Settler hegemonies: Aidan Huang, ‘Gender(ed) Imaginations, Hegemony, and Counter-hegemony in Guatemala’, Trail Six, 19, 2025, pp. 31-41 | settler colonial studies blog

Settler hegemonies: Aidan Huang, ‘Gender(ed) Imaginations, Hegemony, and Counter-hegemony in Guatemala’, Trail Six, 19, 2025, pp. 31-41

23Mar25

Abstract: Guatemala’s socio-political landscape is well known as one marked by enduring conflict and state repression, often traced to settler colonialism and US imperialism. Compared to the attention on overt, physical violence, however, the role of ideological and cultural strategies in enabling this violence is less extensively discussed. In this paper, I draw upon Gramsci’s theory of hegemony to analyse how colonial-capitalist relationships of power in Guatemala operate not only through physical and political force, but are also underpinned by ideological and cultural domination. I argue that the cultural hegemony of Spanish colonisers and the settler colonial state have been and are reinforced by certain patriarchal ideas of gender, which are used to establish control over people in Guatemala, especially Indigenous Mayans. To illustrate this, I use examples from both colonial and post-independence periods, as well as my own experiences during a university study program. However, cultural hegemony in Guatemala remains incomplete, as counter-hegemonic imaginations and expressions of gender–rooted in Mayan cultures and resistance–challenge dominant gender roles and notions of identity, illustrating the ongoing contestation of power.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Closed