The subversion of Malay-Muslim homogeneity among Malaysian gay men and the crafting of personalised religiosities

Many segments of popular and institutional Malaysian Islam censure nonnormative gender and sexual identities and expressions and impose homogeneous notions of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and religion on Malaysian Malay Muslims. Nevertheless, gay men who hold both their sexualities and religious beliefs dear to their hearts engage in numerous strategies to subvert such impositions in their everyday lives. Inspired by Yip’s notion of attacking the attacker, I employ a Constructivist Grounded Theory Methodology to analyze selected narratives of three Malay-Muslim gay men. The examination reveals how such strategies allow them to simultaneously talk back to homonegative Islamic rhetoric, personalize their religious beliefs, and accommodate their sexualities.