Being La Dominicana: Race and Identity in the Visual Culture of Santo Domingo (Dissident Feminisms)

Dissident Feminisms

by Rachel Afi Quinn

Rachel Afi Quinn investigates how visual media portray Dominican women and how women represent themselves in their own creative endeavors in response to existing stereotypes. Delving into the dynamic realities and uniquely racialized gendered experiences of women in Santo Domingo, Quinn reveals the way racial ambiguity and color hierarchy work to shape experiences of identity and subjectivity in the Dominican Republic. She merges analyses of context and interviews with young Dominican women to offer rare insights into a Caribbean society in which the tourist industry and popular media reward, and rely upon, the ability of Dominican women to transform themselves to perform gender, race, and class. Engaging and astute, Being La Dominicana reveals the little-studied world of today's young Dominican women and what their personal stories and transnational experiences can tell us about the larger neoliberal world.

264 pages, Hardcover

Published July 27, 2021

Reviews

[Meg Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating examination of visual culture in relation to Dominican women in the past decade. I was caught up in the book in a way few scholarly books can manage. The book was well-researched and academic in its approach, but the material was rendered in ways that made the information quite personal. The book was very true to my experience in the DR, and yet brought new perspectives. I would love to see a more popular version of this text as it would be interesting to discuss in high school classrooms. The last chapter was particularly impactful.

[María Angelica Haza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imprescindible estudio sobre que es ser mujer en Republica Dominicana

El ojo critico de Rachel nos obliga a ver muchos puntos ciegos que tenemos de la mujer dominicana, especialmente la afrocaribeña.