Awards

• Winner of AAAS History Book Award 2023 (United States)

Overview

The AIDS crisis reshaped life in Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s and radicalized a new generation of queer Asian Americans with a broad vision of health equity and sexual freedom. Even amid the fear and grief, Asian American AIDS activists created an infrastructure of care that centered the most stigmatized and provided diverse immigrant communities with the health resources and information they needed. Without a formal blueprint, these young organizers often had to be creative and agitational, and together they reclaimed the pleasure in sex and fostered inclusivity, regardless of HIV status. A community memoir, Love Your Asian Body connects the deeply personal with the uncompromisingly political in telling the stories of more than thirty Asian American AIDS activists. In those early years of the epidemic, these activists became caregivers, social workers, nurses, researchers, and advocates for those living with HIV. And for many, the AIDS epidemic sparked the beginning of their continued work to build multiracial coalitions and confront broader systemic inequities. Detailing the intertwined realities of race and sexuality in AIDS activism, Love Your Asian Body offers a vital portrait of a movement founded on joy.

Full Product Details

9780295749327

Table of Contents

Reviews

Wat does an excellent job of conveying these emotional and inspirational stories of activism... This book is an inspiring work that deserves to be read as it is an integral piece towards understanding the queer Asian American struggle for sexual liberation and health equity. * International Examiner *

""Wat does an excellent job of conveying these emotional and inspirational stories of activism... This book is an inspiring work that deserves to be read as it is an integral piece towards understanding the queer Asian American struggle for sexual liberation and health equity."" * International Examiner * ""With careful investigation, sincere testimonials, and a deep understanding of the connections between identity, health, and activism, Wat paints a vivid and compassionate picture of Asian American communities in Los Angeles struggling with the effects of the AIDS pandemic."" * Social Identities * ""Love Your Asian Body is a clarion call to understand one’s body not merely as a site for biotechnological intervention and individualized consumption but also as the source for envisioning social connectivities and political collectivities anew"" * H-Net *

Author Information

Eric C. Wat is author of The Making of a Gay Asian Community: An Oral History of Pre-AIDS Los Angeles and SWIM, a novel.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available