Coyote Nation: Sexuality, Race, and Conquest in Modernizing New Mexico, 1880-1920
Pablo Mitchell
Abstract
With the arrival of the transcontinental railroad in the 1880s came the emergence of a modern and profoundly multicultural New Mexico. Native Americans, working-class Mexicans, elite Hispanos, and black-and-white newcomers all commingled and interacted in the territory in ways that had not been previously possible. But what did it mean to be white in this multiethnic milieu? And how did ideas of sexuality and racial supremacy shape ideas of citizenry and determine who would govern the region? This book considers these questions as it explores how New Mexicans evaluated and categorized racial i ... More
With the arrival of the transcontinental railroad in the 1880s came the emergence of a modern and profoundly multicultural New Mexico. Native Americans, working-class Mexicans, elite Hispanos, and black-and-white newcomers all commingled and interacted in the territory in ways that had not been previously possible. But what did it mean to be white in this multiethnic milieu? And how did ideas of sexuality and racial supremacy shape ideas of citizenry and determine who would govern the region? This book considers these questions as it explores how New Mexicans evaluated and categorized racial identities through bodily practices. Where ethnic groups were numerous and—in the wake of miscegenation—often difficult to discern, the ways one dressed, bathed, spoke, gestured, or even stood were largely instrumental in conveying one's race. Even such practices as cutting one's hair, shopping, drinking alcohol, or embalming a deceased loved one could inextricably link a person to a very specific racial identity.
Keywords:
transcontinental railroad,
New Mexico,
Native Americans,
working-class Mexicans,
elite Hispanos,
sexuality,
racial supremacy,
citizenry,
New Mexicans,
racial identities
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2005 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780226532424 |
| Published to Chicago Scholarship Online: March 2013 |
DOI:10.7208/chicago/9780226532523.001.0001 |
