The participation of women in warfare activities in Mexican society goes back to pre-Columbian times. Scholarly treatment of this social phenomenon is ambivalent and often confusing. There is a fine line between mythical elaborations and real historical accounts. Extensive studies on soldaderas (women soldiers) are few, but feminists and Latin Americanists are increasingly interested in the subject as it relates to problems of sex, class, and national identity.
Elizabeth Salas’s book forms an impressive collection of historical data gathered from archives, personal interviews, films, artistic production in general (painting and music), and literary works on the subject (novel, drama, and essay). Salas leads the reader across time and space through a historical reconstruction of the role of Mexican women in warfare since before the Spanish Conquest. An interdisciplinary approach allows her to combine historical, anthropological, political, and literary observations in a rather unusual way. Her study contributes significantly to the feminist cultural analysis initiated in the 1970s by following the development of the scholarly debate over the importance of the image of soldaderas for Mexican and Chicano women.
A historical account like this can be appreciated by scholars of all disciplines who are interested in providing a framework for the discussion of the patriarchal conception of woman. It opens the door to the consideration of the history of women as one of resistance, assertiveness, and creativity. Salas’s analysis evolves around the often contradictory depictions of women as terribly bad (manlike, unfaithful, troublemakers, prostitutes) and incredibly good (passive, loving, maternal, saintlike), a structure she chooses because most of her source material falls into one or the other of these opposite views. However, she manages to bring the discussion to a middle ground, where a more objective and careful analysis of the material available brings a clearer picture of the participation of Mexican women in military affairs. She shows the exaggeration and distorted nature of some accounts and the simplicity and negligence of others.
Feminist analyses have already charted new approaches to the study of culture, language, and morality, causing a revolutionary movement within the production, reproduction, and transformation of social discourse and knowledge. Elizabeth Salas’s book shows, as have other feminist studies, that the re-creation of the image of women and the reconceptualization of their role in society will be better accomplished if we look at the power relations established in society and deconstruct the ideological assumptions behind them.
