Virtual Activism: Sexuality, the Internet, and a Social Movement in Singapore
Channel: Jewish-Muslim Research Network
Date: 2020-07-30

JMRN coordinator Adi Saleem Bharat speaks with cultural anthropologist Robert Phillips about his new book Virtual Activism: Sexuality, the Internet, and a Social Movement in Singapore, a detailed, yet accessible, ethnographic case study that looks at the changes in LGBT activism in Singapore in the period 1993-2019. Based on extensive fieldwork conducted with activist organizations and individuals, Phillips illustrates key theoretical ideas—including illiberal pragmatics and neoliberal homonormativity—that, in combination with the introduction of the Internet, have shaped the manner by which LGBT Singaporeans are framing and subsequently claiming rights. Phillips argues that the activism engaged in by LGBT Singaporeans for governmental and societal recognition is in many respects virtual. His analysis documents how the actions of activists have resulted in some noteworthy changes in the lives of LGBT Singaporeans, but nothing as grand as some would have hoped, thus indexing the “not quite” aspect of the virtual. Yet, Virtual Activism also demonstrates how these actions have encouraged LGBT Singaporeans to fight even harder for their rights, signalling the “possibilities” that the virtual holds.