Table of Contents

1. Introduction, by Saskia E. Wieringa and Evelyn Blackwood 2. Sapphic Shadows:Challenging the Silence in the Study of Sexuality, by Evelyn Blackwood and Saskia E. Wieringa Indigenous Histories Colonial Legacies 3. The Politics of Identities and Languages:Lesbian Desire in Ancient and Modern India, by Giti Thadani 4. Lesbians, Men-Women, and Two-Spirits:Homosexuality and Gender in Native American Cultures Erotic Intimacies and Cultural Identities 5. "What's Identity Got to Do with It?" Rethinking Identity in Light of the Mati Work in Suriname, by Gloria Wekker 6. Let Them Take Ecstasy: Class and Jakarta Lesbians, by Alison J. Murray 7. Women in Lesotho and the (Western) Construction of Homophobia, by Kendall Doing Masculinity:Butches, Female Bodies,and Transgendered Identities 8. Tombois in West Sumatra: Constructing Masculinity and Erotic Desire, by Evelyn Blackwood 9. Desiring Bodies or Defiant Cultures:Butch-Femme Lesbians in Jakarta and Lima, by Saskia E. Wieringa 10. Negotiating Transnational Sexual Economies: Femaleand Same-Sex Sexuality in "Tahiti and Her Islands", by Deborah A. Elliston Nationalism, Feminism,and Lesbian/Gay Rights Movements 11. How Homosexuality Became "Un-African": The Case of Zimbabwe, by Margrete Aarmo 12. Women's Sexuality and the Discourse on Asian Values:Cross-Dressing in Malaysia, by Tan beng hui 13. Sexual Preference:the Ugly Duckling of Feminist Demands:The Lesbian Movement in Mexico, by Norma Mogro

Promotional Information

"Fills a major gap in gender/sexuality studies by providing cross-cultural material on 'lesbian-like'relations outside of Europe and the United States... An exciting book." -- Patricia S. Lander, Brooklyn College, CUNY "A landmark event in a number of different fields: lesbian and gay studies, women's studies, postcolonial studies, and cultural studies. It addresses a significant silence in recent treatments of feminist movements and gender in developing countries, in that it focuses specifically on women's alternative sexualities... A significant contribution to the exciting and growing literature on international feminism and women's political organizing." -- Deborah P. Amory, SUNY Purchase

About the Author

Evelyn Blackwood is assistant professor of anthropology and women's studies at Purdue University. She is the editor of The Many Faces of Homosexuality: Anthropological Approaches to Homosexual Behavior. Saskia Wieringa is a senior lecturer in women's studies at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague. She is the author of The Politicization of Gender Relations in Indonesia: Women's Organizations and the New Order, coauthor of Women, The Environment, and Sustainable Development: Toward a Theoretical Synthesis, and editor of several other books.

Reviews

A landmark event in a number of different fields: lesbian and gay studies, womens studies, postcolonial studies, and cultural studies. It addresses a significant silence in recent treatments of feminist movements and gender in developing countries, in that it focuses specifically on womens alternative sexualities. . . . A significant contribution to the exciting and growing literature on international feminism and womens political organizing.