Decentering José Rizal and María Clara : interventions in Filipina femininity and nationalist fiction by Transpacific Filipina writers

This report examines of texts written by Transpacific Filipina novelists who produced literature during and after Ferdinand Marcos' dictatorship and scholarship on Philippine literature. The analysis offer a close reading of the ways in which the nation-state has used Rizal, his novel, Noli Me Tangere, and his fictional character, María Clara, to develop and promote nationalism and docility amongst Filipinas and to influence the following gender roles: the virgin, the sex worker, the overseas contract worker, and the activist. This report outlines the process of mythologizing Rizal and María Clara and juxtaposes this political and colonial project to the liberatory projects of Transpacific Filipina writers, Linda Ty- Casper's Awaiting Trespass, Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters, and Gina Apostol's The Gun Dealer's Daughter, all produced during and after the Marcos Administration.