Imagining gay paradise : Bali, Bangkok, and cyber-Singapore / Gary L. Atkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Atkins, Gary, 1949-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Spies, Walter--Influence.

Spies, Walter.

Koe, Stuart, 1972---Influence.

Koe, Stuart.

Koe, Stuart, 1972-.

Khun Toc--Influence.

Khun Toc.

Gay men--Southeast Asia--Social conditions.

Gay men.

Homosexuality and art.

Paradise in art.

Social conditions.

Bali (Indonesia : Province)--In art.

Bali (Indonesia : Province).

Thailand--Civilization--Western influences.

Thailand.

Civilization.

Southeast Asia.

Physical Description:

x, 316 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portrait ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Hong Kong : Hong Kong University Press ; London : Eurospan [distributor], 2012.

Summary:

This look at gay paradises in Southeast Asia and the men who created them considers the obstacles gay men have faced in securing a voice as citizens, and how they have used images of paradise in Bali, Bangkok and Singapore to create a sense of refuge, construct homes for themselves, and dissent from typical notions of manhood and masculinity. It focuses on Walter Spies, a gay German painter who in the 1930s depicted Bali as an ideal male aesthetic state; Khun Toc, who founded an architectural paradise called Babylon in Thailand; and the "cyber-paradise" of Fridae.com created by a young Singaporean named Stuart Koe. Collectively, Atkins examines their pursuit of sexual justice, the ideologies of manhood they challenged, the different types of gay spaces they created (geographic, architectural, online), and political obstacles they have encountered. Gary Atkins is professor of communication at Seattle University. He is the author of "Gay Seattle: Stories of Exile and Belonging."

Contents:

Part 1 At the End of Empires

Chapter 1 The Triple Supremacy 3

Chapter 2 The Problem with Home (1) 15

Chapter 3 Men of the Feast: Saranrom 33

Chapter 4 The Escape from Nosferatu 45

Chapter 5 A New Man for Siam 55

Chapter 6 Magical Reality, Running Amok 67

Chapter 7 Men of the Dance 81

Chapter 8 The Triple Taboo 93

Chapter 9 A Pivotal Year 105

Chapter 10 A Final Chord 117

Chapter 11 Dancing with Ezekiel 135

Chapter 12 Transition: A Murder for Paradise 143

Part 2 The Hope for a Better Age

Chapter 13 Nanyang Family 159

Chapter 14 Men of the Feast: Babylon 173

Chapter 15 The Problem with Home (2) 185

Chapter 16 A New Man for Thailand 199

Chapter 17 Men of the Net 209

Chapter 18 A Pivotal Day 221

Chapter 19 Dancing under the Merlion 229

Chapter 20 A New Nation 241.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [261]-305) and index.

ISBN:

9789888083237

9888083236

9789888083244

9888083244

OCLC:

769547251