The latest Superman film is shockingly dated. Despite the many technological advances made in the FX department (surely, this is one of the best-looking and realistic in the series) and the shakiest camerawork we’ve seen in a superhero movie (The Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield, anyone?), there is not much new here. What made the older films so charming, especially the ‘70s and ‘80s originals, were their believable lo-fi aesthetics (groundbreaking then) and Christopher Reeves, who had the acting smarts to make his Clark Kent memorable.
I Will Survive by Leow Yangfa
Nearly 300 pages worth of personal gay encounters and coming out stories that will not only move you, but jolt you out of your mundane existence.
The InvisibleManuscript by Alfian Sa’at
If you think his political commentaries were sharp, wait till you get a load of his poems. Sa’at reveals all with this set of quietly devastating paeans to transient gay love, culled from his current and previous relationships.
Scattered Vertebrae by Jerrold Yam
Yam’s “coming out poems” densely trace the uncertainties of a gay childhood and all its insecurities—the perfect place to start for the uninitiated.
Straws, Sticks, Bricks by Cyril Wong
Wong’s latest call to arms fl ow more like fractured narratives than they do poems, with brilliant observations of the true nature of desire.
Tender Delirium by Tania De Rozario
Funny and biting, Rozario’s matter-of-act recollections of past love and crushes will resonate with many Gen Y-ers.
Free Community Church
#03-00 Century Technology Building,
56 Lorong 23 Geylang,
A Christian church that welcomes individuals of all backgrounds, including sexual orientation.
Oogachaga
41A Mosque Street, 6226-2002,
Community organization that provides counselling and support to LGBT individuals.
Pelangi Pride Centre
#03-00 Century Technology Building,
56 Lorong 23 Geylang. 9134-3466,
An GLBTQ resource center with a library on LGBT themes. Operates every Saturday 2-6pm.
People Like Us
A group that focuses on advocacy and public education.
SAFE Singapore
A group started by parents, families and friends of LGBTQ individuals to support, affi rm and empower families.
Sayoni
An organization dedicated to empower and support Asian queer women through its website and regular meet ups.
SGRainbow
An online platform for young gay and bisexual men with offl ine activities conducted in safe social settings.
Let’s not mince words: it ain’t always easy being gay in Singapore. It isn’t even easy writing about anything gay here. At times it seems as if everyone knows what’s going on, yet no-one’s quite sure what’ll happen if they come out and say it. A case of the Emperor’s—or better yet the Queen’s—New Clothes.
Recently, though, the chorus of people willing to say something has become, if not necessarily more vocal than their predecessors, then at least easier to hear. People partying, people protesting, people putting on empowering plays, people challenging long-standing laws—and not being shut down like perhaps they would have been before. Given that the long-received wisdom about Singapore has been that it’s anything but gay-friendly, that’s a truly astonishing turn-around.
So while there’s still a way to go, rather than turn in a term-paper on the battles fought and still to come, we thought a tour of the frontline was in order. How has this change come about? Why now? And what evidence is there for progress?
1. Pink Dot gets bigger and bigger every year.
Last year’s rally for inclusivity, Pink Dot, was—say the organizers— attended by more than 15,000 people (a huge leap from the inaugural edition in 2009 which pulled in just 2,500), with even more expected at this year’s edition, taking place this weekend (June 29) at Hong Lim Park. It’s sponsored by giants like Google, Barclays and—this year—J.P. Morgan, Park Royal Hotel and more. Now that’s mainstream.
Pink Dot spokesperson Paerin Choa thinks that all of this speaks to the fact “that things are changing, and that more and more open-minded Singaporeans are willing to speak up for issues that they care about”. He points out that, “Pink Dot has never been just a ‘gay thing’. It provides a platform for anyone who wants a more open-minded and inclusive Singapore to make a stand, regardless of his or her own sexual orientation.”
What to expect from this year’s event? Choa says that as well as “a community tent, where visitors can mingle with our many community and support groups,” there’ll be “performances from notable local names including acapella group Vocaluptuous, singers Joanna Dong and Wayne Sandosham, indie band Typewriter and dance group Vogeulicious."
2. Mainstream venues are putting on gay nights.
It was 30 years ago that landmark disco venue Niche opened here, allowing same sex dancing for the first time. And despite a bumpy ride along the way (it was as recently as 2005 that the Nation V open air dance parties were banned), it’s no longer unusual to find gay nights at mainstream venues. Uber-cool CBD club Kyo recently introduced a new gay night, which takes place every Sunday. "It's a night where everyone can just let their hair down, be themselves and just have fun," says Kyo's creative manager Sharmaine Khoo. That follows hot on the heels of Broadcast HQ’s popular Mercury Rising which launched late last year and was explicitly billed as “not a ‘friendly’ or ‘pink’ or ‘happy’ night—it’s a gay night”. (That was on Facebook, which has allowed venues to be far more forthright in their marketing than ever before.) Interestingly, one person convinced things are looking up is Stuart Koe, founder of pioneering personals website Fridae.com (which was behind the Nation V parties). He thinks that, “For the most part, it is good to be gay in Singapore. We’ve got options, we’ve got outlets, and we’ve got a community that is growing in size and diversity… I’d argue that the positives outweigh the negatives.”
3. Gay plays are selling out.
Got an evening free in July? Then head on over to LASALLE College of the Arts, where from 3-20 July you can watch a restaging of local playwright Alfian Sa’at’s early work Dreamplay: Asian Boys Vol. 1, a campy gaycentric comedy about “a goddess on a heroic mission to earth to save gay men from themselves” (and we’re just quoting the press release here!). That’s if you can get a ticket.
This year already has seen packed stalls for W!ld Rice’s version of The Importance of Being Earnest back in April, which featured an all-male cast and was filled with subtle homosexual innuendo. Indeed, theater company W!ld Rice (where Sa’at is Resident Playwright), and its Founding Artistic Director Ivan Heng, have been behind some of the boldest and most provocative works here; including a performance of the famously camp La Cage Aux Folles at the Esplanade Theatre last summer.
It’s not all plain sailing, however. Heng (who’s also a spokesperson for this year’s Pink Dot), came out in an interview with the Straits Times last month, but believes he’s had it easier than others. “I am lucky to work in theater where there is an understanding and acceptance of difference. But I know of many creative and talented people who have left Singapore, carrying the burden of being in the closet,” he says.
4. You can buy a gay magazine.
Well, so long as you have your iPad, that is. Gay-themed online magazine Element, which published its first issue in April of this year and is billed as the “voice of gay Asia,” is the city’s first since Manazine ceased publication in 2005 and suggests the open-mindedness encouraged by the likes of Pink Dot and Wild Rice might be taking root. “Our vision for the publication is to challenge the negative stereotypical perception towards the LGBT community as well as LGBT lifestyle publications by creating inspiring, healthy and intellectual content that will address the social issues facing the community,” says Managing Director Hiro Mizuhara.
There’s still a degree to which they’re hedging their bets. Although Mizuhura insists, “There is no nudity… but only stories promoting the various social issues which are in the agenda of the Media Development Authority (MDA) or other governmental organizations,” the magazine is hosted on a US server and is available only in digital form (from the Apple App Store and Google Play), not in print. A spokesperson for the MDA confirms that in recognition of the “borderless nature of the internet” they have “opted for a pragmatic and light-touch approach to Internet regulation” and that “online magazines like Element do not need to be licensed under the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act.”
The magazine now has over 9,000 local subscribers, with its second issue just out, and has attracted advertisers including local superclub Avalon and menswear label Paul Smith. However you cut it, that’s progress.
5. There’s some serious queer literary talent (even if you don’t know it).
Independent publishers like Math Paper Press have put out an impressive array of gay literature in recent years, among them Leow Yangfa’s I Will Survive, which features real-life accounts of LGBT experiences and was launched last month at the Books Actually store.
“The response has been fantastic,” says publisher Kenny Leck. “What we observed is that casual browsers and regular readers understand that a good book has been published, and want to read it and are buying it. We’d like to print even more copies, and sell even more of it. Make it the bestseller of all bestsellers. The idea is to share the stories, ideas and perspectives.”
Leow himself sounds a note of caution. “Although it is possible to publish works with LGBT content here, it is still hard to get government funding or mainstream media coverage,” he says. “For example, you will never see a LGBT segment at the Singapore Writers Festival, even though there are plenty of openly queer writers with queer sensibilities featured every year writing queer stuff . Similarly, none of the people in the mainstream media even want to talk to me about the book.” To which we say, thank goodness for non-mainstream media!
6. Even (some) politicians think the laws are out of date.
Legal analysis? Don’t switch off just yet—we’ll keep it brief. The biggest sticking point in any debate about “progress” is the continued existence of Section 377A of the Penal Code (a colonial legacy, which prohibits any form of sexual activity between two men, both in public or private spaces). The hetero equivalent—banning “unusual sex”—was repealed in 2007.
Critics, unsurprisingly, argue keeping it on the books is discriminatory. Among them, perhaps more surprisingly, MP Baey Yam Keng, from the People’s Action Party, who thinks it ought to be changed. “While almost all Western countries do not have similar laws, we will argue that it is not relevant for us to take reference from them. However, we are also choosing not to benchmark Singapore against countries like China, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines which do not have laws that criminalize male sexual activity,” he says. Although he adds that there is no real urgency yet for the government to repeal it right away.
So although the social line may be rather non-committal (in January, PM Lee was also quoted as saying, “Why is that law on the books? Because it's always been there and I think we just leave it") it’s not a stretch to think change might be coming. “If it takes another 20 years or so, it might be too long, so hopefully within the decade,” says Baey.
7. Plenty of people seem to agree.
In fact, local couple Gary Lim and Kenneth Chee are currently challenging the constitutionality of 377A; though their case won’t be heard in the Court of Appeal till the end of the year. This isn’t the first time such a challenge has been lodged (in 2010 another was—rather ironically—dismissed for “lack of a real controversy”), but social media could make this one a game changer. The couple has already raised more than US$100,000 for their cause through crowd-funding platform Indiegogo, twice the amount that they had hoped for.
“We have faced discrimination in school, the army and at the workplace,” says Lim. “People can’t understand what they don’t know and the status quo here is that LGBT issues are not frankly discussed and portrayed. However, globalization and the advent of digital and social media have fostered a shift in societal perceptions."
“The city loses a lot of face internationally by dint of having these anti-gay laws,” says local playwright Ng Yi-Sheng, author of gay poetry anthology Last Boy. “Some gay people are scared to work or travel here just because they've heard about the anti-gay laws.”
Others, including Fridae.com’s Stuart Koe, think it’s only a matter of time before the law is repealed. “I believe most of the government considers it a dead law, save a few conservative individuals. It’s not a question of if it will happen, but rather when.”
8. And the government is adopting a lighter approach.
Exactly what the government thinks of all this is hard to discern; though the fact that it’s happening at all speaks volumes. Lee Kuan Yew has himself questioned why we criminalize what is simply a “genetic variation”. But the laissez-faire approach makes it hard to point to concrete advances.
Almost everyone we spoke to cited the MDA’s guidelines regarding representations of homosexuality in the media as a big stumbling block. “[They] only allow for negative portrayals of LGBT people to be shown in mainstream media, so Singaporeans don’t get to see us as the regular folk that we are,” says Alan Seah, LGBT activist and member of Pink Dot. Sam Ho, a straight activist for the transgender community in Singapore, who formed the LGBT ally group SinQSA, finds it frustrating that “we have celebrations of straightness being blasted on all of our media platforms” with far fewer positive representations of gay life. He goes on, “Heck, even the National Day Parade, probably the most watched local production, is a celebration of straightness.”
The regulations, though, are not what they once were. In the past, content guidelines grouped “alternative lifestyles,” including homosexuality, alongside some rather wild practices (“worship of the occult or the devil” anyone?). Small wonder they had a bad rep. But an MDA spokesperson tells us that they “regularly review” their policies to ensure they are “in line with… community standards and mores” and they will not “seek to defend a status quo when the community has moved past it.” That approach is reflected in their new TV content guidelines, which came into effect in December. Now homosexuality is treated as “mature content” which will “generally attract an NC16 or M18 rating.” By contrast, the guidelines for imported publications (in force since 2009) still prohibit magazines that “encourage, promote or glamorize sexually permissive and alternative lifestyles” (defined as including sexual activity involving persons of the same gender). Local magazines meanwhile—including this one—are largely self-regulated (this story hasn’t been pre-vetted, for example); we’re instead expected to be “responsible in [our] reporting and… [take] into consideration societal norms and cultural sensitivities.”
So, while there’s a whiff of self-contradiction across the various policies, there’s no doubt the situation is evolving and it’s unrealistic to expect blanket change over night. On balance, we think credit is due to the government for the moves it has made of late in this direction.
9. There’s more to come.
Pink Dot is just the icing on the cake. The team from Element will also be holding its first Asia Pink Awards later this year, honoring F&B, travel and fashion players across Asia that are “truly gay-friendly and contributed to the community,” says Managing Director Hiro Mizuhara, and the annual Indignation will also be taking place Aug 3-31 across various venues like theater space 72-13 and the Singapore Botanic Gardens, featuring live music performances, talks and film screenings including Gen Silent, about ageing LGBTs in the US.
And as for clubbing beyond Kyo’s new night, veteran DJ George Leong is still packing in the crowds with his new Sunday gay nights Salvation at Dream, which appeals not just to the gay community, as well as new gay bar OUT Bar, which features live cabaret performances. “These events are testament that LGBTs should just be themselves and walk with their heads held high,” says Kyo's Sharmaine Khoo. "Integrate and contribute to society. Fall in love in the sunlight, not the shadows."
Codeacademy.com
Don’t have any programming knowledge? Get some from this really intuitive (and free) online school.
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
Required reading at the RedMart office, it really demonstrates the importance of delivering a ‘wow’ experience to your customers.
Outgrow.me
This is the first online marketplace for inventions that have been successfully funded via Kickstarter or Indiegogo—a great way to check if someone’s already monetized your “great idea”.
The Social Network
The blockbuster starring Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake offers entertaining insight into the makings of a billion dollar startup, which in this case is Facebook.
Thelist.sg
Run by SGEntrepreneurs writer Kristine Lauria (krissymo.com), this is an immensely useful online calendar of events in Singapore, mostly free and tech startup related.
Asana
Used by the teams at Dropbox, Pinterest and Uber, this virtual shared task list (available on Android, iTunes and the web) cuts down management time by allowing you to set and view assignments by project and team member.
Github
A collaboration and management tool that’s specifically designed for coding projects.
Hootsuite
Luxola uses the friendly Hootsuite interface to schedule posts on Facebook and Twitter, and analyze response.
Line
The startup community’s gone way beyond Whatsapp and for good reason. Line (available on Android, iTunes and on the web) is a messaging service developed in Japan that features free voice calls and interactive stickers.
Here are the top releases owners of the next-gen consoles out this month in the USA (and at a dodgy MBK or Pantip shop near you) will be craving this Christmas.
Phablets, which sit somewhere between a smartphone and tablet, are a pretty niche category. The Samsung Note 3 does fit in your jeans pocket, but not comfortably or discreetly. The tradeoff is a...
Let’s face it: the only waves that pack a punch here are of the heat variety. But with world class breaks a short flight away in Bali, surely some of us are surfing? Since International Surfing Day (June 21) is just around the corner, we decided to ask the President of the Surfing Association of Singapore, Nazir Salleh, about the state of the scene here.
How’s the popularity of the sport these days?
We have seen a steady trend of young local Singaporeans and expats taking our surfing classes [and] can see that the sport will grow in years to come. We think that part of the interest has to do with the opening of Wavehouse Sentosa (see wavehousentosa. com for updates on future classes). That’s really a nice place to hang out and enjoy the artificial surf—the best we can have here.
What are some of the difficulties you face?
Surfing is not a mainstream sport here and this has been our biggest challenge. Having an association in a country where there is no surfing culture is never going to be easy. There is so much work to be done and funding seems to be our main problem. But we’re trying to start our own Singaporean Surfing league outside Singapore just for our local surfers in spots around the region.
What are your thoughts on the future of surfing here?
It’s growing, slowly but surely. We now have around 800 members on our Facebook page and that is a good sign. We have more events in the pipeline for locals and expats to come together and create a surfing contest for beginners and experienced surfers. Whether you’re young or old, surfing is a sport for everyone.
Think you've got what it takes? Check out where to get the hottest surf boards in Singapore.
Boxing has become quite a hit among ladies looking to get fit ‘n firm, and now there are more welcoming, gym-like boxing venues popping up around town.
I am a product of pop culture... TV, books, movies, soundtracks, magazines and websites. I am definitely a part of the jacked-in, 24-hour, constant buzzing of things that scream “YOU MUST DO THIS!”
I like to hear about the underdogs, people who were so determined with their vision and idea that they were able to overcome naysayers to turn their idea into reality.
When I was a teenager, computer hacking was still in its infancy. We used to hack phone company calling cards so we could call long distance for free and also pirate computer games. One was considered elite if they could distribute a game within three days of its release. I was elite.
Like any Chinese kid in America, I was forced to take piano lessons and also sent to Chinese nursery school to make sure we wouldn’t lose touch with that side of our roots.
I need quite a lot of alone time. It was a shock moving to Singapore where it seems like people can never spend a minute away from another person.
My favorite feeling is when you look at your appointment book and the whole day is clear. I don’t know why people are always trying to fill their days with things to do.
I dreamed about working as a Disney Imagineer. They’re the guys that figure out how to make all these fantasy lands into reality. How to make the rides, how to make the smell of fresh baked cookies drift down Main Street, and essentially how to engineer every moment of your vacation.
When Tanuki Raw was under construction, I put up a sign that said “Media Preview” and had my wedding on the balcony. Everyone had to walk through the rubble of the interior.
Things to do with feet or shoes gross me out. If I touch my shoes I have to wash my hands, so I wash hands every time I put my shoes on. I had a roommate that used to run long distance every day. One day he came back after a run, took off his shoes, took off his socks, and then put his sock in his mouth to keep his hands free to do something else. I felt like throwing up.
Back in university I was dating a black girl and she took me to this reggae club. Everyone else there was black and over six feet three inches tall. The style of dancing was to jump up and hit the ceiling with your palm. I did not fit in no matter how hard I tried.
In order to have time for love, you need to have money. That may be the most depressing thing I have ever said. Money buys you freedom which you can use to spend time together, explore new things and help minimize day-today stresses.
The meaning of life is found at the bottom of a just-emptied beer glass. You may need to empty a few before you find it.
It's no secret that Singapore has, in the last couple of years, become something of an Asian hub for startups, thanks to a combination of a tech-savvy population, comparatively easy access to funding and a quality of life (and yes, favorable tax rates) that attracts overseas talent and investors. The Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) recently called for a major review of its initiatives and barely a week goes by now without the announcement of another big buy-out of some young upstart (you can read all about this year's acquisitions at local tech and innovation blog e27.co). But what's really going on behind the million-dollar headlines? What do the successful startups have in common? Is it hype and hot air or hard work and honest labor? And what can you learn from them if you're thinking of starting up yourself? (Aside from the need to kit your office out with ping pong tables.) We spoke to more than a dozen of the biggest names in the scene to find out.
1. Be great at more than one thing.
If you’re a multi-instrumentalist who writes songs for a living, you might be an amazing musician. And if you clock in more than 48 hours of coding a week across languages, you might be an amazing hacker. But if the goal is to found a startup, be prepared to be a jack of all trades. Advice from Derek Tan, co-founder of the fastexpanding indie film streaming platform Viddsee: “Don’t limit yourself to just being an artist or a programmer. I’m trained as an engineer, but I make films.” That said, it doesn’t matter what kind of million-dollar idea you have—having some programming knowledge is key (see video by Code.org). “I didn’t start off as a programmer; I was from business school,” says Bryan Lee, co-founder of Intraix (a nifty home energy management system). “I learnt iOS programming from my team because it’s important to have some basic programming skills so that if it comes down to it, you can create your own product easily. Outsourcing creates a lot of problems. It’s OK to know less, as long as you know some.”
2. Three's a company.
Many of the companies we spoke to at the recent startup open house event Walkabout SG, described their first few months of work as being an excruciatingly painful experience. Intraix’s Lee even went so far as to say he wouldn’t want to do it again. “It’s a very tough process. You need to find a good partner. Two minds working together is fine, but three’s better because then you always have someone there to break up an argument or keep a discussion on track,” he says. It seems this formula works across the board—some of the most talkedabout startups in Singapore today, including mobile marketplace Carousell, online grocer RedMart and TaskAmigo, a Singapore-based task and errand platform, are run in threes.
3. Disrupt the status quo.
A good idea—or several—can sustain a business. But Singapore’s game changers have rather different aspirations. DropMySite founder John Fearon—whose company is one of the biggest local startup success stories—defines startups as businesses that are trying to change the status quo, and are prepared to move fast and break things (a line also popular with Mark Zuckerberg). His cloud backup solution for email and websites recently won funding of up to $250,000 from prominent global seed accelerator 500 Startups, and is targeting a valuation between $10-50 million, a number you'd associate with Silicon Valley, not Singapore.
4. Keep it simple.
That said, starting a revolution doesn’t need to be complicated. “Many people here are just going for the cool, sexy stuff like loyalty programs, coupons and special boxes—you know, premium style—instead of addressing the basic needs,” says Vinnie Lauria, founding partner of Singapore-based seed fund Golden Gate Ventures. “Basic services may not be attractive to get into, but for an investor, that’s the sexy stuff. I would love to invest in something that’s just straight up e-commerce; selling a product with a stated price to an end user. Every startup I see now spend too much time in fluffy stuff like flash sales. Stop it—just stick to the basics.”
Clearly, tough times are inevitable when you’re an entrepreneur, so it's important to avoid burning out or worse, giving up. Several Singapore startups have got this down pat. “When things get crazy, we try to remind people why they’re in a startup—to enjoy bigger and more immediate gratification for hard work—and to have fun,” says RedMart's CEO Roger Egan. “We also bought a Nespresso machine to celebrate our 1,000th customer, maintain a well-stocked pantry and throw monthly pizza parties.” The team at online beauty storeLuxola also goes the extra mile to have fun. According to their regional marketing director Camille Schu, the team goes on a treasure hunt slash pub crawl during Christmas time, and is moving into a big industrial space in June that will have all the works: couches in the lounge, makeup counters, ping pong tables and yoga mats.
Hugh Mason, CEO of one of Southeast Asia’s most successful seed accelerator programs JFDI.Asia, quotes emotional maturity and the willingness to put ego aside as key characteristics of a successful startup. He identifies “winners” not by their idea, but by how “coachable” they are. “We all have to take a few of life’s knocks to learn the lessons, me included!” he says. Vinnie Lauria reiterates this by saying that startups need to “not be full of themselves”. Humility is hard to measure, but many of the startups we spoke to, like Carousell and travel aggregator Flocations, used the term “flat hierarchy” in a matter of fact manner, insisting that everyone gets to express their ideas, which will all get a chance at execution. Roger Egan attributes much of Redmart’s success—they recently hit $3 million in annual revenue—to never thinking you know it all. “I’ve learnt that I have a lot I still don’t know in terms of being a CEO and that my team members are often the best source of learning,” he said.
7. Just get it done.
“Your idea may be brilliant, but it’s probably not as unique as you think. 10 other people may have already thought of your idea. The key to success is execution,” says Jamie Wang, the director of P2P car rental platformiCarsClub. Every other Singapore startup we spoke to agrees. Said Viddsee’s Tan, “Startup success is 5% idea and 95% execution.” And again, it doesn’t need to be too complicated. Lauria is surprised that so many people come to him with only an idea: “Entrepreneurs need to have built some form of prototype before expecting to pitch. It just needs to address the point they’re going after and can even be put together by some third-party service. It doesn’t even need to look nice."
Check out resources and apps recommended by Singapore's super startups.
