Recognition and Homosexuality: The Socio-Cultural Status of Same-Sex Relations in India and Vietnam
PhD Candidate: Maria Tonini
Abstract: This project wishes to fill a gap in our knowledge about the socio-cultural status of female and male homosexuals (i.e. lesbians and gays) in contemporary India and Vietnam. The study will bring into dialogue current debates on recognition, rights, gender, and sexuality with the experiences of homosexuals in New Delhi and Hanoi. In contextualizing homosexual women and men’s experiences about their daily constraints, the project will carefully explore first, the legal status of homosexuals; and second, documents about homosexuality produced by educational units for educators. In doing so, the project will highlight any ambiguities imbued in the recognition of female and male homosexuals in two vibrant Asian societies, and thereby provide critical data about the democratic conditions for a gendered group, which tends to fall into oblivion in studies on Asia.
Funder: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
Project Leader: Professor Helle Rydstrom.
Other Participants: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Dr. Paul Horton. Partners of Collaboration: Dept. of Geography, Delhi University, India and Inst. of Educational Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam.