In the Land of God and Man

Silvana Paternostro’s “In the Land of God and Man” had an interesting approach of writing. She wrote the book in a storytelling format which made it easier for me to read and she also captured my interests about the topics that she discussed. The topic Paternostro was talking about in her book was about women’s sexuality in Latin and Latino America. Various people she interviewed in order to write were women from different types of backgrounds, factories, brothels, and boardrooms. She also wrote about her own experiences in the book. My favorite chapters from the book were chapter one: The Invitation and chapter four: A Love Story. Chapter one discussed about her life in Colombia and she also mentioned that she attended a private school where they were taught to be “proper ladies” in society. It was drilled in their head that were to stay virgins until they got married because if they had sex before that they would be looked at as whores or “easy.” I find it to be a double standard that women are to remain virgins or else they would be looked down upon. Whereas, men were allowed to do anything they wanted including have sex with other men then go back home to their wives. I loved Paternostro’s style of writing which drawn different types of emotions.