Brainstorm #5 - Elena Orlando

Senorita Extraviada challenges misogynist representations of the women disappeared and murdered in Ciudad Juarez through emphasizing “radicalization rather than victimization” (Fregoso 26). In Senorita Extraviada, Lourdes Portillo centers the humanity of the young women and exposes the local, national and transnational forces that devalue the lives of poor, racialized peoples. Cacho’s concept of social death speaks to how the humanity of these women has been made illegible through state-sanctioned violence and the proliferation of rhetoric that sexualizes victims and makes these crimes remissable. The impunity for these murders shows that the law does not protect racialized and sexualized people, nor does it create social transformation. As shown in Senorita Extraviada and expanded upon by Fregoso, the mothers and families of these young women practice resilience through grassroots organizing and placing art within the public realm to “claim public space for [the young women] as citizens of the nation” (21). By painting crosses in public spaces, the families confront society as a whole and call for a transformation of public discourse that makes visible the systemic violence. In the face of mass impunity, negation and disaggregation, collective action creates opportunities for healing and justice.