Episode Overview

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Pavan Mano
Guest: Vincent Pak (Assistant Lecturer, School of English, University of Hong Kong)
Book Discussed: Queer Correctives: Discursive Neo-homophobia, Sexuality and Christianity in Singapore (Bloomsbury, 2025)
Date: October 3, 2025

Main Theme:
An in-depth discussion with Vincent Pak about his new monograph, which examines how contemporary Christianity in Singapore, particularly through the organization TrueLove Is, navigates and reshapes discourses around sexuality and same-sex desire. The episode explores key theoretical frameworks such as the motif of the "line," truth-telling, discursive metanoia, and the emergence of "neo-homophobia" within distinct local and global contexts.

Author Background & Book Genesis

• Vincent Pak’s Trajectory ([01:54])

  • Raised and educated in Singapore; PhD via joint NUS/King's College London program.
  • Originally interested in feminist theory (Judith Butler, etc.) and gradually shifted to focus on sexuality.
  • Professes a disciplinary “identity crisis”: trained as a linguist but works at the intersection of sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, and discourse studies, focusing on gender and sexuality.

• Genesis of Queer Correctives

  • Initial inspiration in 2018 during undergrad, as TrueLove Is began operations.
  • Early research aspirations postponed due to resource/training limitations; undergrad thesis focused on Singaporean gay men’s coming out narratives.
  • Graduate research focused on religious sexual minorities (Christians, Catholics, some Muslims and others), with the ethnographic fieldwork complicated by COVID-19 restrictions.
  • Dissertation evolved into this monograph; original title "Homecoming Queer" changed to "Queer Correctives" for uniqueness ([07:15]).

  “I decided to rewrite some parts of the dissertation to package it as a monograph. And that's how it happened.” (C, 07:10)

Key Theoretical Motifs: The "Line" and Sexuality

The "Line" as Conceptual Motif

• William Hogarth & Lines ([09:13])

  • Influenced by reading in aesthetics and queer theory (references to Sarah Ahmed and Yi-Fu Tuan).
  • The straight line—versus the curve—used to theorize sexual orientation: both the word "straight" (heterosexual normativity) and the underlying cultural bias toward linearity and order.

  “We assume sexuality to be straight and any other sort of deviation is seen as abnormal or unwanted in some way.” (C, 16:25)

• Audience Engagement Exercise ([16:41])

  • Pak would ask people to draw a line; most draw it straight, revealing the default association of line = "straight" (both geometrically and sexually).

  “I would just say to draw a line on the paper. And then the next instruction would be to draw a straight line. And more often than not, I think most people draw straight lines for both instructions.” (C, 16:45)

• Key Insight:

  • The “ontology of lines” as culturally and metaphysically invested in straightness; deviations prompt corrective impulses—mapped to efforts to "correct" non-normative sexualities.

Case Study: "TrueLove Is" and the Formation of the Queer Sinner

Who/What Is TrueLove Is? ([20:00])

• Non-denominational Christian ministry affiliated with Singapore’s 316Church.

• Became publicly active in 2018, focusing on social media testimonial videos.

• Videos feature "storytellers" describing how they “overcame” same-sex desires by aligning with Christian/biblical teachings.

• While denying "conversion therapy," TrueLove Is walks a line between condemning and outwardly supporting LGBTQ individuals, advocating "love" and "acceptance" but ultimately promoting celibacy and transformation.

  “When that video first came up, it really became quite popular because a lot of Singaporeans latched on... as evidence of modern day conversion therapy.” (C, 20:41)

• Current Strategy: Fewer testimonies, more Instagram/Facebook posts offering biblically-framed motivational content ([23:00]).

"Same-Sex Desire" as Terminology ([24:33])

• Chosen to shift emphasis from identity labels (gay, lesbian) to focus on desire itself—a more fluid and less reified frame ([24:33]).

The "Queer Sinner" ([25:20])

• Pak’s analytic category; not TrueLove Is’ own term.

• Draws from their construction of an "in-group" identity: "Christians with unwanted same sex attraction."

• The "queer sinner" is the narrative foil—the person with same-sex desires/addictions they claim to have left behind.

  “The queer sinner is debtfoil. It's an explicit identity category that comprises... traits or characteristics... addictive behavior and... same sex indulgences... constructed rather than innate.” (C, 26:40)

• Motif of Transformation: Testimonials showcase movement from "queer sinner" (lost, addicted) to "Christian with unwanted same sex attraction" (redeemed, striving, celibate).

Story Structure: Chronotopes and Affect

Applying Bakhtin’s Chronotope ([29:00])

• Analysis zooms out to examine narrative structure in the testimonials.

• Most follow a clear chronology: troubled childhood/youth → traumatic event → adulthood → conversion → present day self.

• Rearrangement of temporal elements (“chronotopes”) changes affective engagement and audience interpretation.

  “...when these elements are shifted around, it sort of changes the kind of excitement or sadness that we feel at different parts of the story. And that has an impact on... meaning making processes.” (C, 32:47)

Truth-Telling & Discursive Metanoia

Truth-Telling ([35:32])

• Rooted in Foucault’s work: confession as a Western ritual, adapted in modern forms (public apologies, testimony, political scandal).

• Focuses on the verbalization element—not just doing/silence, but speaking one’s (prescribed) truth as an act with performative power.

  “There is a difference between truth telling and truth doing, and both are sort of ways to extract the truth from oneself. But I wanted to focus on truth telling because of the element of verbalization.” (C, 37:28)

Discursive Metanoia ([38:53])

• Drawn from Christian (and Foucaultian) ideas of metanoia—spiritual change/transformation.

• Pak theorizes "discursive metanoia" as a mediated, linguistic process: transformation is enacted through confessional performance, aligning self with doctrine.

• Tied to the public/private politics of confession and transformation in TrueLove Is.

  “Foucault argues that truth telling... involves a rupture in our identity. It involves an externalization of... sins... and that primes us for that sort of change and transformation.” (C, 40:10)

Singaporean Context ([41:02])

• Examines how state and church sometimes align in Singapore to uphold a heteronormative status quo.

• Historic episodes such as the "AWARE saga" and the "Love Singapore" prayer walks exemplify church-state synergy in disciplining sexuality.

  “There seems to be... a desire for certain groups of people to align themselves with the more, I guess, conservative social policies of Singapore, where heterosexuality is still the norm and still celebrated.” (C, 44:33)

• "Discursive metanoia" flourishes amid these conditions: change is expected to be individual and internal, thus privatizing responsibility and depoliticizing structural homophobia.

Terminological Distinctions: Homophobia, Neo-homophobia, Anti-queer, Queer Animus ([45:28])

• Homophobia: The broad phenomenon of anti-LGBTQ sentiment/behavior.

• Neo-homophobia:

  • A subset, marked by subtlety and covert tactics.
  • Less overt condemnation; shifts onus onto the individual to change—aligns with neoliberal processes.

  “…the prefix of neo I think was to highlight that shift in discursive tactics… anti queer sentiment has been individualized.” (C, 47:15)

• Anti-queer, queer animus: Related but serve to describe nuance and avoid repetition.

  “I do subsume neo homophobia as a subset of homophobia, but I use the prefix neo to mark that resurgence, but also emergence of a new form of homophobia that is not quite as recognizable as what we used to see in the past…” (C, 46:09)

Closing and Future Directions ([49:07])

• Academic Project:
  Pak plans to pivot from sexuality studies toward research on AI companions—specifically, how users and bots co-construct intimacy and identity through language.

  “I’m sort of quite taken by... how chatbots are used to generate these characters that users can relate to and have some sort of a relationship with.” (C, 49:32)

• Non-academic Project:
  Intent to indulge more in horror films and games—possibly as inspiration for academic inquiry into the genre ([50:18]).

Notable Quotes

• “We assume sexuality to be straight and any other sort of deviation is seen as abnormal or unwanted in some way.” (C, 16:25)
• “The queer sinner is debtfoil. It's an explicit identity category that comprises... addictive behavior and... same sex indulgences... constructed rather than innate.” (C, 26:40)
• “There seems to be... a desire for certain groups of people to align themselves with the more, I guess, conservative social policies of Singapore, where heterosexuality is still the norm and still celebrated.” (C, 44:33)
• “I do subsume neo homophobia as a subset of homophobia, but I use the prefix neo to mark that resurgence, but also emergence of a new form of homophobia that is not quite as recognizable as what we used to see in the past…” (C, 46:09)

Important Timestamps

• [01:54] - Vincent Pak’s academic background and research trajectory
• [04:16] - Origin of the research project and book’s conceptual development
• [09:13] - The motif of the “line” in theorizing sexuality
• [16:41] - Audience exercise revealing cultural assumptions about "straightness"
• [20:00] - Introduction to TrueLove Is and their testimonies
• [25:20] - Formation and analysis of the “queer sinner” identity
• [29:00] - Application of the chronotope and narrative structure analysis
• [35:32] - Discussion of truth-telling and its confessional implications
• [38:53] - Theorization of discursive metanoia as spiritual transformation through discourse
• [41:44] - The operation of these discourses within Singaporean sociopolitical context
• [45:28] - Delineating “homophobia,” “neo-homophobia,” and related terms
• [49:07] - Pak’s upcoming academic and non-academic projects

Overall Tone and Style

The conversation is intellectually rich, reflective, and often lightly humorous (noting, for example, William Hogarth’s dog named Trump and banter about motivational quotes). Pak offers candid insights about both the rigors of academic identity and the nuances of his book’s subject matter. The tone is both approachable and rigorous, making complex theory accessible without sacrificing depth.

For further reading: Queer Correctives: Discursive Neo-homophobia, Sexuality and Christianity in Singapore is out now with Bloomsbury Academic.