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Best regards, Andrew Stewart Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff <revh...@mail.h-net.msu.edu> > Date: November 7, 2018 at 8:30:59 AM EST > To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > Subject: H-Net Review [H-LatAm]: Triplett on Bayard de Volo, 'Women and the > Cuban Insurrection: How Gender Shaped Castro's Victory' > Reply-To: H-Net Staff <revh...@mail.h-net.msu.edu> > > Lorraine Bayard de Volo. Women and the Cuban Insurrection: How > Gender Shaped Castro's Victory. New York Cambridge University > Press, 2018. xi + 272 pp. $24.99 (paper), ISBN 978-1-316-63084-6. > > Reviewed by Jennifer Triplett (University of Michigan) > Published on H-LatAm (November, 2018) > Commissioned by Casey M. Lurtz > > In the final months of 1958, a rag-tag band of bearded men in olive > fatigues swept across the island of Cuba--bolstered by groundswell of > popular support along the way--and eventually ousted dictator > Fulgencio Batista with their superior militarism, grit, and courage. > At least, this is the official version of the story. During the last > sixty years, however, scholars from a range of disciplines have > attempted revisions on what Lorraine Bayard de Volo terms the "Cuban > War Story," the Cuban state's official narrative of the events (both > triumphs and failures) of the armed insurrection leading to the > eventual regime change of January 1, 1959. Bayard de Volo's > compelling new monograph, _Women and the Cuban Insurrection: How > Gender Shaped Castro's Victory_, makes an important contribution to > this revisionist literature by reexamining the Cuban War Story > through a gendered lens. > > Previous scholarship, such as that of Julia Sweig, has identified > several key myths that the Cuban War Story perpetuates.[1] Such > mythology includes Che Guevara's Sierra narrative that privileged the > rural initiative over the urban one, the importance of 1959 as a > flashpoint (when, in fact, social revolution had been brewing since > the Machado dictatorship of the 1930s), and the centrality of Fidel > Castro. Bayard de Volo's findings corroborate Sweig's, but she > further identifies two additional facets of the Cuban War Story that > beg reconsideration: the erasure of women from the panorama of the > insurrection and the privileging of the tactical aspects of war over > ideological ones. In her examination of the events spanning from > before the storming of the Moncada barracks in 1952 to the rebels' > eventual triumph six years later, Bayard de Volo illuminates the > ideological aspects of the insurrection--the "battle for hearts and > minds"--as well as women's involvement in both the military and > discursive theaters of war. Her gendered reassessment of the Cuban > War Story allows her to make convincing theoretical claims regarding > both the importance of ideas in armed conflicts and the role of > gender as a "tactic" therein. > > The book's organization is an innovative one. It begins in 1952, well > before many other examinations of the Cuban Revolution, and generally > follows the course of pivotal events leading up to the rebels' > eventual triumph over the Batista regime. Bayard de Volo recounts > episodes such as the botched storming of the Moncada barracks, the > rebels' time in exile, their 1956 return to Cuba in the landing of > the _Granma_ yacht, the general strike of April 1958, and the > creation of an all-women combat platoon just before the conclusion of > the armed conflict later that year. The empirical detailing of these > events allows the author to bolster further the case for rejecting > key mythologies within the Cuban War Story. At the same time, > however, each chapter makes a theoretical move in support of the > author's arguments that both ideas and gender matter for > understanding armed conflict. > > In the second chapter, Bayard de Volo delves into women's historical > (pre-1950) political participation and mobilization in Cuba, thereby > contradicting the Cuban War Story myth that the revolution sprang > forth in 1958 from the efforts of Castro and his comrades. The author > thus demonstrates that (1) the growing support for a social > revolution began well before 1958 (or even the 1950s) and (2) women > were politically active and organized well before Batista's regime > came to power. In keeping with the idea that the insurrection was > both an ideological and a military one, the author speaks to both the > symbolic importance of women's previous mobilization and their > tactical contributions to rebel efforts. On the discursive side, > "rebels used narratives of women's contributions in prior conflicts > to legitimize contemporary women's activism and inspire Cubans more > generally to rebellion" (p. 23). From a military perspective, > "tactics developed in the wars of independence were applied to the > 1950s insurrection, and some women active in Cuba's 1930s rebellion > transferred their political experience to the 1950s, lending a sense > of continuity as well as efficacy" (p. 25). > > Chapter 3 examines the episode of the Moncada barracks. Here, Bayard > de Volo begins to make the case for both the salience of the "battle > for hearts and minds" and the predominance of women within the > ideological narratives that emerged after the event. With the > majority of rebels killed or captured after the storming of the > barracks, Castro's M-26-7 organization had to devise a way to reframe > their abysmal tactical performance as a moral victory. Women who had > participated yet survived, particularly Haydée Santamaría, were > used during the rebels' trial proceedings to evoke sympathy for the > movement and to attack the savage, ruthless masculinity of Batista's > forces. While the physical abuse of male prisoners would not likely > raise any moral red flags, the use of this torture to psychologically > torment the captives' female relatives clearly crossed the line of > acceptability. > > With the core group of rebels tried and exiled, chapter 4 moves on to > the period of "abeyance" that is generally overlooked by the > historiography. Bayard de Volo argues, however, that this was an > important time for women involved in the anti-Batista movement since > they enjoyed a degree of mobility and undetectability that their male > counterparts did not. During this period, much of the women rebels' > work involved making progress in the "war of ideas" theater through > enacting the roles of nurturers and mourners. Specifically, Bayard de > Volo argues that, "women were cumulatively crucial in the nurturing > of a rebel collective identity and oppositional consciousness among > anti-Batista activists" (p. 68), owing in large part to social > constructions of and ideals surrounding gender and femininity. > > Chapter 5 continues with the historical narrative and examines the > transition from abeyance, in which most M-26-7 male leaders were > imprisoned or in exile, to resurgence, a time during which "women > were edged out numerically and in terms of leadership positions" (p. > 88). Bayard de Volo argues that there were three main barriers to > women's participation during this next phase of the insurrection: > "family resistance, rejection by rebel men, and low-status > assignments" (p. 91). Each of these three barriers is intimately > linked to ideas of femininity and women's proper role in society. > Despite having carried the movement during the period of abeyance and > made great strides along the ideological front in garnering support > for the anti-Batista movement, women were directed to take a back > seat as the movement resurged and male leaders returned from exile on > the _Granma_ yacht in 1956. > > In chapter 6, Bayard de Volo sidesteps the historical play-by-play of > the insurgency to focus on the gendered narratives that emerged > during and after the revolution. Specifically, it is the absence of > certain narratives that grabs Bayard de Volo's attention. Whereas > "tactical femininity" is lifted up as a desirable ideal, war stories > surrounding women's involvement in bombings and as victims of sexual > assault are backgrounded in the Cuban War Story. What Bayard de > Volo's historical evidence allows her to demonstrate, then, is that > "the urban underground used traditional femininity--particularly > notions of women as passive and politically and sexually innocent--as > a tactic of war" (p. 133). While women were praised for combining > femininity and cunningness to hide weapons or important documents in > their full skirts or false pregnant bellies, those who committed acts > of violence such as bombings, or who were sexually victimized by > pro-Batista forces, are mostly absent from the Cuban War Story. > > The next chapter builds on the gender-as-tactic theoretical > contribution made in chapter 6 to examine further the role of women > within the ideological front of the rebel insurgency. Again, Bayard > de Volo's emphasis here is on the silences and omissions of the Cuban > War Story. She documents mothers' protests that unfolded during the > armed insurrection, particularly following the death of urban > underground leader Frank País. However, whereas mothers as public > mourners and martyrs became emblematic of social struggles elsewhere > in Latin America (as in the case of the mothers of the disappeared in > Argentina and Chile), protesting Cuban mothers scarcely appear in the > official version of events. According to the Cuban War Story, a > mother's role is to be self-sacrificing and to mourn stoically the > loss of their martyred husbands and sons. > > In chapter 8, Bayard de Volo returns to the historical narrative and > shifts her focus from examining femininity and the role of women in > the insurrection to analyzing the role of masculinity in the > successes and failures of the general strike of April 1958. Once > again, as had been the case with the storming of the Moncada barracks > and the landing of the _Granma_ yacht, the general strike was a > tactical failure from a military perspective but a relative success > in the ideological theater of war. The rhetoric and ideology employed > in this instance centered on dividing and conquering the enemy using > competing ideas of masculinity. As Bayard de Volo explains, "rebels > waged a gendered offensive, redefining masculine hierarchies both > between Batista's forces and the rebels and within Batista's forces" > (p. 173). Discursively redefining ideal masculinity thus allowed the > M-26-7 rebels to reconstitute their military failures as moral > successes. > > Nearing the end of the book and, consequently, the end of the > historical narrative on the period of armed insurrection, Bayard de > Volo pauses to take stock of the involvement and contributions of > noncombatant Cuban women. As in chapter 5, she examines the social > factors that either compelled or deterred women from seeking > involvement in the military theater of the insurrection. > Specifically, she finds that women joining the M-26-7 guerrillas in > the mountainous zones in the eastern part of the island were > "ideologically drawn to the rebels, pushed by the repression, and > called up from the _llano_ [urban underground] for their skills" (p. > 189). Women who experienced one or more of these attracting forces > were, at times, able to overcome the previously mentioned obstacles > of family opposition and rebel men's objections. > > As a counterpoint to the noncombatants of chapter 9, the centerpieces > of chapter 10 are the few women who did become involved with active > military engagement in the insurrection. Bayard de Volo traces the > trajectories of a handful of women who became involved as combatants > in the guerrilla engagements of the _sierra_ and outlines the > development of the only all-woman platoon to be constituted during > the insurrection, Las Marianas (named for Mariana Grajales, the > mother of independence hero Antonio Maceo). In keeping with her > attention to the war of ideas, Bayard de Volo argues that the > Marianas served an overwhelmingly ideological purpose and were > militarily of little use (although their bravery could be used to > deter the cowardice of their male comrades). The ideological utility > of an all-woman platoon outlasted the armed insurrection itself. As > Bayard de Volo notes, "In the long run, the post-1958 Revolution held > up Las Marianas as a symbol of women's equality, which in turn called > upon Cuban women to participate in national defense" (p. 233). > > By way of conclusion, Bayard de Volo spends the eleventh and final > chapter revisiting the primary aims of the book as presented in the > introduction as well as discussing a few of the lasting impacts of > the revolution on contemporary Cuban society. She reemphasizes her > urgent claim that we should look for a better balance in attending to > both the military and ideological venues of any armed conflict. > Furthermore, on both the military and ideological fronts, analyzing > the role of women's involvement reveals the extent to which social > constructions of gender feature in the course and ultimate outcomes > of such conflicts. Through the years of insurrection, women were > involved with the rebellion in a variety of capacities, on both the > military and ideological battlefields of the Cuban Revolution. > Ultimately, however, Bayard de Volo argues that the guerrilla > leadership "pursued armed insurrection in a way that both integrated > women and even exaggerated their contributions while leaving the > gender binary and thus power differentials intact" (p. 236). > > Bayard de Volo's work undoubtedly furthers our understanding of the > Cuban insurrection and women's role therein, but I would like to make > two brief critiques in closing. First, much of her argumentation > centers on identifying, highlighting, and explaining absences and > silences in the Cuban War Story. Bayard de Volo attempts to make > visible the women whose involvement contradicts the > heroic-bearded-men narrative. For example, she explains, "I document > _what _women did and _how_ they were (and were not) integrated into > insurrection and militarism" (p. 3). She relies on an impressive > array of historic documentation--ranging from radio transmissions and > clandestine press leaflets to oral history and personal > communications--to establish the nature and extent of women's > participation in the M-26-7 anti-Batista efforts. In this, she is > convincing. However, the meticulous piecing together of the > historical record on the role of women in the rebel movement is quite > a different task from then establishing the absence of women in the > Cuban War Story, as Bayard de Volo also claims to do. I do not find > the same methodological care and rigor to be evident for the period > after the rebel victory. The Cuban War Story is one that has been > cultivated and preserved for nearly sixty years, by both the Cuban > state itself and the attendant historiography. Thus, it is somewhat > difficult to accept Bayard de Volo's narrative of silences > surrounding insurrectionary women without evidence that she > comprehensively and systematically combed through speeches, > newspapers, magazines, and other sorts of primary documents for > instances of what allegedly went unspoken in the post-1958 period. > > But in my view the greatest shortcoming of the work is Bayard de > Volo's singular focus on the M-26-7 movement and the women associated > with it, an emphasis made at the expense of any analysis of women who > may have been involved in anti-Batista efforts but not associated > with Castro's organization. The effects of this decision are > multiple. First, this emphasis reinforces two lines of mythology > running through the Cuban War Story: the indisputable dominance of > Fidel Castro (which has indeed been disputed in the revisionist > literature on the revolution) and the inevitability of M-26-7's > eventual dominance in the post-1958 panorama. More importantly, > however, Bayard de Volo's undivided attention to the women of M-26-7 > stands as a missed opportunity to explore gender as a tactic in > all-women's anti-Batista groups. Delving into the tactics and > discourses of groups such as the Women Oppositionists United or the > Civic Front of Martían Women would provide an interesting > counterpoint to the participation of women as dictated by the men > around them. Such a comparison could also shed light on the > differences of gender as a tactic deployed by women versus by men. > > Ultimately, Bayard de Volo's book is a thoroughly engaging and > much-needed contribution to a gendered understanding of the Cuban > Revolution in particular and of armed conflict in general. Given the > author's contributions to our knowledge of women's participation in > the Cuban insurrection, of the role of the war of ideas in the > rebels' efforts, and of gender as a tactic of war, her book speaks to > a myriad of audiences. Cubanists in general will benefit from her > reassessment of the Cuban War Story as well as from her attention to > the generally understudied role of women in the period of > insurrection (Michelle Chase's work being a notable exception).[2] Of > course, when Bayard de Volo discusses gender, there are implications > not only for the women involved but for the men as well. Therefore, > scholars of masculinity will also find value in her work. More > broadly, however, this book provides a long-overdue assessment of the > role of ideas in general, and gendered ideas in particular, for our > understanding of contentious political action. > > Notes > > [1]. Julia Sweig, _Inside the Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro and the > Urban Underground_ (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002). > > [2]. Michelle Chase. _Revolution within the Revolution: Women and > Gender Politics in Cuba, 1952-1962_ (Chapel Hill, NC: University of > North Carolina Press, 2015). > > Citation: Jennifer Triplett. Review of Bayard de Volo, Lorraine, > _Women and the Cuban Insurrection: How Gender Shaped Castro's > Victory_. H-LatAm, H-Net Reviews. November, 2018. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=52909 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -- _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
