Racial Erotics: Gay Men of Color, Sexual Racism, and the Politics of Desire argues that, of course, white supremacy doesn’t end the moment gay men cross the threshold into bedrooms, bars, and virtual meet-ups. Armed with fierce insight, C. Winter Han shines a light on the Janus coin of sexual preference: gay men of color are both excluded and fetishized in spaces that, by design, position white gay men at the top of the hierarchy. Whoever you are, and however you express your desire, racial politics are at play. By pulling examples from interviews, media representation, dating profiles, and more, C. Winter Han argues that it’s not a matter of if but how race informs our attempts to connect.
Racial Erotics: Gay Men of Color, Sexual Racism, and the Politics of Desire, by C. Winter Han. Published by the University of Washington Press. The editor is Larin McLaughlin. Racial Erotics is a finalist for the Publishing Triangle’s Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction; the winner will be announced on May 11.