ABSTRACT
Many scholars acknowledge that peoples, countries and their economic, political and cultural institutions are more interconnected than in the past. Increased interconnectedness is understood as a product of global processes brought about by actors such as multinational corporations (Nike and Microsoft), international financial organizations (the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank), global political bodies (the United Nations and the World Trade Organization), and cultural institutions (MTV and CNN). Globalization is a topic that is often met with mixed feelings and contradictory attitudes. On the one hand, globalization is understood as increasing interconnectedness between peoples and cultures and is associated with the spread of democratic values, individual freedoms, material wealth and global identities. On the other hand, globalization is also understood as increasing economic inequality, ethnic and social conflicts. In this chapter, I address the ways globalization shapes sexual boundaries and identities. Identifying diasporic immigrant communities as an important aspect of global processes, I use the experiences of Lebanese immigrants to show that ethnic differences and immigration status produce distinct identities, and at the same time generate creative forms of belonging and global attachments. Lebanese immigrants are spread around different parts of the world. I use diaspora to refer to their awareness of other immigrants in various countries and their ongoing connections to Lebanon and their new society. Specifically, I focus on the experiences of gay and lesbian Lebanese immigrants in New York. I aim to show the ways they move beyond traditional attachments based on their national background or sexual orientation, and choose to identify with more global social and political issues instead.
