Intimate Activism: The Struggle For Sexual Rights In Postrevolutionary Nicaragua [Paperback]

Intimate Activismtells the story of Nicaraguan sexual-rights activists who helped to overturn the most repressive antisodomy law in the Americas. The law was passed shortly after the Sandinistas lost power in 1990 and, to the surprise of many, was repealed in 2007. In this vivid ethnography, Cymene Howe analyzes how local activists balanced global discourses regarding human rights and identity politics with the contingencies of daily life in Nicaragua. Though they were initially spurred by the antisodomy measure, activists sought to change not only the law but also culture. Howe emphasizes the different levels of intervention where activism occurs, from mass-media outlets and public protests to meetings of clandestine consciousness-raising groups. She follows the travails of queer characters in a hugely successful telenovela, traces the ideological tensions within the struggle for sexual rights, and conveys the voices of those engaged in "becoming"lesbianasandhomosexualesin contemporary Nicaragua.

Intimate Activismtells the story of the Nicaraguan sexual-rights activists who helped to overturn the most repressive antisodomy law in the Americas.

"Intimate Activismis an excellent ethnography of gender- and sexual-rights activism in postrevolutionary Nicaragua. Cymene Howe deftly folds the rich stories and description into a lively and sharp analysis. She has crafted an important work that provides new and productive ways of thinking about liberalism, activism, and global cultural flows."—Martin F. Manalansan IV, author ofGlobal Divas: Filipino Gay Men in the Diaspora

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