Ryan Schweitzer, "Homosexuality in Central Asia: Stories of Hardship and Hope" (B&N Press, 2026)

Homosexuality in Central Asia: Stories of Hardship and Hope (Barnes and Noble Press, 2026) is Ryan Michael Schweitzer's collection of first-hand narratives from LGBTQ individuals across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Drawing on years of fieldwork in the region, Schweitzer gathers stories of violence, blackmail, forced marriage, surveillance, and exile alongside quieter accounts of love, friendship, and endurance. Rather than presenting a single Central Asian LGBTQ experience, the book traces how legal status, state security apparatuses, family structure, and religious revival intersect differently in each country to shape what visibility and safety look like for queer people in the region.

About the host

Cholpon Ramizova is a London-based creator and researcher. She holds a Master's in Migration, Mobility and Development from SOAS, University of London. Her thematic interests are in migration, displacement, identity, gender and nationalism—and in the ways these intersect within the Central Asia context.

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