There are echoes here of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s in the United States led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is only when testimonial literature comes onto the scene that we understand how important both of these former points are. Testimonial narrative makes real the pain of poverty.

Gustavo Gutierrez's preferential option for the poor definitely becomes a misnomer when testimonial literature is introduced into the picture. The problem with preferential option for the poor is that it is a term specifically designed for the vocabulary of academics which seek to side with the poverty-stricken Other which they, the academics, most likely have little to no contact with on a daily basis.

However, they wish to have some type of a language which bridges that crevasse-like gap, and thus chose preferential option for the poor. Thus, women -- having been subjected to rape and other kinds of Project MUSE.

Cockburn, Cynthia. "On The Machinery of Dominance: Women, Men, and Technical Know-How." WSQ:

Women's Studies Quarterly 37.1-2 (2009): 269-273. Project MUSE.

Conover, Pamela Johnson, et. al. "Gender, Feminist Consciousness, and War." American Journal of Political Science Vol. 37, No. 4 (Nov., 1993), pp. 1079-1099.

Corradi, Juan E., et. al. Fear at the Edge: State Terror and Resistance in Latin America. USA:

University of California Press, Ltd., 1992.

Gugelberger, Georg. The Real Thing: Testimonial Discourse and Latin America. USA: Duke University

Press, 1996.

Sjoberg, Laura, et. al. Gender, War, and Militarism. USA: ABC-CLIO, 2010.

Williamson, Rana K. America History. UK: Paragon Publishing, 2005.

Sjoberg, et. al. 2010: 12.

Conover, et. al. 1993: 1079.

Corradi, et. al. 1992: 110.

Cockburn 2009: 269.

Williamson 2005: 143.

Bucur 2000: 30.