Bobby Benedicto Wins The 2015 Ruth Benedict Book Prize Honorable Mention

Congratulations to Bobby Benedicto, whose book “Under Bright Lights: Gay Manila and the Global Scene,” was recognized for its excellence.

The Association for Queer Anthropology (AQA) has awarded Bobby Benedicto—assistant professor in the Department of Women’s Studies—the 2015 Ruth Benedict Book Prize honorable mention for “Under Bright Lights: Gay Manila and the Global Scene.” Benedicto was also a finalist for the 2015 LAMBDA Literary Award for LGBT Studies.

Drawing on ethnographic research and employing storytelling, “Under the Bright Lights,” portrays postcolonial gay life in Manila, where the desire to be part of a cosmopolitan queer culture clashes with the traditional social, economic and gender hierarchies that structure urban life in the Philippines. By unpacking the contradictions between mainstream gay culture—seen in the glitzy scenes of local bars and dance clubs—and Manila’s endemic social and economic problems, Benedicto portrays Filipino gay culture with all its nuances. According to an overview on the website of Minnesota University Press, Benedicto argues that the pursuit of a global gay modernity reifies traditional class, gender and racial societal structures.

The Ruth Benedict Book Prize is awarded every year at the American Anthropological Association’s annual meeting to acknowledge an outstanding scholarly book that engages issues in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer studies from an anthropological perspective. Benedicto was presented with the award during the AQA Business meeting Friday, Nov. 20.

Read more about Benedicto's work in this Q&A piece