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People with a History: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans* History Sourcebook

Section VI: Africa, Asia, Latin American, Oceania

Editor: Paul Halsall

Contents:

Section VI: Africa, Asia, Latin America, Oceania

Go to the following pages for other parts of People with a History

Chapter 26: Ancient China, Japan and Korea

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Chapter 27: Ancient India

It has proved to be extraordinarily difficult to find much infromation about South Asian homosexuality. Some relevant documents are under "Islam", (including Richard Burton's Terminal Essay, in which he claims that homosexual activity was common in Indo-Muslim culture but not Hindu cultures). See also the Buddhist references collected under "China and Japan).

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  • WEB Shri Krishna as Kali and Lalita [At Shivashakti.com] [Internet Archive version here]
    Although the sexual relationships of Indian gods often follow heterosexual expectations, the individual God/dess may change form and be incarnate as another. This story could be read as gay, lesbian, or multiply transgendered.
  • WEB Tantrik Links [At Shivashakti.com] [Internet Archive version here]
    Tantricism was the "short path" to Enlightenment in Hinduism and Buddhism. Sexual ecstasy was a particularly important feature, often represented by heterosexual "yab-yum" figures.
  • WEB Samalinga [Was at Geocities, now Internet Archive]
    Collection of South Asian Queer Writings on the WWW.

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Chapter 28: The Lesbian and Gay Movement in Australia and New Zealand

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Chapter 29: Gay and Lesbian Politics in Latin America

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Chapter 30: The Impact of LGBT Identity Politics Outside the West

Discussions:

  • Dennis Altman: On Global Queering 1998 [Was At Australian Humanities Review, now Internet Archive]
    With Responses from Gary Dowsett, Michael Tan, Donald Morton, Christopher Lane, David Halperin and Fran Martin
  • Seiichi M. Sunday: Tokyo's 1st Gay Parade from Outrageous Tokyo: Japan's English Language Gay magazine, Nov 1994 [Now at Internet Archive ]
  • Homosexuality Legalized in Russia 1997 [Was At U. Glasgow, now Internet Archive]

Texts:

  • Edward Carpenter (1884-1929): Iolaus: An Anthology of Friendship [chapters on Africa] [At this Site]
  • Stephen O. Murray and Will Roskam: Boy Wives and Female Husbands: Studies in African Homosexualities © 1998 [Was At Louis Crewe, now Internet Archive]
    Extensive oral history reports. An early draft of the book manuscript. Extensive documentation of homosexual traditions in all parts of Africa.
  • South African Constitution [A ICL]
    Section 9.(3) is the first constitutional guarantee of protection for LGBs in the world
  • Gays: Guardians of the Gates, An Interview with Malidoma Som M.E.N. Magazine, September 1993 [Was At Afrinet, now at Scribd]
    Malidoma Som is charged by his elders of the Dagara tribe of Burkina Faso with bringing the wisdom of his tribe to the West. His book Ritual: Power, Healing and Community. Malidoma notes "among the Dagara people, gender has very little to do with anatomy. It is purely energetic. In that context, a male who is physically male can vibrate female energy, and vice versa… And this is something that also touches on what has become known here as the "gay" or "homosexual" issue. Again, in the culture that I come from, this is not the issue. These people are looked on, essentially, as people. The whole notion of "gay" does not exist in the indigenous world. That does not mean that there are not people there who feel the way that certain people feel in this culture, that has led to them being referred to as 'gay'…The gay person is looked at primarily as a 'gatekeeper.'"
  • Eugene J. Patron: Heart of Lavender: In Search of Gay Africa (1995) from Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review, Fall 1995 [At this Site]
  • Electronic Mail and Guardian: Gay couple tie the knot, Johannesburg, South Africa. 1997 [Was At Mail and Guardian, now Internet Archive]
  • Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, 2003 enacted by the Parliament of South Africa [Wikisource]
  • Zimbabwe Anti-Gay Witchhunt 1998 [Was at Xmission, now Internet Archive]
  • Molefi Asante: Interview on Homosexuality on THIS WAY OUT [At QRD] [Internet Archive version here]
    Asante, a leading proponent of Afrocentrism, had long called homosexuality a western . He has now publically changed his mind, as more information info African gender/sexuality has come to light.
  • Matthew Quest : Afrocentricity vs. Homosexuality: The Isis Papers [At Spunk.org] [Internet Archive version here]
    A critique of Frances Cress Welsing's The Isis Papers.

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Chapter 31: Cross Cultural Themes and Studies

Discussions:

Texts:

  • None as yet

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  • None as yet

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NOTES

People with a History: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans* History Sourcebook is part of the Internet History Sourcebooks Project. Date of inception was 1997. People with a History is a www site presenting history relevant to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered people, through primary sources, secondary discussions, and images. Links to files at other site are indicated by [At some indication of the site name or location]. WEB  indicates a link to one of small number of high quality web sites which provide either more texts or an especially valuable overview.


The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of  Fordham University, New York. The Internet Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at the Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University.  Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.

© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 6 October 2023 [CV]