Let’s come back to this cover, shall we?
Benjamin Law entertained many with his first book, The Family Law, in 2010. His ability to write witty prose and to command attention created a laugh out loud, explicit look at the ups and downs of the Law family. In Gaysia, Law stretches further as he explores the experience of gay men and women across seven Asian countries. This is investigative journalism carried out with style, empathy and unflinching honesty.
Law jumps straight into Bali, Indonesia – familiar territory for many Australians. Within the last decade an immense increase in tourism has been coupled with a huge rise in Bali’s gay culture. From exclusively gay resorts where clothes are purely optional, to moneyboys portrayed as savvy sex workers, this is huge business. The normalisation of this within the Indonesian culture does not sit appear to sit comfortably with Law.
Cross to Thailand, where Law explores the fascination with its most famous pageant. Miss Tiffany’s Universe is specifically for transsexuals, a chance for them to shine, rejoice, and celebrate. Law’s respect for these women – what they are doing and why – is palpable, but he brings the reader round to the key point. While this pageant is surrounded by glitz and glamour, with full media coverage, in Thailand these women are still not legally recognised as such. The swapping of hormone drugs in the school playground reveals a culture which is not totally ignorant to the plight of young boys who realize that they are stuck in the wrong body; however the contradictions within their society are complex.
Revealing portrayals of complex character are certainly not beyond Law’s reach. In a Louis Theroux-esq style he confidently enables his interviewees to express themselves, and leaves us to judge. Never does this become more apparent than with Edmund Smith, whom Law encounters in Malaysia. Pastor Edmund, a married father of two, openly admits to being a ‘rampant homosexual’ until the age of 24. His whole career is now based around his dubious claim of ‘sexual metamorphosis, insisting anyone could change’. Law’s observations lead the reader to question how true to himself Edmund is really being. Law tells the reader how…
‘Edmund recalled those heady gay days between the ages of thirteen and twenty-four with a smile.’
… while observing Edmund’s beautifully manicured hands, delicately embroidered white shirt and purple trousers. Edmund’s passionate sermons encourage the ‘sexually broken’ to heal themselves, with his help and guidance of course. Ally is in that category. Ally is the girl you want to pull from the pages in order to hug and reassure. Her struggle is keenly felt through Law’s description of her facial expressions, her mannerisms and her posture – all betraying the extent of her inner turmoil at being confronted with a society that just doesn’t accept her.
The intensity of the tone increases as Law’s discoveries become increasingly confronting.
His journey to Myanmar, where the number of people who are HIV-positive is mind bogglingly huge, involves spending time with HIV community workers. Infected people struggle to find medication, and those are just the ones who know it exists. Law’s voice is imbued with searing honesty, reflecting the hopelessness felt by the reader,
‘‘What can you do to help me?’ she [Myat Noe] had asked. And, to my shame, I couldn’t quite bring myself to look her in the eye.’
He tackles sensitive subjects with ease and without shielding his reader from harsh truths. Not lost in this investigation is Law’s sense of humour and comedic timing, as witnessed in The Family Law. In India, Law meets Baba Ramdev, a yoga teacher who believes that with the right breathing and approach, homosexuality can be ‘cured’. Law’s descriptions of Ramdev’s beard provide just the right shift in tone as Gaysia reaches its conclusion:
‘an upside down beehive with afro-level density. It was the kind of beard you could lose cutlery in.’
Back to that front cover – the knowing look from Law, raised eyebrows indicating the depth of his revelations. The bright yellow and red alerts the reader to the importance of the contents that lie within. Law’s intelligent and non-sensationalist approach renders such content ever more poignant.
Rating: 4 ½ stars out of 5
Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East
By Benjamin Law
Paperback, 288pp, RRP $29.95
ISBN: 978 1 86395 576 8
Black Inc
