Straight Nation - by Pavan Mano (Paperback)

About the Book

Straight Nation dissects nationalism in postcolonial Singapore, exposing its reliance on the governance of sexuality. Dispelling liberal ideas of the nation, the book highlights nationalism's threatening nature and calls for an expansive, non-identarian approach to dismantling the entrenched heteronormativity central to nation-making.

Book Synopsis

Straight nation dissects the intricacies of nationalism in postcolonial Singapore and its entanglements with the governance of sexuality. Rejecting the romanticization of the nation as a pure bastion of belonging, the book 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, the book argues that the relationship between sexuality and nation is instrumental in producing multiple queered figures who are displaced from the national imaginary. 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 detail how the governance of sexual expression functions as a powerful mechanism to shape the lives of many - 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 capable of dismantling the deeply entrenched force of heteronormativity in postcolonial Singapore, and the detritus of nationalism along with it.

From the Back Cover

Straight nation dissects the intricacies of nationalism in postcolonial Singapore and its entanglements with the governance of sexuality. Rejecting the romanticization of the nation as a pure bastion of belonging, the book 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, the book argues that the relationship between sexuality and nation is instrumental in producing multiple queered figures who are displaced from the national imaginary. 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 detail how the governance of sexual expression functions as a powerful mechanism to shape the lives of many - 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 capable of dismantling the deeply entrenched force of heteronormativity in postcolonial Singapore, and the detritus of nationalism along with it.

Review Quotes

'Drawing on an impressive range of media, cultural, and historical artefacts - archival records, ministerial speeches, media reports - as data, Mano argues for heteronormativity as fuel for Singapore's nation-building goals, demonstrating the alignment between the state's postcolonial vision for itself and the normative expectations of its people. The book gathers logics of normativity, postcolonial governance, and antiqueerness to render what we now recognize as the image of modern-day Singapore.'
Cultural Studies

About the Author

Pavan Mano is a Lecturer in Global Cultures in the Department of Interdisciplinary Humanities at King's College London.