Gender Theory in Troubled Times

Abstract

a careful line between analyzing the complexity of state strategies of regulation and noting the possibility of strategic activist engagement with the state, arguing that ‘‘this is not a simple story of surrender or resistance’’ (p. 134). In doing so, she builds on a rich tradition of feminist and queer scholarship on (and discomfort with) engaging the state. She is thoughtfully critical of recent state efforts to incorporate transgender rights, noting that ‘‘transphobic and transprotectionist approaches . . . are closely linked’’ (p. 133), while pointing out that ‘‘[s]ealing oneself off from processes of government that permeate all of society may not be an option; rather it may be more useful for activists to assume tactical positions within the regimes of governance themselves’’ (p. 125). For Lakkimsetti, struggles over sexuality center the law because of its ‘‘transformative potential’’ (p. 142), not just to guarantee rights, but to enable social justice. The broad scope of Lakkimsetti’s analysis necessarily leaves some gaps. While pointing to the Indian state’s navigations of AIDS and of sexuality as an instance of ‘‘transnational governmentality’’ (p. 12) and documenting moments when transnational institutions played critical roles in Indian legal debates (p. 113), Lakkimsetti does not fully theorize how transnational institutions shape the struggles of sexual minority activists. The book engages less, for example, with scholarship on the transnational governance of the AIDS crisis. Her argumentation relies somewhat more heavily on textual analysis than on her extensive interview and ethnographic data. As such, in focusing on engagements with the state, the book tends to consider sex worker, gay, and transgender groups together, sometimes glossing over regional and ideological variations, conflicts, and organizing practices within and across these movements. Indeed, some of the most intriguing parts of the analysis develop comparisons across the three groups the book studies—contrasting the opposition to removing Section 377 with the relative lack of opposition to NALSA (p. 125), or the greater transnational support for gay groups compared to sex worker groups (p. 131). The wide reach of Lakkimsetti’s study, however, also makes the book an accessible primer on recent developments in laws related to sexuality in India, laws that were changing rapidly during the period of the research. The book could be assigned in undergraduate or graduate courses on sexuality, the state, or social movements. More generally, in working across Indian and North American feminist scholarship, it contributes a postcolonial and transnational perspective that is often missing in North American sociological scholarship on sexuality.