The Relationship between Cambodian Buddhism Queerness, and Gender-Variance

For my research project, I would like to explore the ways in which gender-variance has been constructed and understood through an individual's experience with Buddhism and its practices, particularly focusing on the Cambodian diaspora in North Carolina as well Cambodians living in Cambodia. By seeking to understand the relationship between religiosity and queerness in Cambodia, I believe that a counter-narrative can be constructed in resistance to the dominant Western narratives of transness. These narratives will help us better understand the ways in which spiritual and queer bodies have been regulated by academia and trans embodiment politics. My research questions are presented below: 1. How do Buddhist beliefs and practices inform and influence the identity formation of gender-variant populations in Cambodia and Khmer populations in the U.S.? 2. In what ways have Western conceptions of queerness regulated spiritual and queer bodies in the Global South?