Throughout this book I have argued that Bayly's narrative is more interesting than most critics have suggested in terms of writing sexual identities and that three of his novels can be interestingly engaged with queer theory. Critics have repeatedly dismissed Bayly as ‘low’ culture or mere entertainment. Though the narratives of both Bayly and Benavides aim to break down divisions between ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture, criticism of Bayly's work – such as that by Thays – is shown to be ideologically motivated and often misinformed. This ties in with Pierre Bourdieu's analysis of a ‘pure’ and ‘popular’ aesthetic and of how cultural divisions are used to perpetuate social difference or ‘Distinction’. A very different treatment was given to Benavides in 2002, who immediately received positive reviews by some critics who clearly hadn't read him – because he was overtly political. Not only does queer theory provide useful insight into and reflection on Bayly but Bayly's narratives – particularly the accomplished writing of La noche es virgen – call into question and enrich US/British queer theory in a new social context. Though Bayly has aimed for a wider market and though this account has studied him in a framework of US/British queer theory, it is important to consider the power of popular culture in context. What might seem just mildly subversive to the outside critic – namely Bayly's (increasingly subtle) writing of ambiguous identities and sexualities by La noche es virgen – has at the same time proved radical in Peru. Upon publication, No se lo digas a nadie was a ‘scandalous’ bestseller and in Bourdieu's terms Bayly has subverted the cultural capital of the middle classes in Lima.

There is a unique blend of Miami and Lima in Bayly's narrative that is reflective of the attitudes of the upper classes in Lima and that Bayly has made central to his work. Bayly's protagonists fantasize about certain traits of Miami (sexual freedom, wealth, consumerism) and criticize certain traits of Lima (lack of personal freedom, the hypocrisy and double standards of the upper classes). In terms of his exploration of homosexuality in Lima, his texts engage with US queer theory, focusing on what Butler (1990, 25) calls ‘social scripting’. At the same time as recontextualizing any use of queer theory, my reading looks at the way in which queer in Bayly is primarily about writing the self.