Contenu
In Straight Nation, Pavan Mano dissects the intricacies of nationalism in postcolonial Singapore and its entanglements with the governance of sexuality. Decidedly rejecting the romanticization of the nation as a pure bastion of belonging, he theorizes nationalism as a force obsessed with continually generating threats and excavates the alliance it has struck up with heteronormativity to produce a series of minoritized figures that contemporary identity claims can neither handle nor dispel. Through an elegant exploration of a vast array of texts and cultural artifacts, Mano argues that the compact between sexuality and nation is instrumental in producing multiple queered figures who are displaced from the national imaginary at various turns. Dwelling on what is often taken as conventional wisdom, Straight Nation demonstrates how queerness can be xenologized under the sign of the postcolonial nation and turned into a technology of "race", gender and class in the right contexts. The book delivers a sharp riposte to narrow identity politics and outlines in exquisite detail how the governance of sexual expression functions as a powerful mechanism that shapes the lives of many more than sexual minorities - including, as unlikely as it may seem, heterosexual people. In the face of the far-reaching effects of heteronormativity coupled with nationalism, Straight Nation presents a compelling argument for an expansive, non-identarian political critique that is capable of dismantling the deeply entrenched force of heteronormativity in postcolonial Singapore and the detritus of nationalism along with it.