A Queer Approach to the Representations of Argentina’s Recent Past: Anxieties around the Subjects of “our” History

The paper offers an analysis of various public representations of Argentina’s recent past from the perspective of a Queer Philosophy of History. It contends that this approach offers valuable tools to look into how and why we shape our past like we do, what comes as the “mess” that historical narratives often try to “tidy up,” how they achieve this, and how all of this relates to our present interests. With this aim, the paper describes and analyzes different mechanisms that are put into play when producing representations of the liminal events that shook Argentina in the 1970s, focusing specifically on the ways in which those who were part of the resistance against State terrorism tend to be selected, presented and described. In its conclusions, it suggests reading these practices of public memory as cases of political anxiety, rethinking them through the potential offered by a queer perspective