"The Only Way Out Is In": Power, Race, and Sexuality Under Capitalism in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Issue 3 (26th May 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gonzalez, Melissa M.
• Is Part Of: Critique. Volume 57:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 279
• Page End: 293
• Publication Date: 2016-05-26
• Subjects: Capitalism -- sexuality -- power -- race -- postcolonial; Fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; Letterkunde; Engels; Electronic journals; 809.304
• DOI: 10.1080/00111619.2015.1046590
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0011-1619

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The essay argues that Junot Díaz's 2007 novel—and, coextensively, the author's interviews and public commentaries—engage in ideological critique of how racialized masculinity, femininity, and sexuality are produced by the disciplining discourses of U.S., Dominican, and diasporic society and culture. Departing from prevailing readings, the essay asserts that Díaz allegorizes both the repressive and the harder-to-resist, productive forms of postcolonial power, elaborating a non-emancipatory version of decolonization.