Queer Correctives: Discursive Neo-homophobia, Sexuality, and Christianity in Singapore

(Hardback)

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Queer Correctives explores Christian discourses of sex and sexuality in Singapore to argue that metanoia, the theological concept of spiritual transformation, can be read as a form of neo-homophobia that coaxes change in the queer individual.

In Singapore, Christian discourses of sex and sexuality have materialised in the form of testimonials that detail the pain and suffering of homosexuality, and how Christianity has been a salve for the tribulations experienced by the storytellers. This book freshly engages with Michel Foucaults posthumous and final volume of The History of Sexuality by revitalising his work on biblical metanoia as a form of homophobia. Drawing on Foucauldian critical theory and approaches in discourse studies, it shows how language is at the centre of this particular iteration of neo-homophobia, one that no longer finds value in overt expressions of hate and disdain for those with non-normative sexualities, but relies extensively on seemingly neutral calls for change and transformation in personal lives.

It takes Singapore as a case study to examine neo-homophobic phenomena, but its themes of change and transformation embedded in discourse will be relevant for scholars interested in contemporary iterations of Foucaults concepts of discipline and technologies of the self. Together with interview data from religious sexual minorities in Singapore, Queer Correctives captures a burgeoning form of homophobic discursive practices that eludes mainstream criticism to harm through change and transformation.

Author Bio

Vincent Pak holds a joint PhD in English Language and Linguistics from the National University of Singapore, Singapore, and Kings College London, UK.