The Maltese cactus: An autoethnography of the colonization of desire

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

This article presents an autoethnographic account of an encounter between two men – a Mexican scholar and a British artist – who met in Malta, to examine how post-colonialism influences the seemingly personal experience of erotic desire. The author, a man of indigenous descent, explores how his erotic attraction interweaved with powerful dynamics that were the product of the other man’s European cultural background. He problematizes this attraction by reflecting on the
white ethnocentrism that colored his partner-seeking process. This autoethnography analyzes how European colonialism in Mexico affected not only language and religion, but also the deceivingly intimate aspect of erotic desire.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)229-249
JournalText and Performance Quarterly
Volume39
Issue number3
Early online date30 Jul 2019
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 30 Jul 2019

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • whiteness
  • language
  • British
  • Mexican
  • Latino
  • gay
  • indigenous
  • post-colonialism

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