QUEER SOUTHEAST ASIA Tang and Wijaya present a range of new and established scholarly voices, including local activists directly involved in developments in Southeast Asia. This groundbreaking collection presents the current state of play and longstanding LGBTQ+ debates in this often-overlooked region of Asia. The diversity of both the subject and the region is reflected in the broad scope of topics addressed, from the impact of Japanese queer popular culture on queer Filipinos, to the politics of public toilets in Singapore, and the impact of digital governance on queer communities across ASEAN. Taken in combination, these investigations not only highlight the operations of queer politics in Southeast Asia, but also present a concrete basis to reflect on queer knowledge production in the region. A vital resource for students and scholars of gender and sexuality in Southeast Asia, or any Queer or LGBTQ+ studies looking beyond the West. Shawna Tang is Lecturer in Gender Studies at the University of Sydney. She is the author of Postcolonial Lesbian Identities in Singapore (Routledge 2016) and has publications on sexuality studies in Asia, non-normative women and same-sex intimacies in Singapore, the globali- sation of same-sex marriage and LGBT politics in Singapore and Indonesia, older lesbian sexualities in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, older lesbians’ transmasculinities in Asia, affirmative feminist studies of transmasculine boyhoods in Israel, the politics of the intimate in neoliberal university settings, and pedagogies of difference and inclusion in Australia as part of Asia. Hendri Yulius Wijaya is an Indonesian writer and the author of Intimate Assemblages: The Politics of Queer Identities and Sexualities in Indonesia (2020). He completed a research master’s degree in Gender and Cultural Studies at The University of Sydney and a master’s degree in Public Policy at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He writes about gender, sexuality, popular culture, and sustainability for a mainstream audience in Indonesia. His writing has been published in the Indonesia and the Malay World, Laws, Social Text Online, Jakarta Post, Esquire, TEMPO, and New Mandala, among others. He currently works full time on sustainability issues with large businesses, SMEs, government, and univer- sities. He has also published a poetry collection, Stonewall Tak Mampir di Atlantis (2020) and co-edited a queer speculative short stories collection, Parade Yang Tak Pernah Usai: Yang Lalu, Sekarang, dan Akan Menjadi (2022). Both are available in Bahasa Indonesia. QUEER SOUTHEAST ASIA Edited by Shawna Tang and Hendri Yulius Wijaya Cover image: Getty Images First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Shawna Tang and Hendri Yulius Wijaya; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Shawna Tang and Hendri Yulius Wijaya to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-1-032-34089-0 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-34087-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-32051-7 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003320517 Typeset in Bembo by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India In memory of Hendri Yulius Wijaya’s father, Hauw Eng Ho (1964–2021). CONTENTS List of Figures ix List of Contributors xi Acknowledgements xvii Queer Southeast Asia: Itineraries, Stopovers, and Delays 1 Shawna Tang and Hendri Yulius Wijaya 1 An inter-Asia history of transpuan in Indonesia 15 Benjamin Hegarty 2 Exploring Southeast Asian queer migrant biographies: Queer utopia, capacitations, and debilitations 33 Quah Ee Ling Sharon and Shawna Tang 3 Japanese queer popular culture and the production of sexual knowledge in the Philippines 47 Thomas Baudinette 4 When the Gay Ivy comes to (U)Town: The globalisation of higher education and the possibilities of queer student activism in Singapore 63 Daryl WJ Yang and Yogesh Tulsi 5 Emergent queer identities in 20th century films from Southeast Asia 83 Atit Pongpanit and Ben Murtagh viii Contents 6 Endurance as queer worldmaking in Northern Aceh of Indonesia 103 Ferdiansyah Thajib 7 Queer(ing) indigeneity and the Igorot lesbians of Hong Kong 117 Jose Kervin Cesar B. Calabias 8 Keep Singapore clean and chaste: Spatial-sexual discipline in toilet narratives 138 Carissa Foo 9 Independent and safe panels for youths: Queer comics in a time of Southeast Asian populism 161 Kristine Michelle L. Santos 10 Viddsee: Queer assemblages of short film circulation, distribution, production, and reception in Singapore 180 Sim Jiaying 11 Ohm Phanphiroj’s Underage: Some queer thoughts on photography and night-time Bangkok 197 Brian Curtin 12 Digital governance, human rights norms, and ASEAN: Sexuality and gender rights meet surveillance, networks, and data 208 Anthony J. Langlois 13 Queer Vietnam: Early notes from sexuality studies to activism 228 Daniel C. Tsang 14 Pedagogy of queer studies beyond empire 243 Vina Adriany, Sharon A. Bong, Brian Curtin, Jaya Jacobo and J. Daniel Luther 15 Queer Southeast Asia: An afterword 266 Sharyn Graham Davies Index 271 FIGURES 7.1 Arvile Talbi, president of the Ifugao Organisation, poses in front of a banner during the 2018 Philippine election campaign in Hong Kong, Central. Photograph by Arvile Talbi 123 7.2 Arvile (in red vest) leads the tayaw dance on the 22nd anniversary of the CORALL in Hong Kong, Central. Photograph by the author 123 7.3 Arvile taking a selfie with members of IO at a migrant event in Hong Kong. Photograph by Arvile Talbi 127 7.4 Igorot domestic workers wearing bahag and beating the gangsa (brass/copper gong) during a performance in “Tribal Sunday” at Statue Square, Hong Kong, in 1986. Photo courtesy of Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants 127 7.5 Jhic Dacio posing in bahag for a pictorial in Hong Kong. Photo courtesy of Jhic Dacio 129 7.6 Jhic Dacio with his partner, both dancing/posing in traditional attire for a pictorial in Hong Kong. Photo courtesy of Jhic Dacio 130 7.7 An Igorot lesbian contestant at the 2019 SHARE – HK pageant performing an ethnic dance complete with gangsa, traditional bahag, and stylised chest binder for the ethnic attire category. Photo courtesy of Jhic Dacio 130 7.8 An Igorot lesbian contestant at the 2019 SHARE – HK pageant performing an ethnic dance complete with gangsa, traditional bahag, and stylised chest binder for the ethnic attire category. Photo courtesy of Jhic Dacio 131