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Virgin Mary Statue

This object symbolizes repression and misogyny from Xiomara’s critical perspective. She finds this object and other visual characteristics of the church to have inherently misogynistic and disempowering qualities, qualities she sees as applying to many different elements of Mami’s brand of Catholicism. For Xiomara, this object and others like it symbolize institutional repression and marginalization that fails to honor the identities of women and people of color.

Pieces of Lint

These objects symbolize Xavier’s need to be protected. When Xiomara travels to Xavier’s school unexpectedly, she sees a young red-haired man with his arm around Xavier. The young man is removing these items from Xavier’s clothing in a gesture of affection. This gesture causes Xiomara to feel jealous, since while she had known all along that one day Xavier would no longer need her help, she had thought it would...

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