Through detailed studies, this collection of writings by academics and activists explores the emergence of contemporary lesbian and butch/femme relationships and communities throughout Asia and their location within the context of nationalist struggles, religious fundamentalism, state gender regimes and global queer movements.

"An exciting collection that addresses persistent problems in social theory and activism. Is feminist analysis more perceptive than queer analysis in understanding Asian women's same-sex experiences? How does attention class alter how we understand globalization and identity? These essays, by anthropologists, historians and local activist scholars, encourage us to ask new questions and should be read by anyone interested in gender, sexuality and culture today." - Don Kulick, Professor of Anthropology, Director of the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, New York University, author of Travesti: Sex, Gender and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes

Autorentext
SASKIA E. WIERINGA is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Director of the International Women's Center and Archives in Amsterdam. She is the editor of Subversive Women: Women's Movements in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

EVELYN BLACKWOOD is Associate Professor in Anthropology and Women's Studies at Purdue University, USA, the author of Webs of Power: Women, Kin and Community in a Sumatran Village, and the co-editor of Female Desires: Same-sex Relations and Transgender Practices across Cultures.

ABHA BHAIYA is one of the founding members of Jagori, a feminist resource center founded in 1984 and based in Delhi, India. She is the co-editor of Female Desires: Same-sex Relations and Transgender Practices across Cultures.

Inhalt
Globalization, Sexuality and Silences: Women's Same-Sex Experiences in a Globalizing Asia; E.Blackwood & S.Wieringa PART I: HISTORICAL LEGACIES Silence, Sin and the System: Women's Same-Sex Practices in Japan; S.Wieringa Desire and Deviance in Classical Indian Philosophy: A Study of Female Masculinity and Male Femininity in the Tamil Folk Legend; A.K.Natarajan PART II: CONDTITONAL SUBJECTIVITIES The Spring that Flowers between Women; A.Bhaiya Performing Gender along the Lesbian Continuum: The Politics of Sexual Identity in the Seitô Society; P.Wu 'But no one has explained to me who I am now': 'Trans' Self-perceptions in Sri Lanka; S.Wijewardene PART III: FEMALE MASCULINITIES Gender Subjectivity: Dees and Toms in Thailand; M.Sinnott Hunting Down Love: Female Masculinity in Bugis South Sulawesi; S.Graham Davies Lesbian Masculinities: Identity and Body Construction among Tomboys in Hong Kong; F.Lai Transnational Sexualities in One Place: Indonesian Readings; E.Blackwood PART IV: SILENCING AND MODES OF INVISIBILITY Flames of Fire: Expressions and Denial of Female Sexuality; A.Bhaiya Dying to Tell: Sexuality and Suicide in Imperial Japan; J.Robertson 'She has come from the world of the spirits': Life Stories of Working-class Lesbian Women in Northern India; M.Sharma