Contesting Waters: Queer Signifying in La ciénaga and La niña santa by Lucrecia Martel

Argentinean director Lucrecia Martel’s La ciénaga (2001) and La niña santa (2004) explore the problematics of queer representation using thematic and formal elements. La ciénaga posits queer desire as a source of shame and the lesbian body as un-representable within dominant, heteronormative signifying modes. La niña santa demonstrates plural female gazing and the reciprocal gaze outside of gendered binaries of power and submission. Using the swimming pool and water to stage queer signifying, the films include same-sex desire and homosociality, with elements that disrupt spectatorial expectations for spatial and acoustic representations.