Racial Erotics: Gay Men of Color, Sexual Racism, and the Politics of Desire

Sexual desire is often seen as neutral, natural, or inevitable, but Racial Erotics shows how it is deeply embedded within larger social structures that define whiteness as desirable and normative while othering men of color. This othering can take the form of sexual rejection or fetishization, creating a hierarchy of racial worth that extends outside of erotic encounters into the everyday lives of gay men of color. C. Winter Han argues that sexual racism perpetuates a larger project of racial erasing that equates gayness with whiteness to secure acceptance for gay white men at the expense of queers of color. Han highlights the creative means through which gay men of color produce alternative frameworks to combat dominant narratives.

Format: Hardback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 16 July 2021
Publisher: University of Washington Press

Sexual desire, often perceived as a personal erotic preference, is commonly regarded as neutral, natural, or inevitable. However, Racial Erotics challenges these prevailing assumptions by revealing how sexual partnering within communities of gay men is intricately intertwined with broader social structures that perpetuate whiteness as desirable and normative while marginalizing men of color. In queer erotic economies, this othering can manifest as sexual rejection or fetishization of men of color, as argued by C. Winter Han. However, the true danger of sexual racism lies in its ability to create a hierarchical system of racial worth that extends beyond erotic encounters into the daily lives of gay men of color. In this way, sexual racism perpetuates a larger project of racial erasure, equating gayness with whiteness to secure acceptance for gay white men at the expense of queers of color.

Through vivid examples drawn from interviews, media representations, and online dating sites, Han showcases the innovative ways in which gay men of color, often confined to spaces both gay and straight, develop alternative frameworks to challenge dominant narratives. Racial Erotics presents a groundbreaking paradigm for understanding the intersection of race and queer desire, demonstrating how race profoundly influences sexual desires among men while racialized notions of desire shape beliefs about belonging.

Weight: 476g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780295749082