Winner of the 2005 Ruth Benedict Prize, Society for Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists, American Anthropological Association "A pioneering ethnography of the national landscape (read Archipelago), Tom Boellstorff offers a new spin on the local and the global, supplies a refreshing new reading of gay subjectivities, and through metaphor, delivers a richly embroidered, linguistically textualized contribution to the literature on sexuality in one Islamic nation"--Geoffrey C. Gunn, Journal of Contemporary Asia "A cogent and well-argued examination ... one that may remain applicable to Indonesian social life for many years."--Matthew Kennedy, Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide "The Gay Archipelago is an important and timely discussion and analysis of how nation, belonging, desire, subjectivity and geography all intersect in Indonesia. The book provides a truly intimate engagement in the lifeworlds of gay and lesbi folk, and tells us much about how contemporary Indonesian culture is both changed, challenged and transformed through its archipelagic logic."--Baden Offord, Inside Indonesia "This book is timely, emphasizing changing forms of social life in an era of globalization... [T]his is a stimulating and challenging book to read."--Abraham D. Lavender, American Anthropologist "Boellstorff's discussion is permeated by a moving sense of validation of the communities he is studying... Anyone with a serious interest in Indonesian culture would do well to seek it out and read it for him or herself."--Keith Foulcher, Indonesia "[A] fascinating and ambitious study... The Gay Archipelago is a refreshing and brave work that should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in the relationship between human sexuality and cultural interchange beyond the well-trodden path of conventional paradigms."--Elisabeth Lund Engerbretsen, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute