Queer Vietnam

Richard Quang-Anh Tran is a Scholar-in-Residence in the Program in Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley.

Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Historical Context: A Milieu of Cultural Pluralism 2. The Variety of Male Genders, Relations, and Practices 3. Women Cross-Dressing as Men: The Persistence of a Classical Trope since 1920 4. Gender Plasticity: New Bodies and Genders in the Public Imagination Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

"There is no other book like Queer Vietnam that offers such an unprecedented, gripping cultural history of gender transgression in this region of Southeast Asia. The empirical findings are rich and historical insights pathbreaking. Uncovering a riveting array of sources, Richard Tran wields interpretive evidence with critical theory judiciously to make a profound intervention in the history of sexuality." -Howard Chiang, University of California, Santa Barbara "Richard Tran's Queer Vietnam recovers the lively presence of queer subjects in early twentieth century Vietnam who at once challenged notions about the fixity of gender and transgressed the imagined frontiers of intimacy and desire during a time of profound socialchange. This impressively researched book further deepens our understanding of colonial modernity in Vietnam by putting gender at the center of the story, by defying conventional wisdom about what counts as 'tradition,' and by recounting in careful and empathetic detail those bodies who refused capture." -Claire Edington, University of California, San Diego