ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 global pandemic necessitated nationwide lockdowns in many countries and Singapore was no different, announcing an eight-week ‘circuit-breaker’ in the beginning of April 2020. When it ended, the Singaporean government announced that restrictions on physical interactions would be eased in three phases. In Phase 1, all physical interactions between households continued to be disallowed with exceptions made for visits to parents and grandparents so that families could provide mutual support to one another. This article argues the permissibility of certain interactions hierarchised social ties according to a heteronormative logic where heteronormative kinship structures were elevated above others – thus excluding multiple constituencies that either did not have access to these kinship structures or for whom they did not provide support. Reading this instantiation as part of a larger reification of the heterosexual nuclear family unit in Singapore, this article posits that the demonstrable inability of heteronormative kinship to fulfil everyone’s support needs signals the urgency of rethinking extant heteronormative foundations of kinship in Singapore. Queering kinship in this way extends the existing body of queer studies scholarship in Singapore which has largely focussed on the effects of heteronormativity on LGBT lives by demonstrating how heteronormativity shapes non-LGBT lives as well.

摘要

COVID-19 全球大流行迫使许多国家在全国范围内实施封锁，新加坡也不例外，在 2020 年 4 月初宣布了为期八周的“断路器”。结束时，新加坡政府宣布将限制身体互动分三个阶段缓解。在第一阶段，继续禁止家庭之间的所有身体互动，但探望父母和祖父母的例外情况除外，以便家庭可以相互支持。本文论证了某些互动的允许性根据异性恋逻辑对社会关系进行了分级，其中异性恋亲属结构高于其他结构——因此排除了多个选区，这些选区要么无法使用这些亲属结构，要么没有为其提供支持。将这一实例解读为新加坡异性恋核心家庭单位的更大具体化的一部分，本文认为异性恋亲属关系明显无法满足每个人的支持需求，这表明迫切需要重新思考新加坡现有的异性恋亲属关系基础。以这种方式酷儿亲属关系扩展了新加坡现有的酷儿研究奖学金体系，该奖学金主要通过展示异性恋如何塑造非 LGBT 生活来重点关注异性恋对 LGBT 生活的影响。本文假设异性恋亲属关系明显无法满足每个人的支持需求，这表明重新思考新加坡现存的异性恋亲属关系基础的紧迫性。以这种方式酷儿亲属关系扩展了新加坡现有的酷儿研究奖学金体系，该奖学金主要通过展示异性恋如何塑造非 LGBT 生活来重点关注异性恋对 LGBT 生活的影响。本文假设异性恋亲属关系明显无法满足每个人的支持需求，这表明重新思考新加坡现存的异性恋亲属关系基础的紧迫性。以这种方式酷儿亲属关系扩展了新加坡现有的酷儿研究奖学金体系，该奖学金主要通过展示异性恋如何塑造非 LGBT 生活来重点关注异性恋对 LGBT 生活的影响。