The Becoming of the Abject Body in Las Malas by Camila Sosa Villada

Abstract

Introduction: The article analyzed Las malas (2019), a novel by Camila Sosa Villada, highlighting its significance as both a testimony and a denunciation of the violence inflicted on transvestites. It explored how the novel shed light on the social exclusion and rejection of these bodies, considered abject according to the theories of Julia Kristeva and Judith Butler.
Development: The article addressed the representation of the transvestite body as both an object of repulsion and desire, revealing the hypocrisy of hegemonic masculinity. It also explained how society’s disciplinary power, as described by Michel Foucault, manifested in the discrimination, abandonment, and violence against the novel’s protagonists. Additionally, it highlighted the role of Aunt Encarna as a protective figure within a transvestite community that found refuge in collectivity. The analysis included the imposed clandestinity on transvestites, who could only inhabit the night to avoid daytime hostility. Furthermore, it discussed the duality of identity in characters like Las Cuervas, who experienced femininity in secrecy without suffering social rejection.
Conclusion: The article concluded that Las malas redefined the Latin American literary canon by giving voice to an identity historically marginalized. Through Sosa Villada’s autobiographical narration, the novel recognized the importance of dissident identities and their place in literature.