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 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.