From “Social Evils” to “Human Beings”: Vietnam's LGBT Movement and the Politics of Recognition
Since 2008, non-governmental organisations and other civil society organisations have helped to transform the image of Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Vietnam. Their efforts reached a peak in 2014 when Vietnam became the first country in Asia to debate the issue of same-sex...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2022-12-01
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Series: | Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034221108748 |
_version_ | 1797984153381109760 |
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author | Pham Quynh Phuong |
author_facet | Pham Quynh Phuong |
author_sort | Pham Quynh Phuong |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Since 2008, non-governmental organisations and other civil society organisations have helped to transform the image of Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Vietnam. Their efforts reached a peak in 2014 when Vietnam became the first country in Asia to debate the issue of same-sex marriage in the national parliament. Yet, the outcome of the debate remained was ambiguous, with same-sex marriage being neither illegal nor recognised by the state. This paper explores the tactics and strategies of LGBT activists as they campaigned for recognition of same-sex marriage. It argues that a key factor in the “in-between” outcome was their lack of attention to the redistributive implications of recognition. Together with attention to the fractured nature of the Vietnamese state, engaging directly with issues of redistribution may allow LGBT activists to further advance the politics of recognition at the same time as they redefine the contours of civil society and activism in contemporary Vietnam. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:58:07Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-ace827279db0413e80a42308aa6aca02 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1868-1034 1868-4882 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:58:07Z |
publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
publisher | SAGE Publishing |
record_format | Article |
series | Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
spelling | doaj.art-ace827279db0413e80a42308aa6aca022022-12-22T04:38:57ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs1868-10341868-48822022-12-014110.1177/18681034221108748From “Social Evils” to “Human Beings”: Vietnam's LGBT Movement and the Politics of RecognitionPham Quynh PhuongSince 2008, non-governmental organisations and other civil society organisations have helped to transform the image of Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Vietnam. Their efforts reached a peak in 2014 when Vietnam became the first country in Asia to debate the issue of same-sex marriage in the national parliament. Yet, the outcome of the debate remained was ambiguous, with same-sex marriage being neither illegal nor recognised by the state. This paper explores the tactics and strategies of LGBT activists as they campaigned for recognition of same-sex marriage. It argues that a key factor in the “in-between” outcome was their lack of attention to the redistributive implications of recognition. Together with attention to the fractured nature of the Vietnamese state, engaging directly with issues of redistribution may allow LGBT activists to further advance the politics of recognition at the same time as they redefine the contours of civil society and activism in contemporary Vietnam.https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034221108748 |
spellingShingle | Pham Quynh Phuong From “Social Evils” to “Human Beings”: Vietnam's LGBT Movement and the Politics of Recognition Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
title | From “Social Evils” to “Human Beings”: Vietnam's LGBT Movement and the Politics of Recognition |
title_full | From “Social Evils” to “Human Beings”: Vietnam's LGBT Movement and the Politics of Recognition |
title_fullStr | From “Social Evils” to “Human Beings”: Vietnam's LGBT Movement and the Politics of Recognition |
title_full_unstemmed | From “Social Evils” to “Human Beings”: Vietnam's LGBT Movement and the Politics of Recognition |
title_short | From “Social Evils” to “Human Beings”: Vietnam's LGBT Movement and the Politics of Recognition |
title_sort | from social evils to human beings vietnam s lgbt movement and the politics of recognition |
url | https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034221108748 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT phamquynhphuong fromsocialevilstohumanbeingsvietnamslgbtmovementandthepoliticsofrecognition |