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mxunsmiley's review
4.0
This book has made me further think about my perspective as a Western LGBT person. While I definitely had some qualms with it, which I'll talk about, it is more thought-provoking than anything. I saw a lot of confirmation that the Western imposition of gender on the world is more colonialism in action today. You would wonder why certain individuals were once revered (though, at the same time, this came with certain sometimes demeaning gendered expectations anyway) and then Gevisser would add in that Britain, for example, criminalized them, thus warping their perception in those societies.
A big claim of this book is that the claim of the "LGBT" identity lends one social and political capital across the world. Often, those who adopted "gay" or "transgender" found both more avenues for mobility as well as more castigation, sometimes more the former than the latter and vice versa. I think this is dependent on the cultural context more than anything, as not all societies operate in the same way thought they may share the same biases. The recognition of "LGBT" just generally led to punishment and abuse as well, with the attention gradually shifting from same-sex attraction to trans people, mostly trans women.
The irony that now imperialist powers such as England and the United States are now championing themselves as the harbingers of LGBT rights across the world, despite having intensified and normalized homo- and transphobia in the countries they colonized, is not lost, either. I also thought it was interesting how many of the leaders of these countries clung to fundamentalism in order to resist that imperialism. It raises a lot of questions as to how particularly gay identity itself has become globalized, with billion-dollar corporations withholding business with and countries halting aid to countries in the Global South which criminalize LGBT people.
Another interesting point is how the scapegoating of LGBT people is done to preserve patriotism and nationalism in certain countries like Russia for example. This shows how the state is fundamentally invested in control over private lives and its own maintenance.
There's also the complication of a lot of these individuals with being both LGBT and refugees/immigrants, how they are supposedly welcome on the basis of the former while rejected/discriminated against because of the latter, like in the Netherlands.
Some things I had problems with: the supposed universal acceptance of "queer" despite it being virtually irrelevant, it seems, in most of the countries he studied, "gay" and "LGBT" being preferred or their own culturally specific identities. There was an off-hand comment about how lower-income Black LGBT people resisted it, but that was it. Another was the near absence of discussion of bisexuality and the bisexual community. He even claimed it was uniquely "binarist," never mind how cis gay people pervasively enforce the gender binary as well. The only other mention of bisexual people was in the kanthi of India, which were almost all portrayed to be unfaithful and violent. Colorism was also present with some comments about Zaira's appearance, who was described as a dark-skinned woman. Finally, I don't think it's appropriate that the author took on an identity label used by Indians as a white man himself. I think it's great that he was able to discover something about himself, but perhaps he should have used different language, as he does not occupy the same position as a real kothi does in her own culture and society.
One thing I really appreciated was how he included a story about detransition which wasn't negative, and instead twisted the typical narrative. The fact that it was a stone butch who shared her story was even more affirming for me as a stone butch myself.
That the Western idea of gender, once adopted, could lead to upward mobility in some cases was interesting as well. That it also limited and twisted noncolonial conceptions of gender, particularly those we see as "nonbinary," was something to think about.
There was a lot to think about during and after reading this book to be honest! It shows how contextual and even problematic the "LGBT" identity can be across the world.
A big claim of this book is that the claim of the "LGBT" identity lends one social and political capital across the world. Often, those who adopted "gay" or "transgender" found both more avenues for mobility as well as more castigation, sometimes more the former than the latter and vice versa. I think this is dependent on the cultural context more than anything, as not all societies operate in the same way thought they may share the same biases. The recognition of "LGBT" just generally led to punishment and abuse as well, with the attention gradually shifting from same-sex attraction to trans people, mostly trans women.
The irony that now imperialist powers such as England and the United States are now championing themselves as the harbingers of LGBT rights across the world, despite having intensified and normalized homo- and transphobia in the countries they colonized, is not lost, either. I also thought it was interesting how many of the leaders of these countries clung to fundamentalism in order to resist that imperialism. It raises a lot of questions as to how particularly gay identity itself has become globalized, with billion-dollar corporations withholding business with and countries halting aid to countries in the Global South which criminalize LGBT people.
Another interesting point is how the scapegoating of LGBT people is done to preserve patriotism and nationalism in certain countries like Russia for example. This shows how the state is fundamentally invested in control over private lives and its own maintenance.
There's also the complication of a lot of these individuals with being both LGBT and refugees/immigrants, how they are supposedly welcome on the basis of the former while rejected/discriminated against because of the latter, like in the Netherlands.
Some things I had problems with: the supposed universal acceptance of "queer" despite it being virtually irrelevant, it seems, in most of the countries he studied, "gay" and "LGBT" being preferred or their own culturally specific identities. There was an off-hand comment about how lower-income Black LGBT people resisted it, but that was it. Another was the near absence of discussion of bisexuality and the bisexual community. He even claimed it was uniquely "binarist," never mind how cis gay people pervasively enforce the gender binary as well. The only other mention of bisexual people was in the kanthi of India, which were almost all portrayed to be unfaithful and violent. Colorism was also present with some comments about Zaira's appearance, who was described as a dark-skinned woman. Finally, I don't think it's appropriate that the author took on an identity label used by Indians as a white man himself. I think it's great that he was able to discover something about himself, but perhaps he should have used different language, as he does not occupy the same position as a real kothi does in her own culture and society.
One thing I really appreciated was how he included a story about detransition which wasn't negative, and instead twisted the typical narrative. The fact that it was a stone butch who shared her story was even more affirming for me as a stone butch myself.
That the Western idea of gender, once adopted, could lead to upward mobility in some cases was interesting as well. That it also limited and twisted noncolonial conceptions of gender, particularly those we see as "nonbinary," was something to think about.
There was a lot to think about during and after reading this book to be honest! It shows how contextual and even problematic the "LGBT" identity can be across the world.
hopefullybookish's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.0
emmaas_bookshelf's review
4.0
A really eye opening read for everyone, not just queer people, about the reality of the lgbtq+ movement across the world and how colonialism has shaped that movement. Definitely preferred listening to it since it was a little dry at points, but the stories within were well written and eye opening
horfhorfhorf's review
4.0
Quite the cross-section of the cultural and social realities faced by queer people worldwide. It's amazing so many versions of a human existence can exist, based almost entirely on a person's sexuality and/or gender identity.