The Lesbian Community in Post-Independence Singapore

Abstract

Drawing from recent scholarly debates on queer theory, global capitalism, neoliberalism, and citizenship studies, this study of the lesbian community in post-independence Singapore looks at how neoconservative heteronormative 'regimes of truth' are actively reinforced in the everyday lives of women who choose to be lesbians. Through an ethnography of the lesbian community, this study documents the emergence of lesbian self-help, support and advocacy groups that have sprung up to address familial and religious rejection, harassment, homophobia and the lack of lesbian representation in the LGBTQ community. Despite prevalent kinds of discrimination, middle-class lesbians who are able to rearticulate their personal worth in neoliberal market terms can establish themselves as 'neoliberal exceptions' to existing sexual `regimes of truth.' The reproduction of racial and class divides by middle-class lesbians impede the formation of deeper inter-class and inter-racial queer hybridities. Lesbian activism which uses traditional gender norms of relationality, empathy and care for a radical politics of difference, diversity, and inclusivity challenges neoliberal behaviours and 'homonormativity,' and establishes itself as one of the queer frontiers of Singapore's LGBTQ community.