Global Divas: Filipino Gay Men in the Diaspora (Perverse Modernities)

Rating:
Summary: Manila Must Be Burning!
Review: This book starts of with the author and another gay Pilipino man going up to a bakla and asking, "Why so sad, sister?" Miss Thing responds back, "My beauty can't stand the drama in this gay club!" SNAP! [They didn't really snap but this whole book will put you in a diva!, swishy mood, so I added some flourish.]

Now if some camp like that doesn't convince you to read this book, then I don't know what will. Seriously, many have noted that homosexuality is the love that dare not speak its name, Pilipinos are the forgotten Asians in America, and the subaltern has no voice. Thus, by creating a book where gay, immigrant, femmy, Pilipino men are the center, Manalansan has valiantly filled a tragic void. This book says much about gay men of color and gay immigrants. It shows how many gays have other issues on top of homophobia to battle. This was a critical intersectional text.

In this book, the author places a minority within a minority within a minority at the center. His main point is that non-Western same-gender-loving immigrants are not some homosexual primitives waiting for white, Western gays to liberate them. The subjects here are active agents in their lives. They balance multiple cultures and influences. They oftentimes look at this country and its mainstream gay community and find it lacking. This book is quite empowering.

Manalansan covers multiple topics here, including how gay male Pilipinos juggle Pacific and Western constructions of homosexuality, an argot called swardspeak, the difficulties that these men face in New York City, everyday struggles besides homophobia, bakla beauty pageants, and bakla anti-AIDS activism. The author does an excellent job in inviting the reader into the gay Pilipino immigrant's world. I thought the chapter on AIDS was the best; activists from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds should find it useful. The author ends many chapters with a review of the literature that I found somewhat awkward and at times overly opinionated, however. Like many academic books, this is just an amassing of the author's individual articles (and a celebration of his tenure?), but readers who haven't been exposed to extensive Manalansan writings will find this whole book especially refreshing.

Quotes from interview subjects are first cited in Taglish (Tagalog mixed with English phrases) and then translated into complete English. Even without being a comparative literature or cognitive science major, I found this code-switchi fascinating. Moraga and Anzaldua have already demonstrated how they practice Spanglish as U.S. Latinas. This is the first time I've seen gay men's and Asians' use of this intriguing practice. Manalansan discusses swardspeak, a gay Pilipino slang. So the Brits are not the only ones with their Picadilly parlary. Along with the Latino practice of picardia as detailed in Fernandez-Alemany's book, this is another example of gay men of color having their own catchy phrases and in-words.

To the book's credit, I think straight Pilipinos and non-Pilipino, gay immigrants will find this book useful as well. Still, this book is filled with academic jargon and I don't any gay, Pilipino immigrant without an extensive background in gay studies and cultural critcism would understand it. As a black gay man, I found this book very depressing. Any time brothers are mentioned it is to put them down in nasty, racist fashions. After this book, absolutely no one can say it's blacks' fault that people-of-color unity is so fragile. Further, given that Manalansan teaches in the Midwest, I'm surprised that Midwestern gay Pilipinos are not brought up here. They exist after all! To only mention those members in New York and California re-establishes that ideas that diversity only exists on the Coasts.

Still, I loved this book. Do peep it!

Rating:
Summary: Manila Must Be Burning!
Review: This book starts of with the author and another gay Pilipino man going up to a bakla and asking, "Why so sad, sister?" Miss Thing responds back, "My beauty can't stand the drama in this gay club!" SNAP! [They didn't really snap but this whole book will put you in a diva!, swishy mood, so I added some flourish.]

Now if some camp like that doesn't convince you to read this book, then I don't know what will. Seriously, many have noted that homosexuality is the love that dare not speak its name, Pilipinos are the forgotten Asians in America, and the subaltern has no voice. Thus, by creating a book where gay, immigrant, femmy, Pilipino men are the center, Manalansan has valiantly filled a tragic void. This book says much about gay men of color and gay immigrants. It shows how many gays have other issues on top of homophobia to battle. This was a critical intersectional text.

In this book, the author places a minority within a minority within a minority at the center. His main point is that non-Western same-gender-loving immigrants are not some homosexual primitives waiting for white, Western gays to liberate them. The subjects here are active agents in their lives. They balance multiple cultures and influences. They oftentimes look at this country and its mainstream gay community and find it lacking. This book is quite empowering.

Manalansan covers multiple topics here, including how gay male Pilipinos juggle Pacific and Western constructions of homosexuality, an argot called swardspeak, the difficulties that these men face in New York City, everyday struggles besides homophobia, bakla beauty pageants, and bakla anti-AIDS activism. The author does an excellent job in inviting the reader into the gay Pilipino immigrant's world. I thought the chapter on AIDS was the best; activists from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds should find it useful. The author ends many chapters with a review of the literature that I found somewhat awkward and at times overly opinionated, however. Like many academic books, this is just an amassing of the author's individual articles (and a celebration of his tenure?), but readers who haven't been exposed to extensive Manalansan writings will find this whole book especially refreshing.

Quotes from interview subjects are first cited in Taglish (Tagalog mixed with English phrases) and then translated into complete English. Even without being a comparative literature or cognitive science major, I found this code-switchi fascinating. Moraga and Anzaldua have already demonstrated how they practice Spanglish as U.S. Latinas. This is the first time I've seen gay men's and Asians' use of this intriguing practice. Manalansan discusses swardspeak, a gay Pilipino slang. So the Brits are not the only ones with their Picadilly parlary. Along with the Latino practice of picardia as detailed in Fernandez-Alemany's book, this is another example of gay men of color having their own catchy phrases and in-words.

To the book's credit, I think straight Pilipinos and non-Pilipino, gay immigrants will find this book useful as well. Still, this book is filled with academic jargon and I don't any gay, Pilipino immigrant without an extensive background in gay studies and cultural critcism would understand it. As a black gay man, I found this book very depressing. Any time brothers are mentioned it is to put them down in nasty, racist fashions. After this book, absolutely no one can say it's blacks' fault that people-of-color unity is so fragile. Further, given that Manalansan teaches in the Midwest, I'm surprised that Midwestern gay Pilipinos are not brought up here. They exist after all! To only mention those members in New York and California re-establishes that ideas that diversity only exists on the Coasts.

Still, I loved this book. Do peep it!