Robert Lorway s Defiant Desire - 936 Words

Review of Defiant Desire in Namibia Robert Lorway delivers a feminist perspective with his ethnography, Defiant Desire in Namibia. Lorway examines sexuality as both a social construct and a political one. While this ethnography provides unparalleled information about gender and sexuality in the poorer world, there are a few important flaws, such as the lack of information about radical ideas or behavior, neglect of his own bias, and the length of the ethnography. My ethnography of choice was, Defiant Desire in Namibia: Female sexual-gender transgression and the making of political being. Written by Robert Lorway from the University of Manitoba. Lorway identifies as a gay male in his late twenties, who is a Canadian person of†¦show more content†¦These were his metaphorical backstage passes into their secretive culture. In this ethnography, Lorway analyzes female sexual desire and the challenges these women face. He discusses problems with their president, their families, their employment and the aggression against them. Many of these women reported being stabbed multiple times by both women and men. They also claimed that it is not uncommon for women to be raped in Namibia, and being lesbians give them a better sense of security. HIV is extremely prevent in Namibian society, and some of these women even report a fear of sleeping with men for this reason. Lorway arrived in Namibia in 2001, shortly after their president announced that all LGBT peoples would be thrown in prison. One women who was incarcerated was thankful for the consistent food and shelter. During rough times, these lesbians would become prostitutes as well, despite the fact that they were not sexually attracted to men. Overall, these working class lesbians faced numerous hardships, with little support outside of their organizations The Rainbow Project and Sister Namibia. They also preferred in most cases to use the western labels, such as lesbian , despite the government s attempt to claim that homosexuality in unnatural and a western cultural import. The theory of feminism is prominent in this ethnography. The author is extremely