Infamous Desire: Male Homosexuality in Colonial Latin America

ISBN: 0226757021

Author: Sigal, Pete

Condition: New

Product DescriptionWhat did it mean to be a man in colonial Latin America? More specifically, what did indigenous and Iberian groups think of men who had sexual relations with other men? Providing comprehensive analyses of how male homosexualities were represented in areas under Portuguese and Spanish control, Infamous Desire is the first book-length attempt to answer such questions. In a study that will be indispensable for anyone studying sexuality and gender in colonial Latin America, an esteemed group of contributors view sodomy through the lens of desire and power, relating male homosexual behavior to broader gender systems that defined masculinity and femininity.ReviewThis collection explores various facets of homosexual identity . . . in what we now call Latin America from the pre-conquest period through the eighteenth century. It attends to various racial and ethnic groups, and various social classes. . . . Most importantly, however, it gives space to contending voices in the ongoing debate over the nature and history of homosexuality, both in colonial Latin America and beyond. As such, it will be useful to readers interested in queer studies and cultural studies in general, and not just to Latin Americanists. -- Ricardo Paderón, - Bulletin of Spanish StudiesFrom the Inside FlapWhat did it mean to be a man in colonial Latin America? More specifically, what did indigenous and Iberian groups think of men who had sexual relations with other men? Providing comprehensive analyses of how male homosexualities were represented in areas under Portuguese and Spanish control, Infamous Desire is the first book-length attempt to answer such questions. In a study that will be indispensable for anyone studying sexuality and gender in colonial Latin America, an esteemed group of contributors view sodomy through the lens of desire and power, relating male homosexual behavior to broader gender systems that defined masculinity and femininity.From the Back CoverWhat did it mean to be a man in colonial Latin America? More specifically, what did indigenous and Iberian groups think of men who had sexual relations with other men? Providing comprehensive analyses of how male homosexualities were represented in areas under Portuguese and Spanish control, Infamous Desire is the first book-length attempt to answer such questions. In a study that will be indispensable for anyone studying sexuality and gender in colonial Latin America, an esteemed group of contributors view sodomy through the lens of desire and power, relating male homosexual behavior to broader gender systems that defined masculinity and femininity.About the AuthorPete Sigal is an associate professor of history at California State University, Los Angeles. He is the author of From Moon Goddesses to Virgins: The Colonization of Yucatecan Maya Sexual Desire.