A map of the world: charting sex, race, and ethnicity

Journal of Sex Research, Nov, 2003 by Marcelle Christian Holmes

This criticism is minor, however, and does not hinder the reader's ability to engage with the text. Nagel jumps from one geographical region to another and across historical periods to put forth a broad survey of examples where race and sexuality mix. Chapter 3 opens with accounts of Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci in the "New World" and provides numerous examples of the sexual portraits Europeans painted of the native population they found. Europeans, portraying themselves as civilized, contrasted with images of savage, depraved Indian men and beautiful but licentious native women. Sexual stereotypes reinforced ethnic and racial differences and were used to justify violence against Indians. Ironically, while Whites were busy "civilizing" Indian men, they were also busy appropriating real and imagined Indian identities. The legacy of the brutish and potent Indian brave extends to the present day on America's sports fields, showcasing teams with Native Americans as mascots. American youth organizations adopt and bastardize Indian imagery. Non-Indians appropriated sexual and ethnic identities in an attempt to create and maintain the very idea of America. Nagel makes these points clearly and effectively.

Chapter 4 opens with the European fascination with African sexuality but quickly shifts its focus to over 300 years of Black and White sexual relations in the American context. In this chapter, Nagel presents stereotypes, court cases, and laws regulating sexual relations between Whites and Black slaves. She continues her analysis of heterosexual and homosexual Black sexuality through the American civil rights movement. It is impossible to conduct a thorough survey of this lengthy time period in one short chapter, but the chapter can whet an appetite for other resources, including those on Nagel's own reference list. Specifically, readers who would like a more comprehensive look at the intersection of race, gender, class, and sexuality in a European, specifically British, context should consider reading McClintock's (1995) work titled Imperial Leather, from which Nagel quotes. Another source to supplement Nagel's analyses is Queering the Color Line by Siobhan Somerville (2000). Somerville's text not only provides an overview of sex and scientific racism, which Nagel treats only lightly, but also provides a more thorough historical context of homosexuality in African American culture.

Nagel's chapters on sex and nationalism and sex and war are compelling. The author shows how, in the interest of nation-building and patriotism, the wartime sexual transgressions of women who consort with the ethnic "enemy" are often punished, while occupying forces are often encouraged to have sexual relations with local women during times of war and peace. These sexual relations between soldier and civilian can lead to marriage, but they often are in the form of rape or visits to the brothels and bars that surround our national and international U.S. military bases. The intersections among sexuality, race, ethnicity, and patriotism are fascinating, and they show us how sexuality helps form notions of racial and ethnic pride and how notions of racial and ethnic pride determine the sexual possibilities for group members. Nagel's research also brings us to the gay culture of Hong Kong, where, prior to Hong Kong's transfer from Britain to China, Chinese men often assumed a bottom sexual position with Western men on top. After the transfer, Chinese men were much more likely than before to be on top when having sex with Western men. Political and sexual changes are mutually reinforcing, and Nagel's examples are well researched and interesting.