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Khanmalek_Wild Tongues Cant Be Tamed

Overview of the Bath Riots (1917)

  • Date: 28 January 1917

  • Key Figure: Carmelita Torres, a 17-year-old leading the protest.

  • Location: US-Mexico border, particularly affecting Juárez and El Paso.

  • Context: Mexican-heritage individuals subjected to compulsory delousing procedures under quarantine orders aimed at typhus prevention.

Key Events Leading to the Riots

  • Compulsory Delousing: Mexican-heritage individuals required to undergo disinfection at the El Paso disinfection plant.

  • Rumor Catalyst: Allegations that officials from the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) photographed women in the nude exacerbated tensions and led to protests.

  • Public Health Justification: The procedure was rationalized as a health requirement to curb disease spread.

The Role of Rumors

  • Defining Rumors: The rumors regarding photography by health officials highlight the racialized and sexualized treatment of Mexican women; exhibiting them as disease carriers needing regulation.

  • Rumor Dynamics: Engaged through the lens of Gloria Anzaldúa's concepts, rumors acted as a form of resistance and subversion against official narratives.

Racialized and Sexualized Context

  • Media Portrayal: Newspapers framed Mexican women as public health threats, linking them to disease and implying a need for control and surveillance.

  • Political Implications: The Bath Riots served as a turning point in expressing racial and gender disparities at the border and exposing the imperialistic practices of public health control.

Methodological Framework

  • Anzaldúa’s Concepts: Used “wild tongues” and “la facultad” to analyze the intersection of race, sexuality, and power dynamics in the archival material.

  • Archival Absences: Investigated not only the existing documentation but also the narratives omitted from historical records, particularly those of the working-class Mexican women involved in the riots.

Impact of the Bath Riots

  • Public Health Policy: Continued scrutiny and implementation of invasive public health measures at the border.

  • Historical Narrative: Shifted the perception of the Bath Riots from isolated instances of resistance to encompassing deeper systemic issues of race and gender.

  • Long-Term Consequences: Highlighted enduring patterns of racialized medical treatment experienced by Mexican immigrants that persisted into future immigrant health policies.

Conclusion: The Legacy of The Bath Riots

  • Evolving Self-Identities: The events underscored the importance of resisting dominant narratives framed by health authorities.

  • Contested Histories: Rumors and the subsequent riots illustrate how marginalized communities assert alternative narratives against oppression and control.

  • Anzaldúan Reading Practices: Utilized to reframe historical contributions of individuals often excluded from mainstream histories, revealing layers of agency and resistance within the context of biopolitics.

ZL

Khanmalek_Wild Tongues Cant Be Tamed

Overview of the Bath Riots (1917)

  • Date: 28 January 1917

  • Key Figure: Carmelita Torres, a 17-year-old leading the protest.

  • Location: US-Mexico border, particularly affecting Juárez and El Paso.

  • Context: Mexican-heritage individuals subjected to compulsory delousing procedures under quarantine orders aimed at typhus prevention.

Key Events Leading to the Riots

  • Compulsory Delousing: Mexican-heritage individuals required to undergo disinfection at the El Paso disinfection plant.

  • Rumor Catalyst: Allegations that officials from the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) photographed women in the nude exacerbated tensions and led to protests.

  • Public Health Justification: The procedure was rationalized as a health requirement to curb disease spread.

The Role of Rumors

  • Defining Rumors: The rumors regarding photography by health officials highlight the racialized and sexualized treatment of Mexican women; exhibiting them as disease carriers needing regulation.

  • Rumor Dynamics: Engaged through the lens of Gloria Anzaldúa's concepts, rumors acted as a form of resistance and subversion against official narratives.

Racialized and Sexualized Context

  • Media Portrayal: Newspapers framed Mexican women as public health threats, linking them to disease and implying a need for control and surveillance.

  • Political Implications: The Bath Riots served as a turning point in expressing racial and gender disparities at the border and exposing the imperialistic practices of public health control.

Methodological Framework

  • Anzaldúa’s Concepts: Used “wild tongues” and “la facultad” to analyze the intersection of race, sexuality, and power dynamics in the archival material.

  • Archival Absences: Investigated not only the existing documentation but also the narratives omitted from historical records, particularly those of the working-class Mexican women involved in the riots.

Impact of the Bath Riots

  • Public Health Policy: Continued scrutiny and implementation of invasive public health measures at the border.

  • Historical Narrative: Shifted the perception of the Bath Riots from isolated instances of resistance to encompassing deeper systemic issues of race and gender.

  • Long-Term Consequences: Highlighted enduring patterns of racialized medical treatment experienced by Mexican immigrants that persisted into future immigrant health policies.

Conclusion: The Legacy of The Bath Riots

  • Evolving Self-Identities: The events underscored the importance of resisting dominant narratives framed by health authorities.

  • Contested Histories: Rumors and the subsequent riots illustrate how marginalized communities assert alternative narratives against oppression and control.

  • Anzaldúan Reading Practices: Utilized to reframe historical contributions of individuals often excluded from mainstream histories, revealing layers of agency and resistance within the context of biopolitics.

robot