We have seen how Zapatismo became one of the epic revolution’s most popular regional agrarian movements. Moreover, the personal accounts of Pedro and Esperanza Martínez afforded an intimate glimpse of the horrific impact that the revolution visited upon the men and women of Zapatismo whose families were dislocated by “la bola.” Over the past two decades historians have rewritten the history of the Mexican revolution from the perspective of women and gender relationships, asking to what extent the great upheaval was truly a revolution for women and whether deep seated patriarchal relations were transformed during the fighting and under the new revolutionary state that consolidated in its wake. Gabriela Cano, one of the most distinguished historians of revolutionary and postrevolutionary Mexico, has made foundational contributions to these discussions. In the selection below, which focuses on the life and military career of Zapatista colonel Amelio Robles, she expands the boundaries of the revolution’s historiography of gender and sexuality, examining the unusual transgendering of Amelia Robles, a small-town rural woman from the southern state of Guerrero.
Introduction
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