Transcript Themes & Topics in Sirena Selena - Fictions of Latino Masculinities

Themes & Topics in Sirena Selena
Julio Rodriguez Jr. & Edward Ortega
Recurring Themes in Sirena Selena
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Homosexuality
Transgenderism
Transvestism
Rags to Riches
Homosexuality
• Sexual behavior or desire directed toward a person
of one’s own sex
• Sirena Selena
– Was poor on the street; hustling and prostituting himself
to men jus to get by
• Martha Divine
– Pimped trannies outside the Blue Danube club
• Hugo Graubel III
– Similar to Felix in The Rain God
Transgenderism
• The act of identifying with the opposite sex; sometimes
surgically alter one’s appearance to appear as a member
of the opposite sex Transsexualism)
• Martha Divine
– Halfway through sex-change process
– Has breasts, but still has a penis
• Transgendered rights in Puerto Rico and Dominican
Republic vs. Brazil
• Sex Change Teen
Transvestism
• The practice, especially of men, of wearing clothing
usually associated with the opposite sex for
psychological gratification.
• Many characters is Sirena Selena are transvestites
– Sirena Selena
– Martha Divine
– Misc. other characters mentioned.
• Transformation
Rags to Riches
• Martha Divine
– Was poor growing up
– Married a rich man
– Pimping trannies to help pay for her sex-change
• Sirena Selena
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Was living on the street
Addicted to drugs (cocaine)
Taken in by Martha Divine
Turned into a singing diva
THE END