Synopses & Reviews
Sexual Diversity in Asia is the first book of its kind to place sex acts in Asia at the forefront of historical investigation. The chapters explore the history of sodomy and other so-called transgressive sexual practices such as anal sex, same-sex erotic encounters, pederasty, bestiality, incest, transgenderism, and oral sex in East, Southeast and South Asia.
Examining historical attitudes to sexuality in Asia from the perspectives of law and punishment, medicine, religion, morality and political culture, the contributors demonstrate the importance of a historically contextualised focus on diverse sexual acts and practices and show how these were perceived and represented at specific times and places. Experts in the field shed new light on the historical constitution of indigenous sexual morality, addressing such questions as:
- How was sexual behaviour influenced by religion and tradition?
- Which sexual practices were proscribed and punished and which were tolerated or even encouraged by society, community and religious faith?
- In what ways were sexual practices integrated into religious observance, medical practices and the maintenance of physical health?
Providing important new insights into the histories of sexual diversity in Asia, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of the history of gender and sexuality and Asian cultures more generally.
Synopsis
Non-reproductive sex practices in Asia have historically been a source of fascination, prurient or otherwise, for Westerners, who being either Catholic or Protestant, were often struck by what they perceived as the widespread promiscuity and licentiousness of native inhabitants. Graphic descriptions, and pious denunciations, of sodomy, bestiality, transvestitism, and incest, abound in Western travel narratives, missionary accounts, and ethnographies. But what constituted indigenous sexual morality, and how was this influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, and Christianity over time and place? What sex practices were tolerated or even encouraged by society, community, and religious ritual, and what acts were considered undesirable, transgressive and worthy of punishment?
Sexual Diversity in Asia, c. 600-1950 is the first book to foreground same- sex acts and pleasure seeking in the histories of India, China, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. Drawing on a range of indigenous and foreign sources, the contributors, all renowned experts in their fields, shed light on indigenous notions of gender and the body, social hierarchies, fundamental ideas concerning morality and immorality, and episodes of seduction. The book illuminates - in striking case studies - attitudes toward non-procreative sex acts, and representations and experiences of same-sex pleasure seeking in the histories of Asia.
This path-breaking book is an important contribution to the study of gender and sexuality in Asian cultures and will also interest students and scholars of world history.