ACCESSING GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP IN LOS ANGELES: MECHANISMS OF CONTROL IN THE EVERYDAY LIVES OF SALVADORAN IMMIGRANT GAY MEN

This dissertation looks at notions of belonging and citizenship as they are experienced by gay men from El Salvador living in Los Angeles. Globalized communities have replaced many aspects of what the nation-state has traditionally provided citizens in terms of social support and opportunities for a full life. These communities and the institutions that enforce written and unwritten regulations work to control sexuality. These institutions and the communities of gay people living in them, create sexual identity labels that make community life unpleasant for many and dangerous for some. This dissertation explores how Salvadoran immigrant gay men in Los Angeles access basic life essential resources, such as housing, employment, and upward social mobility. Salvadoran immigrant gay men in Los Angeles are socially marginalized on a number of levels. Sexual acts between men are not illegal in El Salvador, however, hate crimes against gay men are ignored. While Los Angeles hosts a diverse population of Latinos, there is an expectation that Latinos will adhere to a Mexican/Chicano ideology. This ignores Salvadoran immigrants, their specific needs, and culture altogether. Mainstream gay movements concentrate on modeling LGBT communities after norms of the nation-state. In doing so, gay men are homogenized. This neglects the needs and wants of Salvadoran immigrant gay men. In a quest to gain the status of “good gay citizen,” some Salvadoran immigrant gay men demonize Salvadoran immigrant gay men unable or unwilling to conform to mandates set forth by their own community. Many Salvadoran immigrant gay men have found ways to talk back to dominant discourses by creating space for an alternative view. This dissertation gives examples of the diversity of gay life in Los Angeles and the stratification that ensues.