Colonialism and homosexuality / Robert Aldrich.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Aldrich, Robert F.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Homosexuality--Colonies--Europe--History.

Homosexuality.

Colonies.

Colonization.

Gay men.

Social conditions.

Europe.

History.

Gay men--Colonies--Sexual behavior--Europe.

Interpersonal relations--Colonies--Europe.

Interpersonal relations.

Gay men--Africa--Social conditions.

Gay men--Asia--Social conditions.

Africa--Colonization.

Africa.

Asia--Colonization.

Asia.

Physical Description:

xii, 436 pages, 15 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Colonialism & homosexuality

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 2003.

Summary:

Colonial lands, which in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century included most of Africa, South and Southeast Asia and the islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Caribbean, provided a haven for many Europeans whose sexual inclinations did not fit neatly into the constraints of European society. This work is a thorough investigation of the connections of homosexuality and imperialism from the late 1800s until the era of decolonization. Robert Aldrich reconstructs the context of a number of liaisons, including those of famous men such as Cecil Rhodes, E.M Forster or André Gide, and the historical situations which produced both the Europeans and their non-Western lovers. Each of the case studies is a micro-history of a particular colonial situation, a sexual encounter and its wider implications for cultural and political life.

Contents:

Introduction: the seduction of the colonies 1

Prologue: the art of colonial homosexual love 14

Part I Colonials and homosexuality 21

1 The sex life of explorers 23

2 Captains of empire 56

3 The company of men 83

4 Writers' lives and letters 106

5 Artists and homoerotic 'Orientalism' 148

6 Scandals and tragedies 185

Part II Sites of colonial homosexuality 213

7 Sex in settler societies: the case of Australia 215

8 Sex in the South Seas: Melanesia 246

9 The British (and others) in South Asia 276

10 Forster, Masood, Mohammed and the maharajah 302

11 The French in North Africa 329

Part III The end of empire 365

12 Anti-colonialism and homosexuality 367

Epilogue: after the empire 397.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [412]-426) and index.

ISBN:

0415196159

0415196167

OCLC:

50149653