Banana [Mis]representations: A Gendered History of the United Fruit Company and las mujeres bananeras
This thesis focuses on banana women’s representations and how capitalism reinforces the patriarchal system in Honduras by utilizing three distinct yet interconnected discourses: The United Fruit Company, Honduran banana novels, and female banana union workers’ testimonials. The Roosevelt Administration’s Good Neighbor Policy (1933) with the collective help of the United Fruit Company and Hollywood presented Latin America and Latin American women stereotypically representing them as a sexualized and exotic persona in US mass media as observed through Carmen Miranda and shortly following, the creation of Miss Chiquita Banana.The three Honduran banana novels utilized in this thesis are: Prisión verde (1950), Destacamento rojo (1962) by Ramón Amaya Amador, and Barro (1951) by Pacas Navas Miralda, that act as a counter United Fruit and Hollywood discourse. I analyze that although the novels provide a strong anti-United Fruit sentiment, the authors are also under a patriarchal discourse through their stereotypical representations of their female characters. I explore the testimonials of unionized banana women who have begun to take back their history by pursuing direct political action against gender discrimination and workers’ exploitation.
Gender Studies, Latin American History, Latin American Literature, Latin American Studies, Patriarchy, Capitalism, Imperialism, United Fruit Company, Good Neighbor Policy, Carmen Miranda, Chiquita Banana, Banana Novels, Honduras, Mujeres bananeras, Testimonies, Gender Discrimination
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