Abstract
While many prior studies problematize feminization and desexualization of Asian American men, Thangaraj’s ethnographic work re-centers gender in his analysis to understand how South Asian American men perceive and react to racialization intertwined with class, ethnicity, and sexuality. Desi Hoop Dreams addresses the multiplicity of masculinity among South Asian American basketball players in various socio-spatial settings. In this ethnography, South Asian American men do not passively suffer from racialization, but instead actively counter racialization by engaging in sports and sexual activities. The making of masculinity also evokes the racialization of Asian American in relation to other racial groupings and problematically continues the marginalization of women and queers to conserve the heterosexual-male-centered masculinity.
Thangaraj begins this ethnography with desi sporting venues where South Asian American men build their sporting masculinity in everyday basketball play. He conceptualizes practices of “brown out” in which the basketball players transform their lived experiences as racialized subjects to make their own safe space and re-create their identities within and beyond the sporting space (p. 18). The brown-out space in the tournaments and ethnic leagues is a crucial site for desi men not only to perform their masculinity but also to resist racial stereotyping and redefine their desiness. Off the basketball courts, South Asian American men continue to brown out spaces in dance clubs where they compete for endorsements of their masculinity by women.
Desi Hoop Dreams critically reveals how the construction of masculinity intersects race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality. In the case of Asian American masculinity, racial discourses such as “model minority” and “fresh off the boat” not only place Asian American subjects in a docile position but also simultaneously emasculate them (p. 13). Thangaraj argues that Asian American men have to continuously “man up” to refuse such emasculation. One of the ways of manning up is to consume cultural blackness associated with the assumed black hyper-masculinity. This idea manifests itself in their choices of sporting attire and team names. However, on the basketball courts, black bodies and persons with African heritage are systematically excluded from the desi leagues. Moreover, professional class players use the category of black negatively to denote “traits of toughness outside of the boundaries of middle-class respectability” while members of lower classes utilize blackness to masculinize themselves to gain social respect from co-ethnic peers (p. 103). The author argues that the making of masculinity among South Asian American men exists “outside of the confined racial meanings of whiteness and blackness, but always in relation to them” (p. 141). Hence, “manning up” for desi men is never a monolithic or universal process to become a manly man, but rather a strategic consideration of social positions and careful management of masculinity to “inscribe meanings to their brown bodies” (p. 5). It is through examining this process of masculinization that this ethnography insightfully articulates the complex structures and effects of the hegemonic, normative masculinity.
Furthermore, the author finds that the making of South Asian American masculinity does not only take place by consuming blackness while excluding black bodies, but also by marginalizing women and queers. This part of the discussion is particularly compelling as it shifts the focus from experiences of heterosexual men to the perspectives of women and queers, thereby adding a critical layer of analysis in the making of masculinity beyond aspects of race. Women appear in the male-centered, brown-out spaces to help arrange teams and watch games, but their participation is considered to be peripheral. Some desi women indeed play basketball, but these few are seen as exceptional cases. The author summarizes that “women’s presence is questioned, policed, and regulated” (p. 189).
Similarly, while homoerotic play among South Asian American men is not unusual, such play occurs only to reconfirm heterosexual male bonding and masculinity. In the case of a self-identified gay Muslim South Asian American (p. 177), this particular subject recognizes the meaningful connections with others through participating in sport, but he also feels isolated as other male players constantly talk about heterosexual topics such as female partners and marriage. The focus on such concerns and the strong heterosexual sociality prevent him from engaging in conversations other than those connected to sports. While this part of the discussion critically indicates the limitations of the making of masculinity among South Asian American men, I suggest the argument could be further expanded by including more diversified queer subjects within and outside the brown-out spaces.
Overall, Desi Hoop Dreams offers an important ethnographic exploration of the making of masculinity among South Asian American men from brown bodies to brown-out spaces. This book is particularly useful to readers studying masculinity and critical race theory. The author’s use of multiple analytical lenses to examine the making of masculinity across social locations also sets an excellent example of ethnographic research.