Cultural wars and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights in Southeast Asia: ‘Asian values’, human rights, and the ‘homosexual turn’

Abstract

Some have argued that we are seeing a ‘homosexual turn’ in Southeast Asia. Decriminalization of sodomy, legal recognition of same-sex marriage, and discussions regarding trans rights have all taken place in the last decade. However, a backlash has emerged as well. Governmental censure of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender issues has escalated, with politicians espousing anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rhetoric and warning against importing ‘cultural wars’ from the West into Asia. The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rights debate is becoming the new cultural battleground in Asia, with ‘Asian’ and ‘family’ centered values being pitted against ‘Western hegemony’ and ‘moral corruption’. As lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender activists advocate for more recognition, the ‘traditional’ heteronormative family is further institutionalized and valorized. This article aims to interrogate the ‘cultural wars’ in Asia as reflected in the tension between burgeoning lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender activism and the enduring privilege of heteronormative families. It will explore this cultural clash through the following three dimensions: (1) rights framing, (2) competition over resources, and (3) political backlash. Ultimately, though, the article argues that as opposed to seeing this tension as a ‘cultural war’, instead we should see this conflict as developmental growing pains, as the region continues to evolve, and nation-states begin to grapple with the burgeoning rights and an irrepressible recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender identities that had been buried under layers of ideologies, from political to moral.