Laws of Desire? Race, Sexuality, and Power in Male Martinican Sexual Narratives

Abstract

In Martinique, both homosexual and heterosexual narratives of sexual desire reveal the centrality of an orthodox masculinity as a hegemonic force in public articulations about social relations and identity. Race also figures prominently in these narratives, but no straightforward correlative relations exist between race and other sociological categories such as class or education. In this article, I argue for the necessity of recognizing the influence of Martinique's neocolonial relationship with France. This relationship continues to affect cultural and political ideologies. I also demonstrate the influence of context in determining identity choices in narrative constructions, {homosexuality, heterosexuality, race, masculinity, Martinique]