This book examines life trajectories among three categories of women living beyond the bounds of heteronormativity in Jakarta and Delhi: women who have lost their husbands, either through divorce or death; sex workers; and young, urban lesbians. By charting the lives of women who live beyond the boundaries of the heteronormative, commonalities are revealed, boundaries are delineated, and the issue of the struggle for sexual rights for marginalized groups, and their open rebellion, brought to the fore.

Migration makes a profound impression on identity (gender and sexuality, culture, class, status), its expressions, and performance. Research in this field has demonstrated that migrant communities often cast women as bearers of cultural reproduction. This is especially the case when women choose to become representatives of their community through cultural dance performances. The performances that author Monika Winarnita analyzes are dramas of human interaction brought up through fissures and resolutions between the performers and their various audiences. The book provides analysis of these...