“What kind of life is this that I can’t separate from this man, if I have hands and feet, a mouth to talk with, and eyes to see? What am I, a cripple? These hands here make all the meals!”
To be completely honest, it was only during my reading of Andean Lives did I stop for a second and think: are there any female authors on our syllabus? Up until this point of the course, I have only heard the perspectives of male authors.
I was honestly a little ashamed of myself for not questioning this earlier on. I think my lack of familiarity with the topics at hand had led me to want to soak up as much information as possible. My critiques thus far had been the lack of Indigenous perspectives. However, my pursuit of context within our studies had shamefully caused me to neglect the intersectionality of these experiences- and life in the Andes is indeed, a gendered one.
Hearing the testimonies of Asunta Quispe Huaman really touched on a lot of realities of the female experience that have yet to be discussed in our coursework so far. Asunta proclaiming her pain of being unable to exist separate from a man not only touched on her limitations of social mobility and economic freedom, but in a sense how her story continues to exist inherently interconnected with the men in her life. I mean, even now, her testimony still only occurs after that of a man’s.
Another thing that I’ve been mulling over is the space that we hold for female perspectives in our recollection of the past. Asunta was given significantly less room for text within Andean Lives, and I guarantee her life deserves no less than the accounts of Gregorio. I wondered if the nature of this text is what allowed for Asunta to share her story at all. The testimony process as a medium allowed a space for Asunta to speak without the academic beautracy that prevents women’s histories, experiences, and realities from being viewed as equally valuable knowledge to that of men’s.
My question for this week is how can we hold more space and focus on female voices in our recollection of the past? Additionally, how can we work towards addressing the intersectional barriers that contribute to these limitations?
5 replies on “Blog Post #8: There is No History Without Female Testimony”
Hii Grace,
Thank you for creating this post – lets bring it up, then! Female voices best be fired up. I wondered which aspect of agency was involved in Asunta’s brief portion of Andean Lives. I thought about the implicit diminishment of the female experience, internalised imperialism one might refer, and how this lack of self-importance could have contributed to a shorter section, he having less to say. As well, the anthropologists who fostered this relationship were also a heteronormative couple, I believe, and so I wonder how the dynamics of their female affinity played into the space needed to receive her story. Hard to tell your trauma to an interactive man, ya feel.
To your question of recollection of the past and female voice — let’s lean into the intuitive, knowing over (male discourse) knowledge. Imagine the capacity of communication which balances female understandings, compassionate reception, literal life bearers of generative collaboration. Thats the civil, I’d say… #reMatriation
Hi Grace,
I agree! Asunta’s work really does provide a fantastic opportunity to integrate a female voice. I have a suspicion that there simply are not as many female historic accounts to draw on, and those that might’ve existed were not preserved. It makes this one all the more valuable in its unflinching transparency.
Gabriel
Hi Grace,
I also noticed how Asunta’s story came after Gregorio’s and is shorter. At first I wasn’t sure if I was reading into things but I find it hard to believe that Asunta would have less to say than Gregorio. She has also had a long hard life and her suffering should also be known. Her gendered experience is very important and shows that there is not a universal indigenous experience in Peru.
I subscribe to the same concerns you express in your blog post. The story of Asunta Quispe Huamán is painful, necessary, fascinating. However, I am even more intrigued by her silence, what was not said… was it her decision or her interviewers? Why omit certain passages? Could it perhaps be a self-care strategy or an unconscious fact on the part of Quispe Huamán? Could it be that for her what she was trying to tell has already been said and we haven’t paid enough attention to it? In my case, this testimony gives me a lot to think about.
Hi Grace!
I too felt a little ashamed that it took Asunta’s perspective for me to truly reflect on the lack of gender diversity in our course reading list. Like you, I think I was just caught up in absorption. However, I think as a class we did a good job at making sure to call out the gendered nature of our experiences, as well as the racial nature of our experiences. Intersectionality is key to understanding one’s place in the world, as you essentially state.