Homophobia refers to the opposition towards the LGBT community and may be expressed as antipathy, discrimination and hatred. Homophobia is prominent in its oppression by governments and societies, and relates closely to the concept of sociological imagination by Mills, where there is a “connection between personal troubles and social structures” (Byrm & Lie 2007, p.7). It appears that society plays a fundamental role in imposing the conventional gender roles such that heterosexual relationships are perceived as the norm, while homosexual relationships are the anomie and threaten the social structures already set in stone.
The legal prohibition on homosexual activity and same-sex marriage is aligned with Weber’s theory of a transient power. The government serves as the authority which dominates the society and imposes “rule-bound constraints on the conduct of others”
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This indicates the relevance of Foucault’s theory of power, through institutional power whereby the people act as “agents” who “exercise self-discipline and restraint”, and adheres to the societal expectations (Allen 2004, p. 38). This is further propagated by PM Lee Hsien Loong, who previously mentioned that any form of homosexual inclinations would invariably subvert the “framework of a stable family unit”. This is also in line with Durkheim’s functionalist theory in which “human behavior is governed by stable patterns of social relations, or social structures” - the conservative societal belief that a family traditionally comprises a man and a woman (Byrm & Lie 2007, p.13). Religions within Singapore are also intolerant of homosexuality and denounce them as sinful in religious laws, causing strong adherents to succumb to social pressure and follow religious conventional gender roles expected of