Drawing Offensive/Offensive Drawing: Toward a Theory of Mariconography

Abstract

On September 15, 2012, Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar took to the diamond of Rogers Centre armed with all the accoutrements of a professional baseball player facing off against his team’s adversaries, the Boston Red Sox: oiled glove in hand, sunglasses to deflect the intrusive stadium lighting, and eye black to withstand the sun’s glare. However, inside the covered stadium dome there would be no interfering sunlight, no meddlesome reflective surfaces, and no need to evade natural elements impinging on his sight. Escobar entered the arena facing throngs of spectators, teammates, and sports journalists bearing a brash message written in the greasy smudging beneath his eyes. It read: “Tu ere[h] maricon [You are a faggot]” (see Figure 1). His face inscribed with a defamatory Spanish slur, Escobar became the subject of intense scrutiny for what some defended as a “joke” in poor taste. Social media sports bloggers picked up Escobar’s photograph and circulated it widely. Many mainstream news outlets questioned the premeditated nature of the act and whether the anti-gay pictorial statement merited punishment. Major League Baseball investigated and finally suspended the shortstop for three games. At a poorly organized press conference, Escobar apologized and yet explained that maricon in his native Cuba could not be accurately translated into English—that it was a “word without meaning” (qtd. in Duque). He explained that the statement was aimless, harmless, and directed at no one in particular. His defense of cultural mistranslation was puzzling; he struggled to clarify its ordinary use among Cubans as a culturally specific turn of phrase that was nevertheless empty of historical, social, or political significance. In the eyes of Escobar, maricon meant nothing. Yet his bodily articulation said otherwise. His facial self-inscription in the visual field marks slippage in body, image, and text. His visibility is contingent