The Sexual History of the Global South Sexual Politics in Africa, Asia and Latin America

by Wieringa, Saskia E.; Sivori, Horacio

• ISBN13: 9781780324029
• ISBN10: 1780324022
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-05-28
• Publisher: UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS

Summary

This unique volume on colonial and postcolonial sexual politics in the global south bridges a gap between postcolonial cultural critiques and sexuality studies. The result is a theoretically and politically important frame of reference to sexual politics in the Global South that addresses critically the emergence of this intersection as a subject of scholarly concern. The authors offer unique empirically grounded, informative, nuanced accounts that debunk essentialist assumptions not only about gender and sexuality,revealing continuities between the two historical periods of colonialism and postcolonialism The book features twelve original case studies by authors located in the Global South, based on original historical and ethnographic research from countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which look at the sexual investments underlying the colonial project and the construction of modern nation-states. The chapters cover issues of heteronormativity, postcolonial amnesia regarding non-normative sexualities, women's sexual agency, the policing of the boundaries between the public and the private realm, and sexual citizenship are discussed, as well as the connections between gay and lesbian activism and processes of state formation, and the emergence of sexuality studies in the Global South. The result is a collection of great geographical, historical and topical breadth and depth.

Author Biography

Saskia E. Wieringa is honorary Professor at the University of Amsterdam, holding the Chair on Gender and Women's Same-Sex Relations Crossculturally. Horacio Federico Sívori, PhD, is an Argentinean anthropologist, a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Social Medicine, State University of Rio de Janeiro, and the regional coordinator for the Latin American Centre on Sexuality and Human Rights.

Table of Contents

1. Sexual Politics in the Global South: Framing the Discourse; Saskia Wieringa and Horacio Sívori2. The Rise of Sex and Sexuality Studies in Post-1978 China Studies; Huang Yingying3. From the Obscene Modern to the Pornographic Family: Notes on the "Lustful Adventures" in Bangla Pornography; Hardik Brata Biswas 4. Pepillitos, Garzonas and Men Without Women: Sexing the Nation Body during the Cuban Republican Era; Abel Sierra Madero5. Government and the Control of Venereal Diseases in Colonial Tanzania, MBozi District, 1920s - 1960s; Musa Saddock6. From Police Raids to Prison Culture. Violence and the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Activism during the 'Democratic Consolidation' in Argentina (1983-1990); Diego Sempol7. Sexuality and Nationalist Ideologies in Postcolonial Africa: (re)making the African Straight in Cameroon; Basile Ndjio8. The 'Lesbian' Existence in Arab Cultures: Historical and Sociological Perspectives; Iman Al-Ghafari9. 'Public Women' and the 'Obscene' Body: A Short Exploration of Abolition Debates in India; Nitya Vasudevan10. Male Homoeroticism and the Emergence of AIDS in Mexico City: Discourses from the 1980s; Alberto Teutle López11. Canons of Desire: Male Homosexuality in 21st Century Keralam; Rajeev Kumaramkandath12. Reflections on Female Criminality and Prisons in Brazil: A Study on Gender and Sexuality in a Women's Prison; Fabíola Cordeiro13. Sexual Pleasure and Pre-Marital Sexual Adventures of Young Women in Africa; Tsitsi B Masvawure