How did British colonialism influence the perception and representation of same-sex intimacies in Indian society?

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Asian Studies (60 EC) (MA)

Kemp, Simon (2019)

How did British colonialism influence the perception and representation of same-sex intimacies in Indian society?

Master thesis | Asian Studies (60 EC) (MA)

In the wake of The Supreme Court of India's decision to decriminalise homosexuality, this paper studies how British colonialism structured the perceptions and representations of same-sex intimacies and sexual fluidity in India. Combining discourse analysis and historiographical approaches, this paper focuses on various aspects of Indian history and society, from the many examples of homo-eroticism in Indo-Muslim literature and Indian religious traditions to the medicalisation of sexuality and the internalisation of British ideals of masculinity and sexuality in the discourse around same-sex intimacies, as well as the parallels between this and the modern Hindutva movement.