Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)longing in Contemporary India

by Parmesh Shahani

Using a combination of multi-sited ethnography, textual analysis, historical documentation analysis, and memoir writing, the author provides macro and micro perspectives on what it means to be a gay man located in Gay Bombay at a particular point in time. Specifically, he explores what being gay means to members of Gay Bombay and how they negotiate locality and globalization, their sense of identity as well as a feeling of community within its online/offline world. On a broader level, he critically examines the formulation and reconfiguration of contemporary Indian gayness in the light of its emergent cultural, media, and political alliances.

Genres: India, Queer, LGBT

352 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Shalini singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up @parmeshshahani Gay Bombay, Anniversary Edition and I am 200 pages in. Few thoughts:

If you are someone who is studying Media or Gay Rights in a globalizing world, pick it turant! RIGHT AWAY

If you are someone who is curious, this is it. No cliche writing and no bullshitting

If you want to grow as a reader and unsee Bollywood sprinkled ideation of LGBTQ, even though the author has made it clear through out that he is picky in focusing on one group of Gays in this Queering narrative. His research is exclusive but also futuristic.

I missed out reading in #PrideMonth2020 #PrideReadathon but here I am! Have heard a lot about Maximum City and The Boyfriend but glad that this is the book I picked up and when you read it, you'll know why. It's mini stories and genuine thesis like structure makes for an interesting, knowledge pivoting, citation hungry text which a reader like me can't have enough of!

He talks about Appadurai's thoughts and criticizes his fellow researchers with ample proof in his attempt to be as original but as accommodative as possible so that we have many reference points to discuss and think about. I particularly loved the connection between expansion of consumerism with growth of overt gay world. I was horrified,in awe and also left blushing with how effortlessly the author discusses his personal pieces with us. Very raw. Not at all for the faint hearted haha. The idea of how homosexuality is the basis for a change in social, political and commercial identities is enthralling. I must say, how tasty are the end notes... You all know how much I love a good research! 💪🌟

[Laxmi]

This book was initiated as part of the author's research project at MIT. The author, an out and gay man himself, has presented the results of his research in form of interview snippets and has infused the narrative with his own initial journey as a gay man, discovering himself, the various communities in Bombay, the media's take then, the activism in the early days, and more.
Gay Bombay, which is an LGBT social organization in Bombay, was the focus of the author's research and, hence, the author speaks about the organization's journey in much detail and also goes on to compare it with The Humsafar Trust.
This book will help one get a fair idea about the different aspects of the LGBT community in its early stages, physically in Bombay with members from different parts of the world virtually.

[Prathyush Parasuraman · Rating 3 out of 5]

the seams between the academic and the anecdotal show- the former becoming insufferable amidst the barrage of citations, and excessive, largely unimportant referencing. some theoretical frameworks help the book chug on, and effectively give the narrative shape. the anecdotal however beautifully speaks to the specific lived experience of a gay man in bombay on the cusp of two millenia. it's irreverent, caustic, melancholic, simple but largely unforgettable.

[Priya]

its good in the beginning but for some reason i couldn't manage to finish it.
will pick it up again in good time:)

[Maura Finkelstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mheh...