Preface

Summary

The aftermath of Argentina's last dictatorship (1976–83) has traditionally been associated with narratives of suffering, which recall the loss of the 30,000 civilians known as the ‘disappeared’. When democracy was restored, the unspoken rule was that only those related by blood to the missing were entitled to ask for justice. This book has emerged as an attempt to both query and queer this bloodline normativity. Drawing on queer theory and performance studies, it develops an alternative framework for understanding the affective transmission of trauma beyond traditional family settings. In order to do this, it introduces an archive of non-normative acts of mourning. This archive runs across different generations. Through the analysis of a broad spectrum of performances – including interviews, memoirs, cooking sessions, jokes, films, theatrical productions and literature – this book shows how the experience of loss has not only produced a well-known imaginary of suffering but also new forms of collective pleasure. Ultimately, it suggests that the experience of violence sheds light on a new sense of ‘being together’ in the wake of loss.

To some extent, this book also draws from my personal experience. I grew up during the dictatorship and, although there are no victims in my family, the experience of loss and violence marked me deeply. As with many others of my generation, some of my closest friends have missing relatives and the resonances of this experience of terror have informed my affective and political environment during successive periods of my life.