‘God forgives the sin but not the scandal’: Coming out in a transnational context – between sexual freedom and cultural isolation

Abstract

Migration opens new possibilities for sexual freedom for gay and bisexually active men. However, ‘coming out’ carries real and potentially negative implications for immigrant men. Based on ethnographic research over more than four years in New York, this article examines the multiple strategies that Peruvian immigrants perform to fulfil their dreams of sexual freedom, while avoiding rejection and isolation from their relatives and compatriots. It shows different ‘forms’ of coming out or not coming out. Gay men and their families act out their scripts of ‘knowing’, ‘not knowing’ and ‘pretending not to know’, and play by the ‘rules of the game’.