In Aug 2016 Amos Lassen wrote this review: How one proves he or she is gay is the
central question for many refugees who are claiming asylum on the basis of sexual orientation persecution. We have to ask the questions of what are the inherent challenges in obtaining this proof, how is the system that assesses this predicated upon homonormative frameworks and nervous borders, what is the impact of gender, race and class and what is an ‘authentic’ sexual or gender identity and how can it be performed? “Real Queer?” is an ethnographic examination of the Canadian refugee apparatus and analyzes the social, cultural, political and affective dimensions of a legal and bureaucratic process predicated on separating the ‘authentic’ from the fake LGBT refugee. Using interviews, conversations and participant observation with various individuals (ranging from refugee claimants to their lawyers, Refugee Protection Division staff and local support group workers), we see the ways in which sexuality disrupts and is part of the nation-state’s dynamic modes of gate-keeping, citizenship and identity-making, and the effects of these issues on this category of transnational migrants
Read more of the review at “Real Queer?: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Refugees in the Canadian Refugee Apparatus” by David A. Murray— Claiming Asylum | Reviews by Amos Lassen