Sexuality Studies

Rights and Resistance in an Authoritarian State

Lynette J Chua

• Publisher: Temple University Press
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781439910337
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Law Theory & Practice
• Index: Law

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. 

 

Table of contents

• Contents
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• 1. Mobilizing Gay Rights under Authoritarianism
• 2. Legal Restrictions, Political Norms, and Being Gay in Singapore
• 3. Timorous Beginnings
• 4. Cyber Organizing
• 5. Transition
• 6. Coming Out
• 7. Mobilizing in the Open
• 8. Pragmatic Resistance, Law, and Social Movements
• Appendix A: Research Design and Methods
• Appendix B: Study Respondents: Singapore’s Gay Activists
• Appendix C: Singapore’s Gay Movement Organizations and Major Events
• Notes
• References
• Index