Abstract
In the words of the editors, the purpose of the book is “to expand the understanding of LGBTQ people’s lives beyond the dominant narrative of the West to include the experiences of LGBTQ people from around the world” (Nakamura & Logie, 2019, p. 6). In aid of this, this volume collectively presents contributions spanning countries of the Majority world, namely: Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Jamaica, Russia, Mongolia, India, Malaysia, Thailand, and in the sub-Saharan African region. Each chapter addresses the mental health of communities with a diversity of sexual and/or gender identities and practices, and in doing so, brings to the fore knowledge generated beyond the W.E.I.R.D. status quo (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) (Henrich et al., 2010).
In addition to providing an overview of the chapters to follow, the opening chapter is largely dedicated to describing the impetus for the book. Caution is urged about the universalisation of a contemporary, Western-centric narrative as that which defines the “LGBTQ experience”, and interconnectedly, what constitutes wellbeing. The substantial gaps in prevailing understandings in the Minority world is a chief concern of this chapter, as is the potential for the provision of inappropriate mental health care. Thought is given to the often-systemic, multilevel barriers that hinder the voicing, representation and dissemination of knowledge and experience of communities in the Majority world. This chapter provides an informative introduction for readers newly discovering these ideas. That said, it was a little surprising that the book was not more deeply contextualised among relevant bodies of theoretical and literature scholarship (e.g., postcolonial theory, critical psychology or whiteness studies) to better highlight its unique contribution.
The editors note that, as far as possible, each of the individual chapters were solicited from authors who may be living and/or working in the respective regions and have first-hand knowledge of the context. This facilitates the threading of first-person experiences through the discussion. For instance, personal recollections frame description of the shifting socio-historical Russian context (Chapter 5). These chapters share common structural features, which include details about the historical, social, and cultural context of the country/region; understandings of identities and practices; the experiences of one or multiple groups (e.g., Chapter 4 explores the experiences of lesbian, bisexual and queer women in Jamaica); and mental health and care provision. Chapters usually culminate in recommendations for professionals. The writing is accompanied by some form of vignette, a case study, a story, or perhaps a memory. These excerpts masterfully bring to life the central tenets of the chapters, as may be seen in Chapter 9, where the case studies of two young people highlight the intersecting dimensions of class, education, ethnicity, and HIV status in Thailand. These stories offer an important reminder of the power of narrative, a compelling example of which is the weaving of themes which emerge from the stories shared by transgender men in Peru (Chapter 1).
The welcome plurality of approaches taken to develop these chapters encompass a review of historical context and contemporary literature, personal accounts, and numerous other research methods. A wide range of expertise is recognised in this collection, from the experiences of those who have gifted their stories to researchers to accounts from community centres and NGOs. For example, due to a paucity of relevant published work in Mongolia, Chapter 6 is informed by unpublished studies and information from NGOs, including reports from international organisations. The challenges in generating knowledge, as noted by the editors, emerges frequently. This is aptly captured in the opening paragraph concerning sub-Saharan Africa, where the authors thank those contributors living and working in the region, acknowledging the personal and professional risks, as they state: “without these individuals there would be little knowledge to synthesize in a chapter such as this” (Brown, et al., 2019, p. 153).
Several remarkable elements in these texts become apparent to the reader. Impressive is the way in which, within the limit of only few pages, authors address the challenging task of detailing the pertinent socio-political and historical context and illuminate the points of connection to contemporary social practice. Many chapters offer insight into Indigenous and precolonial culture and knowledge and illustrate the impacts of colonisation for sexual and/or gender diverse communities. This may be seen in Chapter 2 where the authors describe the postcolonial criminalisation of same-sex relationships in Colombia and subsequently trace advocacy and social organising efforts through to the amendment of the relevant legislation.
The chapters often resist the conflation of identities within the “LGBT” umbrella, in favour of articulating these complexities. For example, in Chapter 3 the socially-situated and negotiated aspects of identity are highlighted where the strategies used by lesbian, gay and bisexual community members to manage sexual identity in the workplace are examined in Ecuador. Moreover, the reader is encouraged to engage with the intricacies of the relations between identity, community, and belonging. This is illustrated in the discussions of the experiences of same-sex attracted men and trans women in India (Chapter 7), where it is noted that the meanings of identity terms may be a potential cause for debate among sexual minority community leaders
In the concluding chapter themes are identified from across the text and recommendations are offered. Given the rich, diverse, and well-contextualised contributions, synthesis is a difficult task, and perhaps greater space would have been beneficial in order to unpack some of the discussion – especially with regard to the development of generalisable theoretical and intervention models. This volume enables readers to appreciate the limitations of Western-centric narratives, including the applicability of identity development models (Chapter 8: Being Gay and Lesbian in Malaysia). As a proportion of the readership will be engage with this text from W.E.I.R.D. countries, some of which are part of producing such dominant narratives of “the LGBTQ experience”, as a reader, this for me opened up avenues to consider the implications of these chapters. In moving forward, it would be valuable to engage with discussions that connect with relevant learnings including from ongoing decolonising, postcolonial and critical psychology projects (Bhatia & Priya, 2018; Dudgeon & Walker, 2015; Macleod & Bhatia, 2008); critically examine problematic assumptions in knowledge and practice of the Minority world; and explore what meaningful role may be played by practitioners, researchers and communities – a discussion it would be great to see taken up in a future edition.