The Sexual Politics of Empire
Postcolonial Homophobia in Haiti
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23512470 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Erin L Durban (0000-0001-9437-5492), Erin Durban |
| Year | 2022 |
| Publication date | 2022-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | BOOK |
| Venue | Sexual Politics of Empire (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | University of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.5622/illinois/9780252044755.001.0001 |
| OpenAlex | W4387019982 |
| Open Library | OL38326424M |
| ISBN | 9780252044755 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
The Sexual Politics of Empire develops a theory of postcolonial homophobia based on multi-sited ethnographic research in Haiti and its diaspora and extensive archival research between 2008 and 2016. Postcolonial homophobia refers to the effects of historical and contemporary Western imperialist biopolitical interventions to regulate, manage, control, govern, and liberate (trans)gender embodiments and (homo)sexuality. In particular, the book contends that imperialist discourses construct postcolonial nations as simultaneously too queer (resistant to modernity) and too homophobic (failed modernity). These discourses respectively emerge from two transnational social movements: evangelical Christianity and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) human rights. One would expect that the first of these would have detrimental impacts on same-sex-desiring and transgender Haitians, and indeed the book documents how Catholic and Protestant homophobias—respectively rooted in French colonialism and U.S. imperialism—harm people’s lives. However, the interplay of the discourses from these movements and those produced by LGBTQI human rights amplifies negative material effects for queer postcolonial subjects. The seven chapters provide thick descriptions of postcolonial homophobia in Haiti: cyclical outbreaks of homophobic and transphobic violence, depoliticization of anti-imperialist resistance, and U.S. humanitarian missions to “save” LGBTQI Haitian people.
Colonialism · Diaspora · Empire · Human rights · Human sexuality · Lesbian · Modernity · Political science · Politics · Queer · Sociology · Transgender · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Gender Studies · Law
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |