Rights and representations: querying the male-to-male sexual subject in India

Abstract

Same-sex sexualities in India have been portrayed in research and activism as socially marginal and minoritarian. Whilst proceeding from a commitment to the political utility of such a view, this paper questions such a standpoint. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in different sites, the paper considers male-to-male sexualities as enacted and implicated in the production of ostensibly heteronormative spaces. This, in turn, raises questions about the representation of the queer or same-sex sexual subject in law and HIV prevention, especially in the context of post-colonial perspectives on sexuality.