“They settle this among themselves, one with the other"

the uses of homosexuality in the Asian immigration debate in the 19th century

Abstract

Homosexuality has not always been an openly discussed topic among intellectuals or on friend circles. Subtle and dubious languages ​​were often used to describe sexual intercourse between two men. The accusations of sodomy and pederasty appear subtly in the documentation of Asian immigration to America. The insinuations are present, hidden, almost like a murmur from the documentation that approaches the topic, always leaving the message unspoken. This article will analyze some of these mentions, often lost amid other more recurrent discussions about the entry of Chinese and Indians on the continent. Insinuations about homosexuality among Asian workers were collected in documents from Cuba, British Guiana and Brazil, in an effort to address a topic that has been little explored in historiography. The mentions always served a purpose within the intense debate around indentured immigration in the second half of the 19th century.