The Psychic Life of Racism in Gay Men's Communities

Book excerpt: The Psychic Life of Racism in Gay Men’s Communities engages in the necessarily complex task of mapping out the operations of racialized desire as it circulates among gay men. In exploring such desire, the contributors to this collection consider the intersections of privilege and marginalization in the context of gay men’s lives, and in so doing, argue that as much as experiences of discrimination on the basis of sexuality are shared among many gay men, experiences of discrimination within gay communities are equally as common. Focusing specifically on racialization, the contributors offer insight as to how hierarchies, inequalities, and practices of exclusion serve to bolster the central position accorded to certain groups of gay men at the expense of other groups. Considering how racial desire operates within gay communities allows the contributors to connect contemporary struggles for inclusion and recognition with ongoing histories of marginalization and exclusion. The Psychic Life of Racism in Gay Men’s Communities is an important intervention that disputes the claim that gay communities are primarily organized around acceptance and homogeneity and instead demonstrates the considerable diversity and ongoing tensions that mark gay men’s relationships with one another.