Sam Tynen, PhD, is an LGBTQ researcher and writer based in Phoenix, Arizona. He lived in Xinjiang from 2014 to 2017 doing research with the Uyghur community. He has published articles about the Uyghur culture in Political Geography and Geopolitics, among other journals and magazines. His forthcoming book with IB Tauris is titled Fear, Hope and Survival in Xinjiang: Uyghur Life in China’s Military Police State. Learn more at samtynen.com
"I like living at home with my parents. To take care of them in their old age would be a great honor, and I could live out my days alone, working in my hometown until my death. If I could choose, that’s the destiny I would pick."
Queer Uyghurs are caught between visibility and invisibility, censorship and self-censorship, being "out" and hiding in the closet. It is not safe for them to share their stories. But when they do, they tell of the human desire to belong and to love.