Book Title: Constitutionalism in Context

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Abstract: In recent years, LGBTQ rights have scored a number of high-profile legislative and judicial successes around the world, including the legal recognition of same-sex relationships and non-binary gender identities. However, the advancement of LGBTQ rights still faces significant obstacles in many jurisdictions, even when it comes to basic issues such as the decriminalization of homosexual relations. This chapter focuses on the case of Singapore to examine the politics of LGBTQ rights, and, in particular, the ways in which activists interpret and respond to challenging structural conditions. Based on the author’s fieldwork, and written from both socio-legal and constitutional law perspectives, the chapter analyzes why LGBTQ rights activists who had long avoided rights litigation changed their minds and brought a constitutional challenge against the criminalization of same-sex relations, the outcomes of the litigation campaign, and the future of LGBTQ rights in Singapore.