alk. paper)
1. Hispanic American women—Social conditions. 2. Women immigrants—United States—Social
conditions. 3. Women household employees—United States—Social conditions. 4. Women foreign
workers—United States—Social conditions. 5. Hispanic American women in literature. 6. Hispanic
American women in mass media. 7. United States—Emigration and immigration—Social aspects.
I. Title.
E184.S75M388 2014
305.48’868073—dc23
2014016665
doi:10.7560/771314
For my mother and all of the immigrant women who raise
their children in cultures not their own

Contents
ix Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
26 Chapter One.
Dream a Little American Dream: A Traditional
Story-Book Romance
57 Chapter Two.
Cleaning Up After the National Family,
and What a Mess They Make
93 Chapter Three.
Laboring Bodies, Laboring Spaces in the
Hospitality Industry
127 Chapter Four.
Calling All Superheroes: Recasting the
Immigrant Subject
160 Conclusion.
Resistance: A Growing Movement

167 Notes
189 Bibliography
199 Index

Acknowledgments
As with most academic projects, this book is the result of the encour-
agement and support of many individuals. I would like to begin by
offering my sincerest appreciation for the work of the cultural produc-
ers who have made this project possible. Thank you to the incredible
artists who granted me permission to use their work: Laura Alvarez,
Adela Arellano, and Debora Kuetzpal Vasquez. Quiero expresar mis
más sinceras gracias y profundo agradecimiento a Elvia Claudio por
compartir su historia de lucha, perseverancia, y esperanza, y por per-
mitirme a compartir sus experiencias con el resto de la comunidad.
This book was made possible by the financial assistance of various
sources. When I was a graduate student, my research was partially
funded by a University of California, San Diego Center for the Study
of Race and Ethnicity Dissertation Research Fellowship and a UCSD
Literature Department Year Long Dissertation Fellowship. In its later
stages, this project was supported by a Susan and Donald Newhouse
Center for the Humanities Fellowship and by multiple Wellesley Col-
lege Faculty Research Grants. The Newhouse Center, under the direc-
tion of Carol Dougherty and the coordination of Jane Jackson, pro-
vided me with a place to think and write, and fostered a space for
collaboration and conversation that was truly stimulating.
There are many individuals whose help has been instrumental in
my journey through multiple academic institutions. At New Mexico
State University, I was incredibly lucky to work with amazing mentors
like Catrióna Rueda Esquibel (who first introduced me to Chican@ lit-
erature), Alison Giffen and Diane Price Herndl (who trained me to be
a feminist educator), and Diane Bass, Maria Guerra, and Jan Farmer
(three amazing women who became my family in Las Cruces). At the
University of California, San Diego, I had the opportunity to work
with individuals who challenged me to think of literature beyond the
written words on a page. I am thankful for the unwavering support
of Rosaura Sánchez and the members of my dissertation committee:
Lisa Lowe, Shelley Streeby, Michael Davidson, and Jorge Huerta. I
am indebted to my colleagues in the Women’s and Gender Studies
Department, who have created a home for me at Wellesley College.
Thank you to Sealing Cheng, Elena Creef, Rosanna Hertz, Charlene
Galarneau, Nancy Marshall, Susan Reverby, and Sima Shakhsari for
their mentoring, their support, and their willingness to always listen.
A special thank you to Betty Tiro and Marisa Shariatdoust for their
constant assistance in the daily navigating of the institution and
their steadfast friendship.
Thank you to my amazing research assistants, Silvia Galis-Menendez
ix