Mobilizing Gay Singapore: Rights and Resistance in an Authoritarian State (Sexuality Studies) - Hardcover

Chua, Lynette J

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1439910316 ISBN 13: 9781439910313

Publisher: Temple University Press, 2014

Synopsis

For decades, Singapore's gay activists have sought equality and justice in a state where law is used to stifle basic civil and political liberties. In her groundbreaking book, Mobilizing Gay Singapore, Lynette Chua asks, what does a social movement look like in an authoritarian state? She takes an expansive view of the gay movement to examine its emergence, development, strategies, and tactics, as well as the roles of law and rights in social processes.

 

Chua tells this important story using in-depth interviews with gay activists, observations of the movement's activities-including "Pink Dot" events, where thousands of Singaporeans gather in annual celebrations of gay pride-movement documents, government statements, and media reports. She shows how activists deploy "pragmatic resistance" to gain visibility and support, tackle political norms that suppress dissent, and deal with police harassment, while avoiding direct confrontations with the law. 

 

Mobilizing Gay Singapore also addresses how these brave, locally engaged citizens come out into the open as gay activists and expand and diversify their efforts in the global queer political movement. 

 

About this title

About the Author

Lynette J. Chua is Assistant Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore.

Edition details

• Publisher: Temple University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1439910316
• ISBN 13: 9781439910313
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 228