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UBC Theses and Dissertations
A popular and wholesome resort : gender, class, and the Young Men’s Christian Association in Porfirian Mexico Avent, Glenn J.
Abstract
In the period from 1902 to 1910, the Mexican branch of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) attracted a large Spanish-speaking membership composed primarily of urban white-collar employees or empleados. The Association's Mexican members found the YMCA useful in the pursuit their own social objectives. First, the Association provided Mexican empleados with a means to promote the formation of a new national identity through the transformation of cultural practices. The encouragement of sporting activity became a primary element in this program. Second, the YMCA provided a platform from which the Mexican members proclaimed their collective political power and distinct identity. Public athletic demonstrations provided the most prominent means of making these assertions. In pursuing these two objectives, the Association's empleado members constructed sexual identity alongside nationality and class. As a result, they frequently utilized concepts of gender to produce rhetorical effects in their assertions of national and class identity. The Association's empleado members consequently sought a masculine national identity in the hope of attaining a new and more powerful position within the community of nations. The linkages established between these elements of identity also enabled Mexican Association members to project a "male" class identity. The establishment of this collective "persona" enabled their attainment of visibility within the public sphere and the assertion of their combined political power.
Item Metadata
Title |
A popular and wholesome resort : gender, class, and the Young Men’s Christian Association in Porfirian Mexico
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1996
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Description |
In the period from 1902 to 1910, the Mexican branch of the Young Men's
Christian Association (YMCA) attracted a large Spanish-speaking membership composed
primarily of urban white-collar employees or empleados. The Association's Mexican
members found the YMCA useful in the pursuit their own social objectives. First, the
Association provided Mexican empleados with a means to promote the formation of a
new national identity through the transformation of cultural practices. The encouragement
of sporting activity became a primary element in this program. Second, the YMCA
provided a platform from which the Mexican members proclaimed their collective political
power and distinct identity. Public athletic demonstrations provided the most prominent
means of making these assertions.
In pursuing these two objectives, the Association's empleado members
constructed sexual identity alongside nationality and class. As a result, they frequently
utilized concepts of gender to produce rhetorical effects in their assertions of national and
class identity. The Association's empleado members consequently sought a masculine
national identity in the hope of attaining a new and more powerful position within the
community of nations. The linkages established between these elements of identity also
enabled Mexican Association members to project a "male" class identity. The
establishment of this collective "persona" enabled their attainment of visibility within the
public sphere and the assertion of their combined political power.
|
Extent |
2496787 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-02-09
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0086977
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1996-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.