Negotiating Resistance/Resilience through the Nexus of Spirituality-Sexuality of Same-Sex Partnerships in Malaysia and Singapore

In this article the author explores the ways in which persons in same-sex partnerships experience “marriage” and how they negotiate the tension between this experience and their religiosity or spirituality. A qualitative analysis of narratives of same-sex partners shows how traditional notions of marriage and by extension, “family” as defined by cultures and religions are challenged by what is considered a “deviant” life choice and in doing so, re-imagines not only the meaning of marriage in religion but also religion in marriage. The author finds that familial resistance manifests in the hardening of boundaries between heterosexual and homosexual partnerships in families of persons in same-sex partnerships. Conversely, familial resilience manifests through acceptance of same-sex partnerships thus challenging the heteronormativity of doing family.