Signifying "others" or signs of life? This book critically examines the ways in which crossing sex and gender is imagined in key cultural texts from contemporary Latin America. Unlike previous studies, Crossing Sex and Gender in Latin America does not hold that sexually diverse figures are always and only performative or allegorical and instead places the accent on questions of the presence or absence of an account of subjectivity in contemporary representation. Via analysis of selected films and literary works of Reinaldo Arenas, Mayra Santos-Febres, Pedro Lemebel, among others, the author reflects on the political implications of recent visions (1985-2005).