ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the impact of the law on the sexual citizenship among LGBTQ+ young adults in Singapore and Australia, countries that inherited harsh anti-sodomy laws from the British during processes of colonisation. In Australia, same-sex sexual practices were eventually decriminalised in all jurisdictions in 1997 and marriage equality was enacted at the end of 2017. In Singapore, male same-sex activity remained a crime under s 377A of the Penal Code, although the section is rarely enforced. Despite recent progress, LGBTQ+ persons in Singapore, and to some extent Australia continue to experience limited sexual citizenship. Using data from two interview-based studies, this chapter argues while legal reform is crucial in securing access to health, education and employment, some rethinking of structural and community-level factors, including the material and discursive impacts of race, economic opportunity and climate change, is needed to support more inclusive forms of social participation, sexual citizenship and flourishing.
