Tacit Subjects

Belonging and Same-Sex Desire among Dominican Immigrant Men

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Gay Studies, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies
Cover of the book Tacit Subjects by Carlos Ulises Decena, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Carlos Ulises Decena ISBN: 9780822393900
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: April 6, 2011
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Carlos Ulises Decena
ISBN: 9780822393900
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: April 6, 2011
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

Tacit Subjects is a pioneering analysis of how gay immigrant men of color negotiate race, sexuality, and power in their daily lives. Drawing on ethnographic research with Dominicans in New York City, Carlos Ulises Decena explains that while the men who shared their life stories with him may self-identify as gay, they are not the liberated figures of traditional gay migration narratives. Decena contends that in migrating to Washington Heights, a Dominican enclave in New York, these men moved from one site to another within an increasingly transnational Dominican society. Many of them migrated and survived through the resources of their families and broader communities. Explicit acknowledgment or discussion of their homosexuality might rupture these crucial social and familial bonds. Yet some of Decena’s informants were sure that their sexuality was tacitly understood by their family members or others close to them. Analyzing their recollections about migration, settlement, masculinity, sex, and return trips to the Dominican Republic, Decena describes how the men at the center of Tacit Subjects contest, reproduce, and reformulate Dominican identity in New York. Their stories reveal how differences in class, race, and education shape their relations with fellow Dominicans. They also offer a view of “gay New York” that foregrounds the struggles for respect, belonging, and survival within a particular immigrant community.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Tacit Subjects is a pioneering analysis of how gay immigrant men of color negotiate race, sexuality, and power in their daily lives. Drawing on ethnographic research with Dominicans in New York City, Carlos Ulises Decena explains that while the men who shared their life stories with him may self-identify as gay, they are not the liberated figures of traditional gay migration narratives. Decena contends that in migrating to Washington Heights, a Dominican enclave in New York, these men moved from one site to another within an increasingly transnational Dominican society. Many of them migrated and survived through the resources of their families and broader communities. Explicit acknowledgment or discussion of their homosexuality might rupture these crucial social and familial bonds. Yet some of Decena’s informants were sure that their sexuality was tacitly understood by their family members or others close to them. Analyzing their recollections about migration, settlement, masculinity, sex, and return trips to the Dominican Republic, Decena describes how the men at the center of Tacit Subjects contest, reproduce, and reformulate Dominican identity in New York. Their stories reveal how differences in class, race, and education shape their relations with fellow Dominicans. They also offer a view of “gay New York” that foregrounds the struggles for respect, belonging, and survival within a particular immigrant community.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book Oxford Street, Accra by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book Visions of the Emerald City by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book The Constitutional Logic of Affirmative Action by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book Prescription TV by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book Violent Democracies in Latin America by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book Strange Gourmets by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book High Contrast by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book Wrestling with the Left by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book Pretty Modern by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book Feminism without Borders by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book Celibacies by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book The Dialectics of Our America by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book Information Please by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book The Geographies of Social Movements by Carlos Ulises Decena
Cover of the book Aesthetic Revolutions and Twentieth-Century Avant-Garde Movements by Carlos Ulises Decena
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy