| Subject: Gay Culture in Singapore |
Author:
Eye
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Date Posted: 18:10:01 06/27/04 Sun
In reply to:
Critical mind
's message, "Sexuality...gender Issues, feminism, sex trade etc" on 18:06:56 06/27/04 Sun
I wonder how long it would take for Singapore to accept the gay community...
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4512226
Sun Mar 7, 2004 12:07 AM ET
By Sophie Hares
SINGAPORE (Reuters)
In the dark studio at Singapore's spiky-roofed Esplanade theatre, 200
people packed tightly on to benches to watch a witty and poignant
tale of gay life, love and loss being played out on a minimalist
stage.
The content would barely raise an eyebrow in New York, London or
Sydney, but the sell-out play featuring nudity and kissing signals
the tentative start to a more liberalised era in strait-laced
Singapore.
With its soaring skyline and high-tech living, Singapore has claimed
a place among the world's most modern cities, but government policy
and social mores in the wealthy, multi-cultural island state are
famously conservative.
There are signs, however, of low-key policy changes and budding
tolerance for a thriving gay community in a country whose censorship
laws are so strict that even brief glimpses of nudity are routinely
cut from commercial movie releases.
"The scene has blossomed over the past five or six years, as the
government has chosen to close one eye to the development of an
entertainment industry catering to the gay crowd," said Alex Au from
gay group People Like Us, which Singapore refuses to register as a
society.
Podium dancers, pumping music and muscular boys stripping off their
tops on packed dancefloors have long been a feature of busy gay clubs
around Singapore's Chinatown.
But now gay-oriented karaoke lounges, saunas, cafes and bars are
opening, and businesses are fast realising the so-called "pink
dollar" is a lucrative market waiting to be tapped.
Airlines, car and credit card firms, and property developers
promoting upmarket apartments have launched subtle marketing
strategies to court gays and lesbians, who are often perceived as
high-earners with plenty of disposable income.
Among the bolder signs of change are a growing calendar of plays with
themes of alternative lifestyles played out in mainstream venues such
as the new Esplanade theatre, nicknamed the "durian" for its
resemblance to the pungent, spiky fruit.
"The audiences do see in these plays the dilemma of what it means to
be gay in straight Singapore," said Ivan Heng, director
of "Landmarks: Asian Boys Vol.2", which opened at the theatre in
early February.
"There seems to be much more freedom than there used to be, but as
long as laws criminalise consensual acts between adults, it's still
got some way to go."
LEGAL HURDLE
Some now talk of Singapore usurping hedonistic Bangkok as Asia's gay
capital after the wealthy island hosted a dance party known
as "Nation" in August that drew nearly 5,000 people from around the
world, an event unimaginable just a few years ago.
"Singapore's a very functionalist society. I don't think it has
anything to do with issues of morality or anything like that," said
Charmaine Tan, 27.
"In the end, the issue of economics will always override everything
else."
Singapore quietly admitted last year that gay people could now be
employed in the civil service without fear of discrimination --
another move almost unthinkable in the past.
But while there may be encouraging signs of change, the gay community
in Singapore enjoys few of the freedoms of cities such as Sydney,
with its huge Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, or Amsterdam, where
same-sex couples may marry and adopt children.
And there are no signs it will remove controversial section 377A from
its Penal Code which says acts of "gross indecency" between two men
are punishable by up to two years in jail.
There are no laws specifically targeted at lesbians.
"I think the government could do a lot more in terms of being
courageous enough at least to invite debate on the issue," said one
gay man who declined to be identified.
"Saying things like it's too sensitive, or we are an Asian society,
are really euphemisms for intolerance."
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Hiding their sexuality from friends and work colleagues for fear of
recrimination is still par for the course for many gays and lesbians
in Singapore.
"Because Singapore is primarily Chinese, there's the issue of filial
piety, there's always the pressure to get married and perhaps it's
even more so in an Asian country," said Tan.
Resistance by gay organisations to the government's policies is
surprisingly passive as some fear outspoken protests could spark a
crackdown on the small concessions already won.
"Singaporeans as a whole are not a very vocal, politically inclined
bunch of people. Because they're not outspoken, there isn't the same
kind of backlash," said Stuart Koe, head of Fridae.com, which runs
Singapore's main gay and lesbian website.
"People aren't going to march on the streets. I don't think there's
ever going to be a gay pride march here in Singapore."
Despite the slow pace of change, many remain optimistic the
government will eventually be forced to make more concessions to the
gay community to bring Singapore into line with other modern states.
Although how long that takes, will be anyone's guess.
"When we see 50 percent of people under 30 have a gay friendly
attitude, we know that time is on our side. The biggest problem is
that this government doesn't answer to the people," said Au of People
Like Us.
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