Spanish Ph.D. candidate Montserrat Fuente Camacho shared her research about gender and disability studies in Hispanic cultural production.
"The Bakhtinian concept of “carnival of the world” as a method of resistance underlines the value of the abnormal, appealing to grotesque and hybrid bodies and raises, consequently, the questioning of the normalization of existence and the perpetuation of established hierarchies and values in a collective imagination that advocates perfection. In this way, according to Bakhtin, from the notion of the grotesque, it is assumed that the body, social values and instituted practices are diverse, go beyond their own limits, transform and drift into unknown and unpredictable modes of existence (Bakhtin 30). Starting from the Bakhtinian notions of “carnival” and “grotesque,” I analyze the use of humor as a literary critical tool versus normative discourse in Alicia en un mundo real [Alice in a real world] (2010), written by Isabel Franc and illustrated by Susanna Martín. This graphic novel, awarded the Jennifer Quiles Prize for the best lesbian production in 2011, tells the story of a lesbian woman and her experience with breast cancer. A humorous autobiography that recounts a painful life experience, and challenges the homogenizing discourse that dictates the beauty, normality and ability of the female body." -Montserrat Fuente Camacho
