The Turban and Brown Masculinity
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Puar's concept of "homonationalism" talks about how LGBTQ+ identities are used to serve nationalist causes, especially post-9/11. In the case of gay American Desis, this is shown through the U.S. imperialist views that put "progressive" Western queer identities against "backward" or "barbaric" Muslim others. This complicates the identities of queer South Asians, who usually find themselves caught between racialized communities and mainstream LGBTQ+ movements in which they also want to belong.
Puar's analysis also talks about the Sikh turban, which white settlers see with gendered and racialized meanings. The turban tends to reflect hypermasculinity, religiosity, and "otherness," creating a inconclusive placement of Sikh men in Western racial hierarchy. People like Bhagat Singh Thind, who claimed whiteness through legal arguments, exhibit the uncertain placement of South Asians in terms of racial priveledge. The turban then disturbs this claim, because it is a visible marker of non-whiteness that prevents assimilation. Puar also critiques anti-Sikh racism for complicating theories of women as the sole cultural bearers. Sikh men's visible religious markers, such as turbans and beards, complicate traditional gender roles in diasporic narratives by assuming cultural visibility only applies to women.
Thangaraj's text on Indo-Pak basketball leagues highlights the concept of "cultural Blackness," or how South Asian communities have taken up Black aesthetics, styles, and cultural symbols. Desi ballers steer proximity and distance from Blackness, often embracing its cultural cachet while maintaining racial and class distinctions that align them with the "model minority" myth.
For South Asians, proximity to Blackness can lead to a sense of masculinity and urban authenticity, while distance reaffirms model minority ideals of discipline and success. They are engaged in competitive freidnship, celebrating athleticism but often marginalizing or excluding queer identities. By aligning with heteronormative ideals, these groups usually share homophobia and distance themselves from the vulnerability associated with queerness.
Thangaraj’s analysis complements Puar’s by showing how South Asians compromise racialized performances to navigate their identity. While Puar critiques the racialization of Sikh turbans as markers of monstrosity, Thangaraj examines how Desi athletes selectively adopt elements of Blackness to assert masculinity and belonging as minorities.