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Article published In:
Pink Dot: Discursive Formations, Constructions, and Contestations
Edited by Adi Saleem Bharat, Pavan Mano and Robert Phillips
[Journal of Language and Sexuality 10:2] 2021
► pp. 129–156

Disarming as a tactic of resistance in Pink Dot

| King’s College London , UK

Pink Dot is an annual rally in support of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people in Singapore. In a country where many prefer to avoid overt displays of dissent, Pink Dot has gained significant popular support. In this article, I explore how it has done so. Through a close multimodal analysis focusing on the use of colour, layout, and typography in a Pink Dot 2017 flyer, I demonstrate how these features work together in the Singaporean context to realize meanings of positivity, warmth, and inclusivity whilst simultaneously de-emphasizing notions of claiming rights. I argue Pink Dot discursively attenuates the potentially discordant elements of its message and marshals this apparent neutrality to gather support for its ostensibly depoliticized message – a process that I term disarming. It is an assimilationist strategy deliberately made for Singapore’s particular sociopolitical context and it has proven effective in securing mass popular support amongst Singaporeans.

Keywords: Pink Dot, Singapore, LGBT, resistance, queer activism, assimilation, politics of sexuality, multimodal discourse
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Singapore, Speakers’ Corner, and Pink Dot
    • 1.2Pink Dot and resistance through assimilation
  • 2.Theoretical approach: Undertaking a multimodal analysis
    • 2.1Multimodality: A brief background
    • 2.2Analytical framework
  • 3.A multimodal analysis of a Pink Dot 2017 flyer
    • 3.1Semiotics of colour
      • 3.1.1Value
      • 3.1.2Saturation
      • 3.1.3Purity
      • 3.1.4Modulation
      • 3.1.5Differentiation
      • 3.1.6Hue
    • 3.2Semiotics of typography
      • 3.2.1Weight
      • 3.2.2Expansion
      • 3.2.3Slope
      • 3.2.4Curvature
      • 3.2.5Connectivity
      • 3.2.6Orientation
      • 3.2.7Regularity
    • 3.3Layout and information structure
  • 4.Contextualizing Pink Dot’s discursive attenuation
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 16 July 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jls.20008.man
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