Introduction to Women's Studies: Chinga the United States?

“‘How could there be so many dead women and we not know about it, Ivon?’ ‘Because who cares about girls from the south’” (Gaspar de Alba 329)? Desert Blood: The Juárez Murders by Alicia Gaspar de Alba is a novel about the femicides in Juárez, México that began in the 1990s and continue today. While the novel is a work of fiction, the author researched the topic extensively, and the plot of the book is as viable as any other guesses out there about the cause of the murders. Desert Blood is important in part because it gives a voice to women who have none, but also because of its transnationality. Our Community Action Project (CAP) is about the effects of globalization on women, and we needn’t look any further than our country’s border with México for the effects.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a poster child for globalization, has been great for business but terrible for people.

“If fathers, brothers, husbands didn’t gain some privilege, however small in global terms, from women’s acquiescence to those confining notions of femininity, it might be much harder for the foreign executives and their local elite allies to recruit the cheap labor they desire” (Enloe 498). The imagery here is one of paternal care. Large corporations and national governments, comprised mostly of men, are expected to look after employees and citizens in a paternal way, which is similar to the “big brother is watching you” idea. Yet these men have no real interest in maintaining the health of the women they control. Governments and big business profit from minorities by exploiting their labor. The patriarchy’s paternal persona has never had our best interests in mind. “‘Although we love having all that surplus labor to exploit, once it becomes reproductive rather than just productive, it stops being profitable. How do we continue to make a profit from these women’s bodies and also curtail the threat of their reproductive power’” (Gaspar de Alba 332)? This hits at the very core of the problem in Juárez, but also around the world.

While efforts to obtain large profits and maintain control have manifested themselves as a series of ongoing femicides in Juárez, women around the world are paid less than men and are treated as less than men in many ways.

In this way, Ivon’s identity is very important. She is a native of the El Paso/ Juárez area and is a lesbian. She is rebellious and rejects norms and standards. She represents everything that these governments and maquiladoras fear. It is therefore essential that Ivon brings down the conspiracy surrounding the femicides. As Enloe says, “It can be seen like one more attempt by privileged outsiders—women and men—to dilute their political efforts” (497). Gaspar de Alba knows that it is very important to give voices to all women and to not allow others to enter local communities and take over. Ivon is the perfect character to reveal the patriarchal strings attached to everything in Juárez.

Another important aspect of the novel that demonstrates its knowledge of the effects of globalization is the use of the Spanish language. Some might call it “Spanglish.” It is inserted so seamlessly that one cannot help but wonder if this is the future of bilingualism. For example, “His car parked in the estacionamiento on the same street. ...shiny and red like the kind she's seen on the telenovelas” (Gaspar de Alba 153). Furthermore, the use of curse words makes the story feel more real. “‘He's always riding that chingadera in front of the buses.’” (Gaspar de Alba 43). “‘Chinga tu madre, buey’” (Gaspar de Alba 21). This is important because of the anti-Spanish and anti-Latina/o sentiment in the United States. Using the Spanish language challenges our notions of the superiority of English. It also provides insight into the way the two languages are used interchangeably in everyday life.

Overall, Desert Blood demonstrates the negative, exploitative aspects of globalization. It shows that the people in power want to gain money from agreements like NAFTA, but don’t want anyone else to ruin their profits, even if that means violently keeping women down. US racism, as shown along the US-Mexican border, is also a manifestation of globalization. An example of this is when Ivon is subjected to this comment on the plane: “‘You don't look Mexican’” (Gaspar de Alba 6). Americans want the profits, but don’t want to share anything with those people who work in maquiladoras and help make the profits.

In a global, capitalist, free market society, the rich will always get richer and the poor will always get poorer. Our CAP and other feminist groups need to keep in mind the various aspects of female identity around the world, including language, in order to promote solidarity among feminists so as to fight this patriarchal power.