The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers, Mark Gevisser
This book challenged me for a number of reasons, primarily that I (1) don’t read a lot of non-fiction and (2) because it entreated me to grapple with my own various intersecting identities as a queer person and how my personal journey has coincided - and clashed - with those around the world.
Gevisser set out to explore the ways in which sexual orientation and gender identity have manifested in global conversations during the last two decades. Over seven years, he spent time with, interviewed, and became personally invested in people from all over the global queer spectrum. While the book explores sociopolitical implications and historical context, it primarily paints a narrative of queer humanity through individual stories. From a trans woman fighting for rights to her biological child in Russia, to a community of hijra in India, to an Arabic/Jewish gay couple in Israel, the author plunges us into a myriad of perspectives from every continent..
Himself a fifty-something gay professional living in South Africa, Gevisser grappled with his own identity throughout his extensive research, asking the hard questions about privilege, gender politics, and the savior complex. I was struck by the way Western ideas of queerness - many having only emerged in the last decade - have upended thinking in other parts of the world (not always for the better). People whose gender or sexuality differed from the norm have functioned in other societies for many years without necessarily choosing labels or tribes. Pushes for LQBTQI rights from countries like the U.S. have often been equal parts empowering and dangerous for those whose lives had previously been considered “private.” Governing powers use queer people and communities to demonstrate evolution toward “modern” and Western ideals or as a scapegoat to push back against Western colonialism.
The research and journalism in this book were both excellent and Gevisser’s writing demonstrates tremendous empathy and care. I most enjoyed the narrative portions of the book though my interest occasionally waned due to the sheer breadth of the work.
Ultimately, Gevisser leaves us wondering if things really do “get better” though he maintains hope that generational change can lead to justice. I was touched by his insistence that in an ever-changing global society, that there is something “ethereal and immutable” unique to queer people, even in the face of the unknown.
Rating: 7.5/10