Prejudice before Pride

This chapter presents evidence for the so-called homophobic anticipatory countermovement, with reference primarily to Southeast Asian cases—particularly Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines—and considers the roots and implications of such a sequence. These cases are chosen for their proximity, which is useful for evaluating the extent of global and regional discursive circuits, but also for their diversity. Indonesia and Malaysia are both Muslim-majority states, but Indonesia today is far more democratic than Malaysia; the Philippines is a Catholic-majority democracy; while Singapore is a single-party-dominant state with important Muslim and evangelical Christian minorities. While all but prosperous Singapore are developing states, all are highly exposed to global trade, media, and other circuits. Moreover, all four states offer recent examples of high-profile homophobia, all with roots in Christian or Islamist discourse.