Q & A: Queer in Asian America

What did it mean to be queer and Asian American at the turn of the century? This volume considers how Asian American racial and queer sexuality interconnect in mutually shaping and complicating ways.

Gay Asian Americans face layers of discrimination in North American society, including homophobia, xenophobia, and racism (and, in the case of women, sexism), compounded by the fact that "Asian" is an ill-defined concept that subsumes distinctive and disparate cultures. Editors Eng (English and comparative literature, Columbia) and Hom have aimed for comprehensiveness in this handsome, large-format volume. But even by the standards of such anthologies, the selections here are exceptionally uneven. The strongest are those that convey the social, cultural, and artistic facets of the gay Asian American experience. Unfortunately, too many of the essays are marred by a tendency to cavil about victimization. Still, the subject is novel, and enough of the authors and artists here express themselves with graphic power and precision to recommend this book for both gay studies and Asian studies collections.ARichard Violette, Special Libraries Cataloging Inc., Victoria, BC
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