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Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East
Benjamin Law considers himself pretty lucky to live in Australia: he can hold his boyfriend's hand in public and lobby his politicians to recognise same-sex marriage. But as the child of migrants, he's also curious about how different life might have been had he grown up in Asia. So he sets off to meet his fellow Gaysians. Law takes his investigative duties seriously, going nude where required in Balinese sex resorts, sitting backstage for hours with Thai ladyboy beauty contestants and trying Indian yoga classes designed to cure his homosexuality. The characters he meets - from Tokyo's celebrity drag queens to HIV-positive Burmese sex workers, from Malaysian ex-gay Christian fundamentalists to Chinese gays and lesbians who marry each other to please their parents - all teach him something new about being queer in Asia. At once entertaining and moving,
276 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
Benjamin Law
27 books241 followersBenjamin Law is a Brisbane-based freelance writer. He is a senior contributor to frankie magazine and has also written for The Monthly, The Courier Mail, Qweekend, Sunday Life, Cleo, Crikey, The Big Issue, New Matilda, Kill Your Darlings, ABC Unleashed and the Australian Associated Press.
His essays have been anthologised in Growing Up Asian in Australia, The Best Australian Essays 2008, The Best Australian Essays 2009 and the forthcoming Voracious: New Australian Food Writing.
The Family Law (2010) is his debut book, and is published by Black Inc. Books. A French edition will be published by Belfond in 2012. The TV rights have been sold to Matchbox Pictures.
He’s currently working on his second book, a collection of non-fiction looking at queer people and communities throughout Asia. It has the working title of Gaysia.
His essays have been anthologised in Growing Up Asian in Australia, The Best Australian Essays 2008, The Best Australian Essays 2009 and the forthcoming Voracious: New Australian Food Writing.
The Family Law (2010) is his debut book, and is published by Black Inc. Books. A French edition will be published by Belfond in 2012. The TV rights have been sold to Matchbox Pictures.
He’s currently working on his second book, a collection of non-fiction looking at queer people and communities throughout Asia. It has the working title of Gaysia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
November 18, 2015
I like to think it's a compliment to a book if I'm interested enough in it, engaged or enraged, in order to want to write a review.
I also think (and I could have used this advice when younger) that discussion is better than silence.
I wax philosophical about book reviews because they're strange beasts. The books that I tend to want to write about are from small publishers and by lesser-known authors (as I don't feel a desire, usually, to add my opinion to a thousand others who have written about a bestseller).
But this means that the author of the book will most certainly see the review. I know this as an ego-surfing author. Of course you want to know what people have thought after having laboured over for so long. So, reviews can feel strangely personal these days.
Then to consider: do I feel comfortable being critical in a public space? Could it be misconstrued? Can the author involved see a criticism as directed towards a book rather than to the author (although this is often impossible to separate if the book is a personal one)?
Not that this review will be a bad one, for Gaysia is an enjoyable and intriguing read. But still, I remember taking my book reviews far too seriously, with phrases from them stuck in my brain for far too long. And because book reviews can be so scarce or insubstantial, a review can take on greater significance if it's one of only a few.
But of course I was compelled to write about Gaysia. Being Gaysian and having written and commented on aspects of being Gaysian for so long, I was glad to buy the book at its launch in Sydney (having almost bought the e-book version a week before). I read it through quickly, and felt inspired to review it.
In any case: the book. Gaysia, written by journalist and writer Benjamin Law and published by Melbourne's Black Inc., is a romp through various cities in Asia exploring various aspects of something related to 'gay' – celebrity drag queens in Tokyo, lady-boy beauty pageant contestants in Thailand, HIV-affected sex workers in Myanmar, an anti-gay yoga guru in India, and a formerly gay Malaysian pastor who runs a 'conversion' program to turn lesbians and gays straight. The section on China explores how gay men are using the internet, and how some seek marriage, either with lesbians or with straight women, for social acceptance.
In the first chapter, Law travels to Bali, stays at some gay nudist hotels and interviews men who have sex for money... or motorcycles. Law's tone is set from the first paragraph. With tourists to Bali coming to 'eat, drink and fuck', or 'have foreign strangers drunkenly fondle our inner selves', Law uses sexually direct or explicit images or turns of phrase to amuse, shock and engage.
But part of his comedy (and Law is a very funny writer) is that he himself is scandalised by the goings-on. He's wide-eyed at the sex happening among hotel guests. He's poked and prodded and flirted with in his interviews with his much more colourful guests, and acts the supportive straight man, so to speak, nodding along in sympathy, both pushing the conversation along and then pulling back, an innocent observer.
It's clear that Law is sympathetic to all of his interview subjects, except for perhaps a few of the anti-gay ones. There's kindness in his approach. He jumps in to have a drink with them when not suffering from a travel-related illness. There's no judgement nor trying to fit them into some sort of treatise on what it means to be gay in Asia or to a particular conception of gayness.
This works both ways. There's only a brief introduction and no conclusion. While the book is called 'Gaysia', there's no broad perspective or analysis on how gay identities are lived in Asia, and little reflection on the issue. For the countless hours of organisation, interviews, research and travel, there is a surprising lack of trying to pull together observations and perspective into narratives or conclusion. Instead, as a journalist choosing an angle for each country, the focus is on the best story – in Thailand, the ladyboys, in Japan, the drag queens. More 'regular' gay men and lesbians generally have much more minor roles; it's hard to find a perspective on their lives.
Still, the book does not aim to provide analysis nor be an academic text – and how would one try to summarise gay sexuality in a continent as crazy and diverse as Asia? Or in countries as complex as the ones being written about? It's not as if a reader would read the chapter on Malaysia and think: the Malaysian gay scene is dominated by anti-gay conversion therapy.
Or would they?
I wonder about that too, who the readership is for the book. Are they gay? Are they straight? How familiar will they be with the range of issues touched upon in this book and how will they relate to them?
I've always said that examining issues of sexuality and identity in countries should not be a minority issue, because how countries address sexual identity has a lot to say about their overall structures and traditions, contradictions and mores.
But I wonder about the book finding an audience, who it is and how it would be understood. And of course, I hope Gaysia has found a readership, as these snapshots of gay men and some lesbians, men who have sex with men, transsexuals, transvestites, drag queens, and gay and HIV activists, do offer an interesting perspective on their countries. The great title and bold cover should also help to attract, and Law is a popular twitter-user and journalist, so he's using a unique position to get these issues out into the wider world.
Also evident is the strength of Law's journalism and how he was able to wrangle and record hundreds of interviews and discussions. To his success, Law manages to position himself in a way that I doubt anyone else could have done. He gains empathy with most of his interview subjects as a gay Asian man yet plays along with his two anti-gay interviewees. He is both sympathetic and engaged with interview subjects but at the same time, an outside observer and commentator.
I found this positioning as intriguing as the stories himself. As I observed in his memoir, 'The Family Law', Law is a whole generation after me and the people with whom I forged my identity and engaged in gay activism. He happens to be gay. He happens to be Asian. Neither is particularly adopted as an identity. Neither is rejected. He doesn't fit a gay stereotype of a tragic drama queen who has to move to the big city (and perform in musicals). He's had a boyfriend since high school, and made a successful career in Brisbane. Why would he have to do or be anyone else?
But when he admits to never having been to a gay pride parade, and feels 'something closely resembling pride' while seeing pride march, a part of me asks, how can a writer write about gay issues without being particularly engaged in any way with gay identity or community?
As a writer who has built a foundation on exploring both gay and cultural identity, I feel an urge to know how Law feels about being Asian and travelling in Asia, and about how he situates his cultural identity within it. He does posit that if his parents had stayed in Malaysia, he might have encountered the same social pressures and prejudices of some of the lesbians and gay men he described - but this is really a brief mention.
But there's the rub. This is a new world that doesn't ask for coherence or grand narratives. We're a twittering tweeting facebooking world, made up of pieces and soundbytes. The authority given to academics or other experts has broken down to give way to multiple opinions and voices. The snapshots of his subjects or even of himself seem to represent the diversity of identities and sexuality more accurately than if we're actually sticking to categories of what it might mean to be 'Asian' or one of those letters in the terrible acronym GLBTIQA. These days we read about experiences and make our own analyses, however they fit into our own worlds. Along the way, I'd judge it a good thing to be entertained and engaged by good writing.
I also think (and I could have used this advice when younger) that discussion is better than silence.
I wax philosophical about book reviews because they're strange beasts. The books that I tend to want to write about are from small publishers and by lesser-known authors (as I don't feel a desire, usually, to add my opinion to a thousand others who have written about a bestseller).
But this means that the author of the book will most certainly see the review. I know this as an ego-surfing author. Of course you want to know what people have thought after having laboured over for so long. So, reviews can feel strangely personal these days.
Then to consider: do I feel comfortable being critical in a public space? Could it be misconstrued? Can the author involved see a criticism as directed towards a book rather than to the author (although this is often impossible to separate if the book is a personal one)?
Not that this review will be a bad one, for Gaysia is an enjoyable and intriguing read. But still, I remember taking my book reviews far too seriously, with phrases from them stuck in my brain for far too long. And because book reviews can be so scarce or insubstantial, a review can take on greater significance if it's one of only a few.
But of course I was compelled to write about Gaysia. Being Gaysian and having written and commented on aspects of being Gaysian for so long, I was glad to buy the book at its launch in Sydney (having almost bought the e-book version a week before). I read it through quickly, and felt inspired to review it.
In any case: the book. Gaysia, written by journalist and writer Benjamin Law and published by Melbourne's Black Inc., is a romp through various cities in Asia exploring various aspects of something related to 'gay' – celebrity drag queens in Tokyo, lady-boy beauty pageant contestants in Thailand, HIV-affected sex workers in Myanmar, an anti-gay yoga guru in India, and a formerly gay Malaysian pastor who runs a 'conversion' program to turn lesbians and gays straight. The section on China explores how gay men are using the internet, and how some seek marriage, either with lesbians or with straight women, for social acceptance.
In the first chapter, Law travels to Bali, stays at some gay nudist hotels and interviews men who have sex for money... or motorcycles. Law's tone is set from the first paragraph. With tourists to Bali coming to 'eat, drink and fuck', or 'have foreign strangers drunkenly fondle our inner selves', Law uses sexually direct or explicit images or turns of phrase to amuse, shock and engage.
But part of his comedy (and Law is a very funny writer) is that he himself is scandalised by the goings-on. He's wide-eyed at the sex happening among hotel guests. He's poked and prodded and flirted with in his interviews with his much more colourful guests, and acts the supportive straight man, so to speak, nodding along in sympathy, both pushing the conversation along and then pulling back, an innocent observer.
It's clear that Law is sympathetic to all of his interview subjects, except for perhaps a few of the anti-gay ones. There's kindness in his approach. He jumps in to have a drink with them when not suffering from a travel-related illness. There's no judgement nor trying to fit them into some sort of treatise on what it means to be gay in Asia or to a particular conception of gayness.
This works both ways. There's only a brief introduction and no conclusion. While the book is called 'Gaysia', there's no broad perspective or analysis on how gay identities are lived in Asia, and little reflection on the issue. For the countless hours of organisation, interviews, research and travel, there is a surprising lack of trying to pull together observations and perspective into narratives or conclusion. Instead, as a journalist choosing an angle for each country, the focus is on the best story – in Thailand, the ladyboys, in Japan, the drag queens. More 'regular' gay men and lesbians generally have much more minor roles; it's hard to find a perspective on their lives.
Still, the book does not aim to provide analysis nor be an academic text – and how would one try to summarise gay sexuality in a continent as crazy and diverse as Asia? Or in countries as complex as the ones being written about? It's not as if a reader would read the chapter on Malaysia and think: the Malaysian gay scene is dominated by anti-gay conversion therapy.
Or would they?
I wonder about that too, who the readership is for the book. Are they gay? Are they straight? How familiar will they be with the range of issues touched upon in this book and how will they relate to them?
I've always said that examining issues of sexuality and identity in countries should not be a minority issue, because how countries address sexual identity has a lot to say about their overall structures and traditions, contradictions and mores.
But I wonder about the book finding an audience, who it is and how it would be understood. And of course, I hope Gaysia has found a readership, as these snapshots of gay men and some lesbians, men who have sex with men, transsexuals, transvestites, drag queens, and gay and HIV activists, do offer an interesting perspective on their countries. The great title and bold cover should also help to attract, and Law is a popular twitter-user and journalist, so he's using a unique position to get these issues out into the wider world.
Also evident is the strength of Law's journalism and how he was able to wrangle and record hundreds of interviews and discussions. To his success, Law manages to position himself in a way that I doubt anyone else could have done. He gains empathy with most of his interview subjects as a gay Asian man yet plays along with his two anti-gay interviewees. He is both sympathetic and engaged with interview subjects but at the same time, an outside observer and commentator.
I found this positioning as intriguing as the stories himself. As I observed in his memoir, 'The Family Law', Law is a whole generation after me and the people with whom I forged my identity and engaged in gay activism. He happens to be gay. He happens to be Asian. Neither is particularly adopted as an identity. Neither is rejected. He doesn't fit a gay stereotype of a tragic drama queen who has to move to the big city (and perform in musicals). He's had a boyfriend since high school, and made a successful career in Brisbane. Why would he have to do or be anyone else?
But when he admits to never having been to a gay pride parade, and feels 'something closely resembling pride' while seeing pride march, a part of me asks, how can a writer write about gay issues without being particularly engaged in any way with gay identity or community?
As a writer who has built a foundation on exploring both gay and cultural identity, I feel an urge to know how Law feels about being Asian and travelling in Asia, and about how he situates his cultural identity within it. He does posit that if his parents had stayed in Malaysia, he might have encountered the same social pressures and prejudices of some of the lesbians and gay men he described - but this is really a brief mention.
But there's the rub. This is a new world that doesn't ask for coherence or grand narratives. We're a twittering tweeting facebooking world, made up of pieces and soundbytes. The authority given to academics or other experts has broken down to give way to multiple opinions and voices. The snapshots of his subjects or even of himself seem to represent the diversity of identities and sexuality more accurately than if we're actually sticking to categories of what it might mean to be 'Asian' or one of those letters in the terrible acronym GLBTIQA. These days we read about experiences and make our own analyses, however they fit into our own worlds. Along the way, I'd judge it a good thing to be entertained and engaged by good writing.
September 9, 2015
Agh where to begin
I picked up this book hoping to really get an insight into differing queer communities through the "east," and while have the book sort of delivered on that idea, the other half of the book felt like an extended gay sex travelogue, not an exploration of queerness in different cultures.
It didn't help that I found Benjamin Law to be vapid, naive, and often extremely boring, or that he proved time and time again he couldn't accurately talk about trans issues (pontificates too much on what genitalia trans women beauty pageant contestants had and called Indias Hijra community people with "queer sexualities" instead of, more accurately, gender minorities), definitely has some issues with internalized homophobia (doesn't like the pride flag, is often uncomfortable getting hit on, etc...), and was incredibly sex negative (expressed discomfort with other people being involved in threesomes, sex with people older than them, etc...).
He barely uses more than half a page per section - if even that much - to critically examine anything. He never examines the intersection of race, country of origin or class when talking about his experiences with lower class sex workers. He doesn't even try to explore the history behind the acceptance of or erasure of different queer identities in different countries. Most of the places he goes, he only sees the commercialized side of queer life.
When he encounters trans folk, he obsesses over their genitalia, doesn't attempt to address cissexist statements by other westerners, and makes plenty of cis passing judgments.
It's really frustrating how he essentially equates all queerness with "gay" several times throughout the book. It's also discomforting that he sees it as his place to reclaim words like faggot, bitch, and fatty. I'm also not sure why an entire chapter and a half had to be spent following around anti gay religious leaders instead of exploring some incredibly interesting queer communities in those countries. The India and Malaysia chapters were such a waste because of if. Myanmar was interesting, though much darker.
There were some interesting stories told for sure. But overall I guess my expectations for this book were much, much too high. And I can't say I will ever read anything by Benjamin Law again.
I picked up this book hoping to really get an insight into differing queer communities through the "east," and while have the book sort of delivered on that idea, the other half of the book felt like an extended gay sex travelogue, not an exploration of queerness in different cultures.
It didn't help that I found Benjamin Law to be vapid, naive, and often extremely boring, or that he proved time and time again he couldn't accurately talk about trans issues (pontificates too much on what genitalia trans women beauty pageant contestants had and called Indias Hijra community people with "queer sexualities" instead of, more accurately, gender minorities), definitely has some issues with internalized homophobia (doesn't like the pride flag, is often uncomfortable getting hit on, etc...), and was incredibly sex negative (expressed discomfort with other people being involved in threesomes, sex with people older than them, etc...).
He barely uses more than half a page per section - if even that much - to critically examine anything. He never examines the intersection of race, country of origin or class when talking about his experiences with lower class sex workers. He doesn't even try to explore the history behind the acceptance of or erasure of different queer identities in different countries. Most of the places he goes, he only sees the commercialized side of queer life.
When he encounters trans folk, he obsesses over their genitalia, doesn't attempt to address cissexist statements by other westerners, and makes plenty of cis passing judgments.
It's really frustrating how he essentially equates all queerness with "gay" several times throughout the book. It's also discomforting that he sees it as his place to reclaim words like faggot, bitch, and fatty. I'm also not sure why an entire chapter and a half had to be spent following around anti gay religious leaders instead of exploring some incredibly interesting queer communities in those countries. The India and Malaysia chapters were such a waste because of if. Myanmar was interesting, though much darker.
There were some interesting stories told for sure. But overall I guess my expectations for this book were much, much too high. And I can't say I will ever read anything by Benjamin Law again.
January 2, 2020
This was bloody depressing, but it was bloody good. Law takes us through five countries and hundreds of people to give us a snapshot of homosexuality in Asia. The book is packed chock-full of Law’s own forays into worlds, such as Bali’s gay resorts, prostitution and Thailand’s fashion parades, that are as foreign to us as they are to him.
In some countries homosexuality is a taboo topic: in other countries such as Japan, despite discussion being more open, there’s still a long way to go before true acceptance. From Myanmar’s HIV epidemic to China’s fake marriages to Japan’s ‘camp’ celebrities, this is a vivid, colourful and painful(ly honest) book about how far ‘Gaysia’ has come and how far it still has to go.
It’s clear this was the result of months of research, interviews and generally being there. It’s as much an ‘adventure’ book as a travel book. Law recounts specific conversations and interviews with everyone from trans prostitutes to activists to the anti-gay guru Ramdev.
The writing style is accessible and clear. Not quite chatty, given the subject matter, but always approachable. I got the sense that I was there with the author.
I don’t have much more to say about this book, except that you should go read it.
In some countries homosexuality is a taboo topic: in other countries such as Japan, despite discussion being more open, there’s still a long way to go before true acceptance. From Myanmar’s HIV epidemic to China’s fake marriages to Japan’s ‘camp’ celebrities, this is a vivid, colourful and painful(ly honest) book about how far ‘Gaysia’ has come and how far it still has to go.
It’s clear this was the result of months of research, interviews and generally being there. It’s as much an ‘adventure’ book as a travel book. Law recounts specific conversations and interviews with everyone from trans prostitutes to activists to the anti-gay guru Ramdev.
The writing style is accessible and clear. Not quite chatty, given the subject matter, but always approachable. I got the sense that I was there with the author.
I don’t have much more to say about this book, except that you should go read it.
April 7, 2013
I just finished "Gaysia," recommended to me by a friend, while on a business trip to Chicago. It is promoted as a wild romp through all of gay Asia - but ultimately, it is a far more fascinating and, indeed, moving book than that. I might venture to say that this is an important book - particularly for westerners who don't know much about life in Asia. Most of us, in fact.
Law, an ethnically Chinese Australian, begins his peregrinations in Bali at an all gay resort that seems to be setting up the book as a somewhat leering view of gay foreigners and Asian sex workers. But that's the trick of this book. It does indeed deal a lot with sex workers, and gay folks (and lesbians and transgendered folks) - but the leering tone rapidly turns to one of thoughtful observation. In what I'm sure was a calculated move, Law gradually moves his readers from the fun side of being gay in Asia to the side of oppression and marginalization. He explores aspects of gay truth in Asia that are as alien and disturbing to us as they are to him (him being a happily out 20-something Australian). And yet, unfailingly, Law approaches everyone he meets on his travels with respect, from transgender beauty queens to anti-gay yoga gurus. Sure, there are plenty of snarky asides - intended only for our eyes - but I gained enormous respect for Law, as I followed his journey along sometimes harrowing and often unnerving paths, meeting people and going places that are hard for me to imagine.
For someone known as a comedian, and someone so young (young enough to be my child), Law evinces a deep maturity and sensitivity in this book, and the one of the penultimate moments, when he attends his first gay pride march - in Mumbai - was as moving for me as it was for him. This book is not all fun and games; but there is much here of great interest and value.
Law, an ethnically Chinese Australian, begins his peregrinations in Bali at an all gay resort that seems to be setting up the book as a somewhat leering view of gay foreigners and Asian sex workers. But that's the trick of this book. It does indeed deal a lot with sex workers, and gay folks (and lesbians and transgendered folks) - but the leering tone rapidly turns to one of thoughtful observation. In what I'm sure was a calculated move, Law gradually moves his readers from the fun side of being gay in Asia to the side of oppression and marginalization. He explores aspects of gay truth in Asia that are as alien and disturbing to us as they are to him (him being a happily out 20-something Australian). And yet, unfailingly, Law approaches everyone he meets on his travels with respect, from transgender beauty queens to anti-gay yoga gurus. Sure, there are plenty of snarky asides - intended only for our eyes - but I gained enormous respect for Law, as I followed his journey along sometimes harrowing and often unnerving paths, meeting people and going places that are hard for me to imagine.
For someone known as a comedian, and someone so young (young enough to be my child), Law evinces a deep maturity and sensitivity in this book, and the one of the penultimate moments, when he attends his first gay pride march - in Mumbai - was as moving for me as it was for him. This book is not all fun and games; but there is much here of great interest and value.
July 4, 2020
The author, a gay Australian of Chinese origin, travels Asia exploring some dimensions of lgbt life in a number of countries, from Bali, where young local men aim to score with well-off white visitors, to Japan, where campy trans celebrities are all over TV but it’s harder to find gay people who are out in real life, to Myanmar, where young sex workers are felled by HIV in depressing numbers. Law does a fair bit of goggling charmingly while locals try to pick him up. This was published in 2012, and I noticed that some of the language around trans-ness already felt a bit dated, and sometimes how dialogue with locals (not speaking with the author in their first language) is rendered inadvertently makes them sound childlike. It was an engaging read overall, even if I wanted a little more depth.
March 7, 2017
Interesting enough, but quite 'white' in its wide-eyed astonishment at how LGBTQ people live in Asia. The focus was also very heavily on gay men (perhaps because Ben Law himself is a gay man so found it easier to get into such circles), with only a handful of information on lesbians and queer women. The chapter on Indonesia was particularly disappointing, as Ben seemed to fall into the all-too-common trap of thinking Bali = Indonesia.
This book had the potential to be a lot more, but sadly it didn't quite reach the heights I had hoped for. Ben is a very good, very entertaining writer, so I hope his next book will be better.
This book had the potential to be a lot more, but sadly it didn't quite reach the heights I had hoped for. Ben is a very good, very entertaining writer, so I hope his next book will be better.
May 15, 2017
Who better to talk about LGBTQIA life in Asia than Benjamin Law? Openly gay and born in Australia to Chinese immigrant parents, he approaches Gaysia with concern and respect… not to mention the perfect dose of comedy.
Gaysia is a journalistic adventure into the LGBTQIA nerve centre of Asia, from “clothing optional” gay resorts in Bali, to the homes of Chinese gays and lesbians who fake heternormative marriages to keep their identities secret. Law opened my eyes to a diverse range of socio-political landscapes, all posing unique challenges to the LGBTQIA community.
I strongly recommend listening to the audiobook version of Gaysia. While the writing is clear and authoritative, Law’s voice is loaded with charisma. He gets the balance exactly right – he’s a comedian, but he can nail the serious moments too, seamlessly flowing between different moods. You can tell he’s a brilliant writer by the way he makes statistics compelling.
As Law travels across Asia, he shares interviews with a diverse cast of characters, from HIV positive sex workers in Myanmar, to trans beauty pageant contestants in Bangkok. Hearing their stories in their own words is powerful, especially considering these voices are normally silenced. Listening to them express their personal battles, as well as their relationship with their culture, government, and families, is incredible. Sometimes the stories are uplifting, but usually the squalor and injustice is heartbreaking. It really puts the Australian way of life into perspective.
I appreciate how Gaysia covers both ends of the spectrum in its hunt for truth, from wealth to poverty, from people who celebrate their sexuality without fear, to people who are closeted due to threat. Besides delving into the lives of people with diverse gender and sexual identities, Law even hears from “ex-gay” Christian fundamentalists who campaign to cure “broken sexuality”. The result of such an inclusive and varied reporting method is that we can piece together a detailed picture of attitudes and beliefs surrounding LGBTQIA issues.
Regardless of your familiarity with the cultures and issues Law explores, this book is an amazing way to expand your awareness. Chances are, these issues don’t impact your day-to-day life. However, understanding the diversity of experiences in the world is so personally enriching. I hope this book will entertain, inspire, enrage, and educate you as much as it did me.
This review can also be found on my blog Paige's Pages
Gaysia is a journalistic adventure into the LGBTQIA nerve centre of Asia, from “clothing optional” gay resorts in Bali, to the homes of Chinese gays and lesbians who fake heternormative marriages to keep their identities secret. Law opened my eyes to a diverse range of socio-political landscapes, all posing unique challenges to the LGBTQIA community.
I strongly recommend listening to the audiobook version of Gaysia. While the writing is clear and authoritative, Law’s voice is loaded with charisma. He gets the balance exactly right – he’s a comedian, but he can nail the serious moments too, seamlessly flowing between different moods. You can tell he’s a brilliant writer by the way he makes statistics compelling.
As Law travels across Asia, he shares interviews with a diverse cast of characters, from HIV positive sex workers in Myanmar, to trans beauty pageant contestants in Bangkok. Hearing their stories in their own words is powerful, especially considering these voices are normally silenced. Listening to them express their personal battles, as well as their relationship with their culture, government, and families, is incredible. Sometimes the stories are uplifting, but usually the squalor and injustice is heartbreaking. It really puts the Australian way of life into perspective.
I appreciate how Gaysia covers both ends of the spectrum in its hunt for truth, from wealth to poverty, from people who celebrate their sexuality without fear, to people who are closeted due to threat. Besides delving into the lives of people with diverse gender and sexual identities, Law even hears from “ex-gay” Christian fundamentalists who campaign to cure “broken sexuality”. The result of such an inclusive and varied reporting method is that we can piece together a detailed picture of attitudes and beliefs surrounding LGBTQIA issues.
Regardless of your familiarity with the cultures and issues Law explores, this book is an amazing way to expand your awareness. Chances are, these issues don’t impact your day-to-day life. However, understanding the diversity of experiences in the world is so personally enriching. I hope this book will entertain, inspire, enrage, and educate you as much as it did me.
This review can also be found on my blog Paige's Pages
October 1, 2016
Perhaps a decent introductory book but couldn't help but feel it could have been better. I've had this book on my wish list for a couple of years now. A young gay Asian man from Australia looks at LGBT people in various countries in East/Southeastern Asia. He meets people, listens to their stories, gives a little bit of history of these particular groups. Some stories are funny, most are informative, some are quite sad. It's a pretty formulaic book. Law visits a country, meets with a particular group or groups in that country and writes about aspects of their lives. How young people in China learn about homosexuality despite severe internet censorship.The lack of accessibility of AIDS medication in Myanmar. While I appreciated a look at these groups in these countries, it was a tough read. With my lack of knowledge, I couldn't help but wonder how accurate his information was. There's no list of resources at the end of the book and I wish he had included some references. Based on other reviews, there's a bit of a mixed bunch as to his accuracy, portrayal, where how much his views were influenced by his background, etc. I also didn't think he was a very good writer. On occasion he was very funny and I know part of it was that my eyes was just going to glaze over at some of the descriptions of sexual encounters. Law does not get that detailed, but you have an idea of what he's witnessing/overhearing/etc. Some of the history and societal commentary was quite interesting, but this could be quite uneven. So while I don't regret having read this, I wish I had been able to borrow this from the library vs. having to buy it.
July 19, 2012
When I saw the ARC sitting on the shelf at work I may have done a bit of an embarrassing dance. I'd heard about this a few months ago and had been dying to read it ever since.
And it didn't disappoint. Filled with fascinating interviews and shrewd observations about the many different gay communities throughout Asia, this book is not to be missed. It was fascinating reading about the people who are part of these fascinating cultures and what they think about what it means to be gay in their country. Law interviews people from all walks of life from HIV positive ex sex workers in Myanmar to half crazy yogis determined to cure homosexuality through controlled breathing. Fascinating stuff and I feel like I learned a lot while reading.
My big criticism is that the overwhelming majority of the interviewees were men or transgender/sexual females. There was a small mention of lesbians in China (though mostly in one woman's capacity as the founder of an organisation supporting gay people) but that was about it. This may have been because of some cultural issues or may simply be because as a gay man Law found more interest and rapport with those people. Regardless, it seemed like a strange oversight in a book so concerned with the gay experience in Asia.
Still, it was brilliant and full of the easy to read and highly entertaining writing characteristic of Law. Definitely recommended.
And it didn't disappoint. Filled with fascinating interviews and shrewd observations about the many different gay communities throughout Asia, this book is not to be missed. It was fascinating reading about the people who are part of these fascinating cultures and what they think about what it means to be gay in their country. Law interviews people from all walks of life from HIV positive ex sex workers in Myanmar to half crazy yogis determined to cure homosexuality through controlled breathing. Fascinating stuff and I feel like I learned a lot while reading.
My big criticism is that the overwhelming majority of the interviewees were men or transgender/sexual females. There was a small mention of lesbians in China (though mostly in one woman's capacity as the founder of an organisation supporting gay people) but that was about it. This may have been because of some cultural issues or may simply be because as a gay man Law found more interest and rapport with those people. Regardless, it seemed like a strange oversight in a book so concerned with the gay experience in Asia.
Still, it was brilliant and full of the easy to read and highly entertaining writing characteristic of Law. Definitely recommended.
January 20, 2013
Benjamin Law is not the most technically gifted writer going around, but he has a very finely honed sense of humour that makes his books very readable. What makes them especially so for me is that they are written with such an authentic voice. Law doesn't pretend to be anything he's not, and as I am also a gay man from South East Queensland, I can relate to not just what he talks about but his vernacular and his sense of humour.
The weakness of the book is that he is too aware of his limitations as a writer and so doesn't tackle serious personal themes that might elevate his work to the next level. The best writers in this genre (Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris, David Rakoff) reveal a vulnerability at the same time as they amuse and entertain. Maybe that book is still to come in his career, and I'll keep reading with enjoyment until it does.
The weakness of the book is that he is too aware of his limitations as a writer and so doesn't tackle serious personal themes that might elevate his work to the next level. The best writers in this genre (Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris, David Rakoff) reveal a vulnerability at the same time as they amuse and entertain. Maybe that book is still to come in his career, and I'll keep reading with enjoyment until it does.
July 22, 2012
Benjamin Law takes us on a Safran-esque journey into gay Asia. Introducing us to sex-workers in Indonesia, participants of the world’s biggest Transsexual pageant in Thailand, and to activists in India where homosexuality has only recently been decriminalised. We see gay Asia through law’s point of view, that of an Australian gay man. The book focusses mainly on the more publicised faucets of the gay world, sex workers, sexual health workers, gay activists and “conversion” programs, which might seem to paint only a part of the whole picture – but I guess domestic gay life wouldn’t have made much of an appealing read. What is also of interest is Law’s reaction to many of these situations, coming across somewhat conservative. He is hesitant to indulge at the all-nude resort in Bali and attending his first Pride parade in India.
As always, Law’s writing is both entertaining and informative (even if the near too detailed explanations of how some entrants of the transsexual pageant hide their “goods” got me a little uncomfortable). It also enforces how the STD/HIV information and treatment in some countries is still very primitive. Recommended!
As always, Law’s writing is both entertaining and informative (even if the near too detailed explanations of how some entrants of the transsexual pageant hide their “goods” got me a little uncomfortable). It also enforces how the STD/HIV information and treatment in some countries is still very primitive. Recommended!
February 25, 2018
A very interesting read. Each chapter, Ben tries to delve into the queer culture or a queer issue in different countries: Bali sex tourism, Thai pageants, Chinese sham marriages, Japanese TV culture, Malaysian conversion therapy, Burmese HIV/AIDS epidmic and the reaction of India's repeal of anti-homosexual laws. All of these topics were really interesting, impactful and important (particularly the Burmese chapter, which is the best of the lot). And I liked that despite having a very concrete topic for each country, Ben would make sure to cover other parts of queer culture in that country. But I found the focus of the Japanese chapter a little odd. We didn't get much insight into queer culture, it was more about straight perception of queer people. The Thai pageants were also a bit like this (though to a lesser extent).
Overall, a great book that is an important read for anyone who is not exposed to the queer cultures outside their own. Really reinforces just how privileged some of us are to live in an accepting community with good healthcare and education.
Overall, a great book that is an important read for anyone who is not exposed to the queer cultures outside their own. Really reinforces just how privileged some of us are to live in an accepting community with good healthcare and education.
August 2, 2014
An interesting traipse through several difference countries though a bit stereotyped in some instances, particularly India. Law follows the usual Western practice of staying in el cheapo accommodation and whining about the facilities. The snide comments about poverty are not matched by any perceptible willingness to pay a fair price.
It would have been good if Law had reflected on his position of privilege which allows him to intrude into other people's lives. Would the reverse have been possible if e.g. a gay or lesbian person of Indian origin come to Australia and study the locals? My experience of white gay and lesbian people is that they are generally as arrogant and ignorant in their attitudes and knowledge of other cultures as their straight counterparts.
It would have been good if Law had reflected on his position of privilege which allows him to intrude into other people's lives. Would the reverse have been possible if e.g. a gay or lesbian person of Indian origin come to Australia and study the locals? My experience of white gay and lesbian people is that they are generally as arrogant and ignorant in their attitudes and knowledge of other cultures as their straight counterparts.
August 23, 2012
I really enjoyed this - I think it's a great read regardless of whether you know a fair bit about LGBT politics in Asia or nothing at all. If I'd written a book like this I would've probably ruined it by trying to put too much in. Instead Law just meets people and tells their stories, focusing on a specific issue or group within the LGBT umbrella in each country - sex workers and HIV in Myanmar, a beauty pageant for trans women in Thailand, queers in heterosexual marriages in China. Law is very funny and personable, and despite covering some heavy issues and some fairly tragic circumstances, the tone is quite light and you can easily read the whole thing in one sitting.
September 1, 2012
A well written, easy to read exploration of what GLBTI people face in a range of different Asian countries. Sometimes it is hard not to feel outrage when reading the way so many gay and transgender people are treated, but the book also details the varied ways each country/community views and deals with GLBTI people - and just how much variety there is, even within those categories, in how people are perceived and treated from one place to another.
A good read as a travelogue by a gay Queenslander (of Asian descent) in the Asian region. An even better read in examining issues faced by GLBTI peoples in a range of Asian countries.
A good read as a travelogue by a gay Queenslander (of Asian descent) in the Asian region. An even better read in examining issues faced by GLBTI peoples in a range of Asian countries.
May 27, 2017
By turns cheeky, catty and serious, Gaysia is a rollicking ride through major points in the gay world in Asia. By no means flippant, this is nevertheless a fun-to-read and informative study. Some chapters were just utterly shocking ('China') and scary ('Myanmar'), while others were inspiring ('India'), quirky ('Japan) and camp ('Indonesia'). The best part about the book is Benjamin Law's command of the language, which results in some extremely well-crafted prose throughout the book.
September 11, 2012
Grace interviews Benjamin Law about his new book Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East. From the homosexuality-curing properties of special yoga to providing sex education in Burma or going behind the scenes at a Thai ladyboy beauty contest, this is a rollicking conversation. Originally broadcast on 23/08/2012.
July 3, 2013
I feel the same way I did after watching Requiem For A Dream. It started out rosy enough, opening with gay resort debauchery. By the time I reached the end, my view was coloured by reminders that our experience of queer culture in Australia is, in its own way, whitewashed and privileged. What's mostly a class battle for us is life and death for others.
October 14, 2018
I love Law's writing. And I found this an enjoyable travel diary, with some fascinating insights into various Asian queer scenes. Some of the anecdotes were quite funny, whereas some issues raised were incredibly sad, and my heart broke for some of the people interviewed (and I'm sure this book just barely scratches the surface).
December 29, 2012
This is a sad sojourn through some countries of Asia and being LGBTI in them. Law tries to lighten the mood with his observations of various people's outfits and mannerisms but when he writes of "full blown AIDS" his own ignorance of the serious matters he touches reveals itself.
December 31, 2015
Funny. Shocking. Sobering. Benjamin's tour of gay Asia offers a fascinating insight into the struggle for acceptance, but what I loved even more was his brilliantly crafted turns-of-phrase and ability to describe everything with deadpan hilarity.
February 19, 2022
I started reading this thinking it would be good pastime while I waited to my Cafe Mexicano at a cafe in Lucknow. But the incredible hilarity, incisive observations, and brevity of a myriad of experiences made me literally go up and buy the book! And to my surprise, even the owner of the cafe sniggered at the title and seemed amused as to what 'queer' content this could be. Benjamin doesn't mince his words, and at the expense of being exposed for his political incorrectness, he tries to show us a side of countries no one is comfortable discussing. From self-proclaimed 'babas' in India, to the HIV pandemic raging across a country that has dismal access to ARTs and the most basic of primary healthcare, the book has its laughs, tear-jerkers and borderline obscene moments. I thoroughly enjoyed this peek into a part-travelogue, part-documentary, part-drama, part-life slice of what it means to be 'queer' in Asia. As for what could be done better, 'Gaysia' seems to appropriate the entire LGBTQIA+ experience for gays, there's a certain prudishness about others' sexuality that seems ironical and an elevation of the idea of monogamy and a repetition of tropes of trans* people crossing the line on what is 'appropriate' behaviour, much of which can be problematic and might need re-looking in the next edition of Law's adventures!
February 17, 2020
I met Benjamin at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival back in 2011, but didn't really have a chance to read any of his books until recently. There aren't many books written about homosexuality in Indonesia, so knowing this book tackles exactly that, I was curious.
After finishing the book, I felt that Ben didn't dig deeper into the LGBTQ community in Indonesia compared to what he did in another countries. He didn't even mention Gaya Dewata, the oldest LGBTQ foundation in Bali while he went to NGOs and foundations in another country. He also only focused in Bali and the money boys which, to be honest, didn't really represent Indonesia/Bali in general. Since it was published in 2012, many establishments he mentioned in the book were no longer exist. I didn't have problem with that, though. It just felt a bit dated compared to the condition and situation of the LGBTQ community in other Asian countries.
Maybe it's time to update the book with a better chapter about Indonesia?
After finishing the book, I felt that Ben didn't dig deeper into the LGBTQ community in Indonesia compared to what he did in another countries. He didn't even mention Gaya Dewata, the oldest LGBTQ foundation in Bali while he went to NGOs and foundations in another country. He also only focused in Bali and the money boys which, to be honest, didn't really represent Indonesia/Bali in general. Since it was published in 2012, many establishments he mentioned in the book were no longer exist. I didn't have problem with that, though. It just felt a bit dated compared to the condition and situation of the LGBTQ community in other Asian countries.
Maybe it's time to update the book with a better chapter about Indonesia?
November 17, 2020
Listened to the audiobook version. Benjamin Law interviews and reports in a way that reminds me of Louis Theroux. He interviews with innocent curiosity and the intention of learning as much as he can. Really enjoyed this.
April 23, 2020
This book was published in 2012, and reading it in 2020... it shows.
August 27, 2022
It’s not deep. But it’s fabulous.
Read
April 20, 2021Love reading anything by Benjamin Law, and despite it being nearly a decade since being written I still found it super relevant. This region’s queer life is not an area that I have too much experience with, and despite the heavy nature of many of the situations, Law’s humour brings out a necessary optimism. Especially found the China and Japan chapters to be really interesting.
October 3, 2012
I haven’t read anything of Benjamin’s before so came to this not exactly sure what to expect, but it seemed like it would be a fairly lightweight romp through the cultures of Gay Asia.
To a certain extent, it delivers on this promise and the book ends on a personal, uplifting note, but it’s probably impossible to approach this topic without a touch of culture shock. Although I enjoyed reading it, it has left me with very mixed feelings...but maybe that’s a *good* thing.
In our encounter with a Malaysian pray-away-the-gay pastor, Benjamin manages to give us a nuanced portrait of a man it would be easy to condemn out of hand. At the same time, I wanted to berate the author for not reaching out to some of those troubled souls, not that he should have saved them or abducted them to Australia, but just to mention that an alternative existed. The important thing is that it made me care.
In the chapter on Thailand, the focus is entirely on a kathoey beauty pageant. I found myself wishing that we’d seen something of more marginal identities (where are the lesbians?) but as a friend who lived in Thailand for some years used to say, “Thais don’t really *do* gay”.
It wasn’t all sweetness and light, but maybe that lighter ladyboy fare was a necessary counterbalance to the chapter on Burma. Inevitably it took us to some dark places, but I’m glad he took us there. The government has been far too busy suppressing dissent, putting down separatists and building new capitals to do anything much about HIV and it shows.
Also visiting Indonesia (Bali), China, Japan and India, this book can only supply sketches of some aspects of gay life in each of these countries, but it does so deftly.
To a certain extent, it delivers on this promise and the book ends on a personal, uplifting note, but it’s probably impossible to approach this topic without a touch of culture shock. Although I enjoyed reading it, it has left me with very mixed feelings...but maybe that’s a *good* thing.
In our encounter with a Malaysian pray-away-the-gay pastor, Benjamin manages to give us a nuanced portrait of a man it would be easy to condemn out of hand. At the same time, I wanted to berate the author for not reaching out to some of those troubled souls, not that he should have saved them or abducted them to Australia, but just to mention that an alternative existed. The important thing is that it made me care.
In the chapter on Thailand, the focus is entirely on a kathoey beauty pageant. I found myself wishing that we’d seen something of more marginal identities (where are the lesbians?) but as a friend who lived in Thailand for some years used to say, “Thais don’t really *do* gay”.
It wasn’t all sweetness and light, but maybe that lighter ladyboy fare was a necessary counterbalance to the chapter on Burma. Inevitably it took us to some dark places, but I’m glad he took us there. The government has been far too busy suppressing dissent, putting down separatists and building new capitals to do anything much about HIV and it shows.
Also visiting Indonesia (Bali), China, Japan and India, this book can only supply sketches of some aspects of gay life in each of these countries, but it does so deftly.
June 6, 2014
Wow. What an interesting read. I hooted with laughter when I read The Family Law and was really looking forward to reading this as a consequence. The Family Law is a memoir whereas this is a bit different. At first I found it still hoot-worthy (and I confess at times, confronting) but then it changes gear. Law is on a journey of "could-have/might-have-been" self-discovery in Asia. With a Malaysian mother and Chinese father, you can hear the author wondering what his life might have been like if his family hadn't migrated to Australia. What is life like for gay people in Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Japan and India? Law acknowledges that this is a vast subject and region and that he can't hope to encompass all experience. He does however hope to capture some of the essence by recording particular experiences. I highlighted no less than 10 passages in the e-version I borrowed from our library. I was particularly fascinated by the language Law used. Often it is a witty play on words; a kind of truncation and mashup (e.g. celesbian and sexucational). There are some very thought-provoking quotes from those he interviews e.g. "Japanese people see gay people as shameful, but not sinful....As long as they're invisible, they'll be tolerated." Law has a great ear for dialogue and makes you feel that you are right there beside him as he goes on his journey...right down to when he unfortunately contracts delhi-belly. He has an unflinching eye when it comes to describing what he sees and so the subject matter is often not for the faint-of heart or coy. It was a delight to meet him at our author talk at the library this week and further confirmed for me what a truly lovely soul he is - full of humour and love for humanity in all its splendid difference.
December 15, 2017
Based on images in the United States, you wouldn't think there were any Asian gays around because they are so marginalized within the LGBTQ community. Then you read a book like this and know they are a rather large and prevalent group in the world. However, the downside is that it's not all wine and roses for gay men in some of these Asian countries where traditional roles and responsibilities are demanded and many are exploited by Westerners seeking cheap vacations and even cheaper and illicit sexual activities with underage minors, as well as encroaching religious bigotry and homophobia thanks to conservative churches and mosques.
That's the tone of the book - excitement and giddiness mixed in with melancholy and crushing poverty and cultural expectations. Benjamin Law visits five different Asian countries to find out what life is like for gay men. It's a mixed bag. In China, many gay men have to hide their sexuality and are forced into sham marriages to appease their parents. In Japan, flamboyant and outrageous gay men are preferred on televisions rather than other images of gay men. In Malaysia, churches are operating conversion therapy groups thanks to church groups from the United States. In India, Article 377 is celebrated when it's repealed, decriminalizing homosexuality. Things are up and down.
Law is a funny and observant Australian writer who willingly exposed himself to some rather harsh conditions to get his interviews and stories. I highly enjoyed this book and would be interested in reading a follow up book by Law in a few years to see how things have changed in these countries.
That's the tone of the book - excitement and giddiness mixed in with melancholy and crushing poverty and cultural expectations. Benjamin Law visits five different Asian countries to find out what life is like for gay men. It's a mixed bag. In China, many gay men have to hide their sexuality and are forced into sham marriages to appease their parents. In Japan, flamboyant and outrageous gay men are preferred on televisions rather than other images of gay men. In Malaysia, churches are operating conversion therapy groups thanks to church groups from the United States. In India, Article 377 is celebrated when it's repealed, decriminalizing homosexuality. Things are up and down.
Law is a funny and observant Australian writer who willingly exposed himself to some rather harsh conditions to get his interviews and stories. I highly enjoyed this book and would be interested in reading a follow up book by Law in a few years to see how things have changed in these countries.
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