Bodies on the front lines : performance, gender, and sexuality in Latin America and the Caribbean /

The scholarly reporting and analysis of politically engaged performance art deserves the attention of those studying social movements and organizations, whatever their discipline. Editors Werth (American Univ.) and Zien (McGill Univ., Canada) offer a valuable interdisciplinary collection on dramatic presentations of oppression of and violence against women and the LGBTQ+ community and resulting political actions in Latin America and the Caribbean. The editors' introduction clearly establishes the theoretical foundations and debates within performance studies and their application to emancipatory productions. In the chapters that follow, the contributing authors treat a range of public creative expressions, from digital testimony to street theater. Some offerings address the contours of performance and its relationship to progressive coalitions within highly autocratic national regimes. Others explore the same issues in more democratic, neoliberal settings. Several essays consider questions of extreme violence, e.g., femicide, which unite women across borders and have inspired actions like those of the cross-national #NiUnaMenos (Not One [Woman] Less) movement. In sum, this collection underlines the insistence of ignored and excluded groups on public visibility, even against daunting odds, and the dynamism of performance artistry in animating and strengthening political protest. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. --Marietta Morrissey, emerita, University of Toledo