Politics of Sexuality

Politics of Sexuality

Suzanne Obler and Deena J. González

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in Contemporary Politics, Law, and Social Movements (Oxford University Press, 2015)

Gender and sexuality formations among US Latina/o populations encompass a huge array of practices, ideas, and expressions that vary according to historical, cultural, religious, economic, or social conditions. Within these experiences, expressions of gender and sexuality also vary according to culture or ethnicity, by nation, and by time frame across the large expanse of the Americas. The most prevalent and influential historical tenet that influences Latino/a gender and sexuality is the period of the Conquest by Spain and other European nations that sought to triumph over the native populations in their quest for guns, glory, and god.