Marmo

But when a rival cotton gin, run by Sicilian immigrant success story Silva Vacarro (Ronnie Marmo), legitimately takes away Archie Lee's business (no income, no furniture, no wedding night), he resorts to arson while Silva resorts to smoldering cuckoldry.

James Scarborough: Tennessee Williams' Baby Doll at the Elephant Theatre Company in Hollywood James Scarborough 2012

And versatile Marmo's Silva was a milquetoast, a Machiavelli, and a Lothario.

James Scarborough: Tennessee Williams' Baby Doll at the Elephant Theatre Company in Hollywood James Scarborough 2012

Marmo and Smith say the immigration officers justified the tests on the stereotype of south Asian women as "submissive, meek and tradition-bound" and on the "absurd generalisation" that Asian women were always virgins before they married.

Passport, visa, virginity? A mother's tale of immigration in the 1970s 2011

Brud's Baby Doll's got balls, something that can't be said of Gatto's Archie Lee, whose arrogant swagger and diminished sense of morality and exaggerated sense of me-me-me gets neutered by the honor, righteousness, and gentlemanly deviousness of Marmo's Silva.

James Scarborough: Tennessee Williams' Baby Doll at the Elephant Theatre Company in Hollywood James Scarborough 2012

Marmo says she is shocked that a married woman, with a visa already in place, was subjected to a virginity test: It opens up a new can of worms.

Passport, visa, virginity? A mother's tale of immigration in the 1970s 2011

"This is quite distressing as it corroborates our argument that women were just seen as 'bodies' to be checked for sociopolitical purposes," says Marmo.

Passport, visa, virginity? A mother's tale of immigration in the 1970s 2011

But while researching for a paper on immigration practices for an academic journal, Marmo and Smith, of Flinders University in Adelaide, found evidence of at least 81 cases of virginity testing in confidential Home Office files.

Passport, visa, virginity? A mother's tale of immigration in the 1970s 2011

Like Marmo, my mum also suspects that many more than 81 Asian woman of her generation went through these apparently routine virginity tests.

Passport, visa, virginity? A mother's tale of immigration in the 1970s 2011

This week, a study by two legal academics in Australia, Dr Marinella Marmo and Dr Evan Smith, revealed that in the late 1970s, more than 80 south Asian women were ordered to have a virginity test.

Passport, visa, virginity? A mother's tale of immigration in the 1970s 2011

And versatile Marmo's Silva was a milquetoast, a Machiavelli, and a Lothario.

James Scarborough: Tennessee Williams' Baby Doll at the Elephant Theatre Company in Hollywood James Scarborough 2012