TNP: Rumours? She laughs them off (Jan 24)

Rumours? She laughs them off

Project Superstar 2's female winner finds judges' comments more stressful than crazy gossip PSST - did you hear the one about how Project Superstar 2 female champion Tan Diya and runner-up Carrie Teo got married in Las Vegas?

By Yeoh Wee Teck

24 January 2007

PSST - did you hear the one about how Project Superstar 2 female champion Tan Diya and runner-up Carrie Teo got married in Las Vegas?

Well, so did they. And the two friends laughed about it.

When asked to confirm the rumour, Diya let out a laugh.

She said: 'This is the craziest rumour I've heard about us.

'You know, we are so busy with rehearsals and training, where do I find the time to go to Las Vegas?'

The 22-year-old Nanyang Technological University mass communications student has no idea who started the rumour. And she doesn't really care.

'They're funny to read. In fact, Carrie and I read each other's forum (posts) all the time and laugh at them.'

Rumours can break a newcomer,
but Diya remains unfazed by them.

In fact, she has a good time reading speculation about herself online.

'It's funny. These are generally ren shen gong ji (attacks on the character). Like the ones that said I look like Ru Hua (a plain Taiwanese comedienne).'

Project Superstar 2 at first pits females against females and then males against males.

The eventual winners will battle it out at the finale, which will be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 4 Feb. The show will be aired live over Channel U at 7.30pm and the winner will win a recording deal with Warner Music.

Diya admitted that Carrie is a very good friend and that the intensity of their friendship, which started when they met during the competition, may have led to the rumour that they were more than friends. 'I'm not (gay), so it doesn't matter,' she said matter-of-factly.

While being mistaken for a lesbian doesn't bother her, some of the comments made about her by the judges left her 'completely stressed' and 'confused'.

'I'm naturally energetic, but when I'm performing they say I prance around like a monkey. But that's my personality, so I just try to strike a balance and do my best,' she said.

Project Superstar 2 has turned out to be a battle of the Tans, with Daren Tan being named the male champion last week.

And like his fellow Tan, there were rumours about Daren's sexual orientation.

But the 23-year-old told The New Paper he is not bothered about the gay rumours.

Whatever the case, this chatter will not affect these budding singers' chances of being signed up.

Mr James Kang, marketing director of Warner Music, said: 'We don't judge an artiste's worth based on rumours of sexual orientation. There are a lot of celebrities with similar rumours flying around anyway and it doesn't hurt their popularity.'

Daren's only worry now is facing the finals. The dimpled one, seen by his fans as the bad boy sex symbol of the competition, revealed his strategy.

'I'll come up with new stuff, probably visual effects,' he said.

Fridae.com - Half of Singapore Youths Find Homosexuality Acceptable

Half of singapore youths find homosexuality ''acceptable,'' says survey

by Sylvia Tan
In the city-state which has a thriving gay scene despite gay sex being outlawed, half of the 800 survey respondents aged 15-29 found homosexuality acceptable.

Exactly half of the 800 young people asked found homosexuality acceptable, according to a survey of young people aged 15-29. Conducted by students from Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Business over two months, 42 per cent of the respondents who found homosexuality unacceptable although no further details are available.

[PIC]Containing only one question on homosexuality, the survey respondents were asked if they agreed or disagreed with he statement, "I find homosexuality acceptable."

Giving their views on various aspects of life, 45 per cent of the respondents disapproved of premarital sex while 46 per cent found it acceptable. More than half of respondents survey said that they would migrate overseas if they had the option.

Lecturer Kwa Lay Ping, who oversaw the survey, was quoted in Today newspaper attributing the youths' liberal views to the use of the Internet.

"They're more liberal in their outlook and more accepting of alternative lifestyles, such as homosexuality, and sex before marriage."

"As they go on the Internet, they're a lot more exposed to more liberal programmes about alternative lifestyles, than youths were in the days before the Internet," said Ms Kwa.

A youth said in a television interview, "To youths, it's common knowledge that homosexuals exist in Singapore. In fact, if you ask any youth, he'll say that he knows at least one homosexual friend."

An earlier survey conducted by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports in 2001 however found that 71 per cent of the young people surveyed found homosexuality unacceptable.

Another survey conducted the same year by the government over a cross section of Singaporeans found that 29 per cent of Singaporeans under 30 years of age found homosexuality acceptable.

Alex Au of gay advocacy group People Like Us said of the recent findings: “This finding isn't coming out of the blue though radio and newspaper reports seem to make it so. It is part of a trend of increasing acceptance.”

Referring to the Social Attitudes Survey in 2001 (SAS2001) conducted by the government, he told Fridae in an email: “The most authoritative evidence was the Social Attitudes Survey in 2001 (SAS2001), conducted by the government over a cross section of Singaporeans which found that 29 per cent of Singaporeans under 30 years of age found homosexuality acceptable. That was six years ago. That it has further increased shouldn't be any surprise."

Gay youths Fridae spoke to feel optimistic about the survey findings and for more youths to come out for their emotional well-being.

Zee, the 20-year-old editor of gay youth web site PLUME (plume.sg) told Fridae: “I'm inclined to think that this figure is slightly higher than 50 per cent. Just because the remaining 42 per cent surveyed said it was not acceptable doesn't mean all of them will reject gay people outright or think of it as 'wrong'.”

“The results show that there is a larger acceptance of gay people; reflective of my personal experience. There are no hate crimes or outright discrimination though many straight guys in this age group use ‘gay’ to crack misogynistic and insensitive jokes. But when it comes to the real crunch, they're not actually homophobic; they don't condemn us to hell.”

Nick of Queercast (www.queercast.blogspot.com) said: “It is encouraging that half of them find homosexuality acceptable. I think this is a good sign that with constant awareness we can change the mindsets of the youth to work towards a better future for us all.”

Zee added: “I encourage tertiary students to come out more for their emotional well-being than as a political act. Closets are very cramped places and mothballs are not very fun to play with. Politically speaking, schools are a microcosm of society and the young will inherit the country in future, if our peers weave through campus life exposed to other gay students, they'll see living examples and eventually get used to it. Besides needing a support network, one of the biggest challenges to coming out, is always yourself. Fear, needing approval and validation is a big barrier to overcome; but once you do, you'll be invincible.”

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