Five Hundred Years of LGBTQIA+ History in Western Nicaragua
The University of Arizona Press
This groundbreaking book reframes five hundred years of western Nicaraguan history by giving gender and sexuality the attention they deserve. Victoria González-Rivera decenters nationalist narratives of triumphant mestizaje and argues that western Nicaragua’s LGBTQIA+ history is a profoundly Indigenous one.
In this expansive history, González-Rivera documents connections between Indigeneity, local commerce, and femininity (cis and trans), demonstrating the long history of LGBTQIA+ Nicaraguans. She sheds light on historical events, such as Andres Caballero’s 1536 burning at the stake for sodomy. González-Rivera discusses how elite efforts after independence to “modernize” open-air markets led to increased surveillance of LGBTQIA+ working-class individuals. She also examines the 1960s and the Somoza dictatorship, when another wave of persecution emerged, targeting working-class gay men and trans women, leading to a more stringent anti-sodomy law.
The centuries prior to the post-1990 political movement for greater LGBTQIA+ rights demonstrate that, far from being marginal, LGBTQIA+ Nicaraguans have been active in every area of society for hundreds of years.
In this expansive history, González-Rivera documents connections between Indigeneity, local commerce, and femininity (cis and trans), demonstrating the long history of LGBTQIA+ Nicaraguans. She sheds light on historical events, such as Andres Caballero’s 1536 burning at the stake for sodomy. González-Rivera discusses how elite efforts after independence to “modernize” open-air markets led to increased surveillance of LGBTQIA+ working-class individuals. She also examines the 1960s and the Somoza dictatorship, when another wave of persecution emerged, targeting working-class gay men and trans women, leading to a more stringent anti-sodomy law.
The centuries prior to the post-1990 political movement for greater LGBTQIA+ rights demonstrate that, far from being marginal, LGBTQIA+ Nicaraguans have been active in every area of society for hundreds of years.
Victoria González-Rivera is an associate professor of Chicana/o studies at San Diego State University. Her most recent book is Before the Revolution. Women’s Rights and Right-Wing Politics in Nicaragua, 1821–1979.
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