La Santa Muerte: Poem Analysis
As the Catholic Church continues to frown upon homosexuals, they continue to frown upon transsexuals to an even greater extent. They see it as even larger perversion of the (already perverted) homosexual lifestyle. At the risk of generalizing, I would argue that many transsexuals then find that they need someone or something that will not judge them and only treat them with the respect they need. La Santa Muerte helps to fill the void left by society in many North American transsexuals. With most people not liking what they do not understand or ca not explain, this makes transsexuals the perfect target for them and the Church. People cannot explain why there are transsexuals, they do not know how hard it is to be transsexual, and they
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Although she is the figure of death, she just wants to be treated as part of your family—she even likes it when tobacco smoke is blown in her face (Chesnut, 2012). All La Santa Muerte asks for is respect, if she gets that then she will return it. Just from reading the various poems, essays, opinions, and personal statements in the book compiled by Tigert & Tirabassi the pain and humiliation these people go through each day, the staring, pointing, comments, and the battles transsexuals have within themselves on a daily basis is incredible: “When you see a transperson, smile. That individual need extra reassurance to overcome the fear that you would reject him/her” (Tigert & Tirabassi, 2004). It is now incredibly obvious that transpeople need all the help and support that they can get, and they are getting that help and moral support from the unbiased Santa Muerte. It is well known that when you die you are dead; there is no coming back. In that sense, death is the great equalizer “across class and social distinctions and race, gender, or sexual hierarchies” (Martín, 2014). Truly La Santa Muerte represents death in every aspect of her being her name literally translating as ‘The Holy Death’. Although that frightens many people and causes them to believe that only prisoners worship her (Martín, 2014) many transpeople do worship her because she is clear of bias. Contrastingly, many transsexuals do not find solace and comfort within the Christian religion, because they are the main front-runner for the prejudice found in modern day North American culture against
Although she is the figure of death, she just wants to be treated as part of your family—she even likes it when tobacco smoke is blown in her face (Chesnut, 2012). All La Santa Muerte asks for is respect, if she gets that then she will return it. Just from reading the various poems, essays, opinions, and personal statements in the book compiled by Tigert & Tirabassi the pain and humiliation these people go through each day, the staring, pointing, comments, and the battles transsexuals have within themselves on a daily basis is incredible: “When you see a transperson, smile. That individual need extra reassurance to overcome the fear that you would reject him/her” (Tigert & Tirabassi, 2004). It is now incredibly obvious that transpeople need all the help and support that they can get, and they are getting that help and moral support from the unbiased Santa Muerte. It is well known that when you die you are dead; there is no coming back. In that sense, death is the great equalizer “across class and social distinctions and race, gender, or sexual hierarchies” (Martín, 2014). Truly La Santa Muerte represents death in every aspect of her being her name literally translating as ‘The Holy Death’. Although that frightens many people and causes them to believe that only prisoners worship her (Martín, 2014) many transpeople do worship her because she is clear of bias. Contrastingly, many transsexuals do not find solace and comfort within the Christian religion, because they are the main front-runner for the prejudice found in modern day North American culture against