E-Book Overview
Erotic Journeys is a fascinating, revealing, and respectful examination of the romantic relationships and sex lives of the fastest-growing minority group in the nation. In a series of in-depth interviews, Gloria Gonz?lez-L?pez investigates the ways in which sixty heterosexual Mexican women and men living in Los Angeles reinvent their sex lives as part of their immigration and settlement experiences. Defying a broad spectrum of preconceived notions, these immigrants confirm in their vivid narratives that sexuality--far from being culturally determined--is fluid and complex. Gonz?lez-L?pez explains that these Mexicans enter the United States with particular sexual ideologies and practices that, while diverse, are regulated by family ethics and regional patriarchies. After migration, a range of factors--including employment, the risks and dangers of resettlement, social networking with other immigrants, and the new demands of a fast-paced industrialized metropolis--begin to transform the immigrants' intimate lives in deep and unexpected ways. The remarkably candid interviews show that these men and women are skillful negotiating agents of their own sexuality. The author's incisive analysis of their narratives sets the stage for a nuanced and compelling understanding of this complex topic and its many social implications.
E-Book Content
Gonzalez-Lopez (A).qxd 3/4/2005 12:51 PM Page i Erotic Journeys Gonzalez-Lopez (A).qxd 3/4/2005 12:51 PM Page ii Gonzalez-Lopez (A).qxd 3/4/2005 12:51 PM Page iii Erotic Journeys Mexican Immigrants and Their Sex Lives Gloria González-López U N I V E RS I TY O F CA LI F O R N I A P R ESS Berkeley / Los Angeles / London Gonzalez-Lopez (A).qxd 3/4/2005 12:51 PM Page iv University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 2005 by The Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data González-López, Gloria, 1960 – Erotic journeys : Mexican immigrants and their sex lives / Gloria González-López. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-520-23083-3 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 0-520-23139-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Mexican Americans — California — Los Angeles — Sexual behavior. 2. Immigrants — California — Los Angeles — Sexual behavior. 3. Mexican Americans — California — Los Angeles — Social conditions. 4. Immigrants — California — Los Angeles — Social conditions. 5. Sex — Social aspects — California — Los Angeles. 6. Los Angeles (Calif.) — Social conditions. 7. Los Angeles (Calif.) — Ethnic relations. I. Title. f869.l89m5175 2005 306.7'089'68720794 — dc22 2004062036 Manufactured in the United States of America 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed on Ecobook 50 containing a minimum 50% post-consumer waste, processed chlorine free. The balance contains virgin pulp, including 25% Forest Stewardship Council CertiWed for no old growth tree cutting, processed either tcf or ecf. The sheet is acid-free and meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48 – 1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper).8 Gonzalez-Lopez (A).qxd 3/4/2005 12:51 PM Page v Para ti, mamá, por tu amor desmedido e incondicional y por enseñarme a volar y a soñar y por acariciar siempre mis alas y mis sueños. En su memoria, con cariño, gratitud y admiración Gloria E. Anzaldúa (1942–2004) Lionel Cantú Jr. (1965–2002) Gonzalez-Lopez (A).qxd 3/4/2005 12:51 PM Page vi Gonzalez-Lopez (A).qxd 3/4/2005 12:51 PM Page vii Contents Acknowledgments Introduction ix 1