Straight Nation

Straight Nation expertly dissects nationalism in postcolonial Singapore, exposing its profound reliance on the governance of sexuality. Dispelling liberal theories of the nation, the book highlights nationalism's perpetual generation of threats and calls for an expansive, non-identarian approach to dismantle the entrenched force of heteronormativity central to nation-making. -- .

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In Straight Nation, Pavan Mano reveals the logic of straightness that sits at the heart of postcolonial nationalism in Singapore. Mano rejects the romantic notion of the nation as a haven of belonging, showing it to be a relentless force that is allied with heteronormativity to create a host of minoritized and xenologized figures. Through meticulous exploration and close reading of a swathe of texts, Mano unveils the instrumental role of sexuality in structuring the national imaginary. The book adroitly demonstrates how queerness is rendered foreign in postcolonial Singapore and functions alongside technologies of “race”, gender, and class. A provocative critique of narrow contemporary identity politics and its concomitant stymying of a more ambitious political critique, Straight Nation sets out an argument that moves beyond the negativity of traditional critique into a space of (re)thinking, (re)building and (re)imagining. -- .