Heteronormativity, Passionate Aesthetics and Symbolic Subversion in Asia (Sussex Library of Asian & Asian American Studies)

This book examines life trajectories among three categories of women living beyond the bounds of heteronormativity in Jakarta and Delhi, two major cities with substantively different religious and social values: women who have lost their husbands, either through divorce or death; sex workers; and young, urban lesbians. Delhi has a large Hindu majority and a sizeable Muslim minority, amongst other religious and cultural pluralities. The Indian state is constitutionally committed to secularism and equal respect to all regions despite right-wing Hindu fundamentalism. Jakarta is the capital of a sprawling archipelago with a large variety of ethnic cultures, Indonesia having the largest Muslim population of the world, as well as sizeable ethnic and religious minorities comprising Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and others. The Indonesian state is constitutionally secular, but religion plays a large role in public life and is embedded in regulations that strongly impact people's private lives. Recently, there have been strong political currents to impose stricter Islamic codes. The public arena of sexual politics, in which the media play an important role, is explored in both cities. Hot sex is a major media selling point, particularly in Indonesia. Heteronormativity entails a system of symbolic violence in the sense that it punishes those that it excludes and polices those that it includes; the ways its powers are subverted are likewise symbolic. Passionate aesthetics refers to the dynamics, motivations, codes of behavior and presentation, subjectivities and identities that together make up the complex workings of erotic attraction, sexual relations and partnerships patterns. By charting the lives of women who live beyond the boundaries of the heteronormative, commonalities are revealed; boundaries and regulatory mechanisms in the context of symbolic violence are delineated; and the issue of the struggle for sexual rights for marginalised groups, and their open rebellion, brought to the fore. At the heart of the book lies elaboration of the ways Asian families are constructed -- their social, economic, sexual and religious agency, and how these engage with state-led values. This book examines life trajectories among three categories of women living beyond the bounds of heteronormativity in Jakarta and Delhi: women who have lost their husbands, either through divorce or death; sex workers; and young, urban lesbians. These two major cities have substantively different religious and social values. Delhi has a large Hindu majority and a sizeable Muslim minority, amongst other religious and cultural pluralities. Jakarta is the capital of a sprawling archipelago with a large variety of ethnic cultures, Indonesia having the largest Muslim population of the world, as well as sizeable ethnic and religious minorities comprising Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and others. The public arena of sexual politics, in which the media play an important role, is explored in both cities. Heteronormativity entails a system of symbolic violence in the sense that it punishes those that it excludes and polices those that it includes; the ways its powers are subverted are likewise symbolic. By charting the lives of women who live beyond the boundaries of the heteronormative, commonalities are revealed; boundaries and regulatory mechanisms in the context of symbolic violence are delineated; and the issue of the struggle for sexual rights for marginalized groups, and their open rebellion, brought to the fore. At the heart of the book lies elaboration of the ways Asian families are constructed: their social, economic, sexual, and religious agency, and how these engage with state-led values. Front Cover 1 About the Book 2 Title Page 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Author’s Preface 9 Series Preface by Mina Roces 13 1: Researching Heteronormativity 16 Socialisation and normalisation 19 Truly Asian? 20 Research design 22 Interviewing: Meaningful encounters 26 Reflections 29 Emerging themes 33 Embodiment 33 Negotiating respectability 35 Structure of the book 36 2: Sexual Politics – Heteronormativity, Passionate Aesthetics, and Symbolic Violence 38 Why study sexual politics? 39 Heteronormativity 42 Passionate aesthetics and symbolic violence 46 Symbolic subversion 49 Socio-sexual citizenship 51 Sexual politics and socio-sexual citizenship 53 Terminology 61 3: God’s Creatures – The Public Arena of Sexuality 64 Scope 64 Religion 65 Islam 66 Hinduism 69 Sex workers 71 Women-loving women 72 Widows 76 State power 77 Sex workers’ strategies 80 Women in same-sex relationships 83 Conclusion 86 4: (De) Constructing Happy Asian Families 88 Scope 88 Some historical notes 89 Cracks in the system 97 Importance of pre-marital virginity 100 Arranged marriages 101 Polygyny in Indonesia 102 India: Joint families and dowry deaths 103 Communication between spouses 104 Money matters 106 Conclusion: Patriarchal values 107 5: Negotiating Respectability and ‘Normal’ Family 111 Scope 111 ‘Normal’ families 114 Growing up ‘normal’ 116 A ‘good’ marriage 121 ‘Normal’ disappointments 123 Symbolic violence 125 Conclusion 128 6: Reduced to Mud – Expulsion and Repulsion 130 Scope 130 Widowed and divorced women 132 Sex work 137 Women-loving women 142 Conclusion 150 7: Something Divine – A Satisfying Sex Life? 152 Scope 152 Sex workers’ private lives 154 Widows’ lives 160 Women living with women 165 Conclusion 174 8: Entertainers and Soft Butches – Identities and Subjectivities 175 Scope 175 Sex workers’ identity 179 Views of women in same-sex relationships 182 Views of widowed and divorced women 189 Conclusion 192 9: This Crazy Energy – Symbolic Subversion 194 Scope 194 Empowerment 195 Continuum of subversion 196 Widows’ sexuality 198 Reasons for sex work 202 Views of women-loving women 205 Seeking economic stability 212 Finding sexual partners 212 Respectability in the community 213 Family life 213 Conclusion 214 10: A House of My Own – Strategies for the Future 216 Scope 216 Negotiating normalcy 217 Desires of women-loving women 220 Desires of widows 226 Sex workers’ futures 227 Conclusion 230 11: The Sliding Scales of Heteronormativity and Symbolic Subversion 232 Scope 232 Embodiment and intersections 233 Passionate aesthetics 236 Sliding scale of subversion 238 Sexual rights and queer studies 244 Sliding scale of heteronormativity 246 Conclusion 249 Notes 250 Glossary 264 Bibliography 269 Index 286