Through detailed studies, this collection of writings by academics and activists explores the emergence of contemporary lesbian and butch/femme relationships and communities throughout Asia and their location within the context of nationalist struggles, religious fundamentalism, state gender regimes and global queer movements.

SASKIA E. WIERINGA is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Director of the International Women's Center and Archives in Amsterdam. She is the editor of Subversive Women: Women's Movements in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. EVELYN BLACKWOOD is Associate Professor in Anthropology and Women's Studies at Purdue University, USA, the author of Webs of Power: Women, Kin and Community in a Sumatran Village, and the co-editor of Female Desires: Same-sex Relations and Transgender Practices across Cultures. ABHA BHAIYA is one of the founding members of Jagori, a feminist resource center founded in 1984 and based in Delhi, India. She is the co-editor of Female Desires: Same-sex Relations and Transgender Practices across Cultures.