AFP: Campaigingin lesbian couple to tie knot in Los Angeles (June 15)

Campaigning lesbian couple to tie knot in Los Angeles

Jun 15, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Robin Tyler and Diane Olson's four-year battle for the right to marry will end where it began on Monday, when the women exchange vows on the steps of Beverly Hills Courthouse to become the first same-sex couple to tie the knot in Los Angeles County.

Tyler, 66, and Olson, 54, were two of the lead plaintiffs of the lawsuit that led to California's highest court overturning the state's ban on same-sex marriage last month, and will wed at 5:01 pm Monday (0001 GMT Tuesday), moments after the court ruling takes effect.

The couple will exchange vows four years after being refused a marriage license at the same courthouse on Valentine's Day 2004, a decision that prompted their ultimately historic legal action.

"We wanted to have the wedding outside the courthouse because it was where we'd been turned down so many times," Tyler told AFP. "It will be nice to be able to stand there and get married and say 'We won.'"

While opponents of same-sex marriage argued that California law already entitled gay and lesbian couples to many of the rights enjoyed by their heterosexual counterparts, Tyler and Olson were never remotely inclined to settle for the glass ceiling of "domestic partnerships."

"If you deny gays and lesbians the right to marry, it's segregation," says Tyler, a producer, writer and entertainer who has campaigned relentlessly for gay and lesbian rights since the 1970s.

"If you apply the argument used against us to race, it doesn't stand up. If you each have a water fountain -- blacks and whites -- you're drinking the same water, so why do you need a fountain together? Because to do otherwise means that one is considered less than the other.

"And where marriage is concerned, 'domestic partnerships' mean that our love is considered as being worth less than heterosexual love. Equality is not giving us another name for our relationships, equality is giving us the name 'marriage'."

"We held out for the word 'marriage'," Olson added. "Because marriage is a universally understood word."

Despite the legal saga and bitter opposition from conservative groups, Olson and Tyler say they were always confident of victory.

"There was never a doubt in my mind," Olson said.

Tyler added: "If you kick the door long enough, the door is going to come down. So we just kept kicking the door."

Tyler and Olson admit, however, that planning for their wedding has been a steep learning curve. "We're kind of winging it," Tyler said.

"We were asked the other day, 'What's the budget for your wedding?' I said 'I've never had one, how would I know?'" Tyler laughed.

The happy couple, who first met in the 1970s and have been together for 15 years, will wear matching ivory linen suits that were tailor-made in Singapore last year. They have no immediate plans for a honeymoon.

Neither are children on the agenda -- the couple say they are quite happy with their two pugs, Mushu Pork and Wonton.

"They're children with fur as far as we are concerned, and they make our hearts tick," says Tyler.

"And we don't have to pay to send them to college," chimed Olson.

AP: Lesbian Couple of 55 Years Ready to Say "I Do" (June 14)

Lesbian Couple of 55 Years Ready to Say "I Do"

Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin fell in love at a time when lesbians risked being arrested, fired from their jobs and sent to electroshock treatment.

On Monday afternoon, more than a half-century after they became a couple, Lyon and Martin plan to become the first same-sex couples to legally exchange marriage vows in San Francisco and among the first in the state.

''It was something you wanted to know, 'Is it really going to happen?' And now it's happened, and maybe it can continue to happen,'' Lyon said.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom plans to officiate at the private ceremony in his City Hall office before 50 invited guests. He picked Martin, 87, and Lyon, 84, for the front of the line in recognition of their long relationship and their status as pioneers of the gay rights movement.

Along with six other women, they founded a San Francisco social club for lesbians in 1955 called the Daughters of Bilitis. Under their leadership, it evolved into the nation's first lesbian advocacy organization. They have the FBI files to prove it.

Their ceremony Monday will, in fact, be a marriage do-over.

In February 2004, San Francisco's new mayor decided to challenge California's marriage laws by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. His advisers and gay rights activists knew right away which couple would put the most compelling human face on the issue: Martin and Lyon.

Back then, the couple planned to celebrate their 51st anniversary as live-in lovers on Valentine's Day. Because of their work with the Daughters, they also were icons in the gay community.

''Four years ago, when they agreed to be married, it was in equal parts to support the mayor and to support the idea that lesbians and gay people formed committed relationships and should have those relationships respected,'' says Kate Kendell, a close friend and executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Lyon and Martin vividly recall the excitement of being secretly swept into the clerk's office, saying ''I do'' in front of a tiny group of city staff members and friends, and then being rushed out of the building. There were no corsages, no bottles of champagne. Afterward they went to lunch, just the two of them, at a restaurant run as a job training program for participants in a substance abuse program.

''Of course, nobody down there knew, so we were left to be by ourselves like we wanted to be,'' said Martin, the less gregarious of the two. ''Then we came home.''

''And watched TV,'' added Lyon.

The privacy was short-lived. Their wedding portrait, showing the couple cradling each other in pastel-colored pantsuits with their foreheads tenderly touching, drew worldwide attention.

Same-sex marriage would become legal in Massachusetts in another three months, but San Francisco's calculated act of civil disobedience drove the debate.

In the month that followed, more than 4,000 other couples followed Martin and Lyon down the aisle before a judge acting on petitions brought by gay marriage opponents halted the city's spree.

The state Supreme Court ultimately voided the unions, but the women were among the two dozen couples who served as plaintiffs in the lawsuits that led the same court last month to overturn California's ban on gay marriage.

They were having their morning coffee when Lyon heard the news on the radio. She rushed across the house to embrace Martin. Not long after, Newsom called to offer congratulations and to ask if they would be willing to be at the forefront yet again.

''Sure,'' was the answer they gave.

The couple, who live in the same San Francisco house they bought in 1956, do not get out much now. Martin needs a wheelchair to get around. Although they plan to briefly greet well-wishers at City Hall after the ceremony, they are having a private reception for friends and family.

''It's so endearing because they do seem excited and a little bit nervous,'' Kendell said. ''It's like the classic feelings anyone has as their wedding day approaches.''

Because a few other clerk's offices agreed to stay open until the court's decision becomes final at 5 p.m. PDT, other couples planning late afternoon weddings may already have tied the knot before the mayor pronounces Lyon and Martin ''spouses for life.''

They don't mind. They know they already are.

''We get along well,'' Lyon said. ''And we love each other.''

''I love you, too,'' Martin said. (Lisa Leff, AP)

Queerty: More Anti-Gay Media Fines in Singapore (April 24)

More Anti-Gay Media Fines In Singapore

Singapore’s media police have been all about the queer crackdown.

Cable company StarHub found itself fined earlier this month after airing a music video featuring a lesbian kiss. The nation-state’s Media Authority wagged its finger at StarHub, saying the showing was “in breach of the TV advertising guidelines, which disallows advertisements that condone homosexuality.”

Now another channel has been fined $11,000 for broadcasting an episode of fix-it-up show, “Find and Design,” which included a gay couple looking to refashion a game room into a nursery for their freshly adopted baby.

Again, officials claim the offending network illegally promoted gay ways.

ABC: Singapore TV operator fined over lesbian kiss (April 10)

Singapore TV operator fined over lesbian kiss

Updated Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:23am AEST

A cable television operator in Singapore has been fined over $US7,000 for broadcasting an advertisement featuring lesbian kissing.

Singapore's media regulator says an advert promoting a song by Mandarin pop singer Olivia Yan "romanticised scenes of two girls kissing... and it portrayed the relationship as acceptable."

The Media Development Authority says the scenes, aired on the MTV Mandarin channel by StarHub Cable Vision, were in breach of television advertising guidelines, which ban commercials condoning homosexuality.

StarHub says it is disappointed with the watchdog's decision but says it understands the concern and will work closely with partners to ensure broadcasting guidelines are adhered to.

ST: SCV fined for airing lesbian kiss in music ad (April 9)

April 9, 2008
SCV fined for airing lesbian kiss in music ad

CABLE television operator StarHub Cable Vision (SCV) has been fined $10,000 for airing a music video that showed two women kissing for about nine seconds.

The clip for Sha Hai Zi (Silly Child) by Mandarin pop singer Olivia Yan aired over MTV Mandarin Channel on Nov 26 and 28 last year. It shows Yan kissing and embracing actress Pei Lin.

According to the Taipei Times, Pei has been getting kudos from netizens for her portrayal of a lesbian in the music video, supposedly a first for Taiwan.

The Media Development Authority (MDA) said in a statement on its Web site on Wednesday that 'romanticised scenes of two girls kissing were shown and it portrayed the relationship as acceptable'.

The statement added: 'This is in breach of the TV advertising guidelines, which disallows advertisements that condone homosexuality.'

MTV Mandarin had classified the music video as a commercial for Olivia Yan's album.

MDA had consulted the Advisory Committee for Chinese Programmes and the committee agreed that the clip had promoted lesbianism as 'acceptable and romantic'.

Caitlin Fua, StarHub's Corporate Communications Manager responded: 'We are disappointed with MDA's decision to impose the penalty.'

She added however that SCV understood MDA's concern and will work with their content partners to ensure that local broadcasting guidelines are adhered to.

The Canadian Press: Singapore fines cable TV operator for showing commercial with lesbians kissing (April 9)

Singapore fines cable TV operator for showing commercial with lesbians kissing

Apr 9, 2008

SINGAPORE — Singapore's cable television operator has been fined for airing a commercial that showed lesbians kissing.

The Media Development Authority says in a statement on its website that it has fined StarHub Cable Vision $7,200 for airing the commercial in November.

The commercial, which was to promote a song by Mandarin pop singer Olivia Yan, was aired on MTV's Mandarin-language channel, the media regulator said.

The statement says that romanticized scenes of two girls kissing, calling it "a breach of the TV advertising guidelines, which disallows advertisements that condone homosexuality."

StarHub Cable Vision expressed disappointment at the authority's decision to impose a fine but said it would follow broadcasting rules.

Under Singapore law, gay sex is deemed "an act of gross indecency," punishable by a maximum of two years in jail.

Despite the official ban on gay sex, there have been few prosecutions.

Financial Times: Cool repception for Asia's gay workers (Jan 14)

Cool reception for Asia’s gay workers

By Raphael Minder

Published: January 14 2008 22:06 | Last updated: January 14 2008 22:06

Lehman Brothers, the US investment bank, recently held an unusual recruitment event at Hong Kong university. Lehman’s invitation was specifically aimed at gay and lesbian students who aspire to be bankers.

Encouraged by the success of the presentation and buffet dinner for 50 students, Lehman is planning to extend its initiatives targeting the gay community this year. It will include the bank’s first pro-gay activities in Singapore, the city-state that has become one of Asia’s leading financial centres but where sex between men is illegal.

Lehman Brothers is not the only bank seeking to recruit from Asia’s gay community. Such is the enthusiasm among investment banks that some have banded together to give their Asian events a higher profile, taking it in turn to organise lectures, dinners and other events around a gay or lesbian theme. In November, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Lehman, Merrill Lynch and UBS co-sponsored a cinema evening in Hong Kong which featured The Bubble, a 2006 film about the gay relationship between a Palestinian and an Israeli soldier.

Investment banks’ efforts to recruit more gays and lesbians is partly an attempt to attract the most talented employees. At a time when Asia has become the world’s biggest region for deals such as initial public offerings, investment banks are struggling to fill the new positions on offer. And the intense hiring competition makes it crucial to ensure talented gay people are not deterred from applying because of a combination of Asian intolerance and western macho behaviour on trading floors.

Cheryl de Souza, Lehman’s Asia director of diversity and inclusion, says: “Walking across some of the floors in Hong Kong, you will find that we now have people who feel comfortable about having a picture of their [same-sex] partner on their desk and that’s huge in terms of progress.”

Furthermore, banks are increasingly committed to corporate social responsibility and best practice, which also helps explain why some US executives argue that they are ahead of their peers in pushing for sexual diversity. Christopher Jackson, a senior vice-president for Lehman in Tokyo, says: “The way we’re tackling this in Asia certainly emanates to some extent from the fact that we’re a US firm based in New York.”

What Lehman and some other investment banks are trying to achieve in Singapore and other parts in Asia runs counter to the region’s cultural and legal environment. Homosexual people are broadly accepted in some countries, notably Thailand, the Philippines and Hong Kong, where gay sex was only decriminalised in 1991. But in most of Asia, gay people still face discrimination and censure – both in and out of the workplace – amid a blend of religious intolerance, family conservatism and legal bans, often inherited directly from British colonial rule. For instance gay sex is a criminal offence across the Indian subcontinent.

In Malaysia, a Muslim country where sodomy is a crime, police in November broke up a gay sex party in a fitness club on Penang and arrested 37 men aged between 20 and 45. The evidence gathered against them included used condoms found on the floor as well as six boxes of new condoms – which in many countries would probably be construed as a sign of responsible sexual behaviour.

Richard Welford, a director of CSR Asia, a consultancy focused on corporate social responsibility, says: “In the vast majority of cases in Asia, gays and lesbians have to stay hidden. Sometimes they will even make up boyfriends or girlfriends . . . But it does seem that in some sectors such as investment banking, businesses are taking the lead [in improving the situation for gay people]. You could say that they are ahead of Asian society there.”

This has not been the case in Asian retail banking. Unlike retail banks that have countrywide branch networks, investment banks are also in a better position to push for change because they generally operate only in a country’s biggest city, where the population is usually most diverse and conservative attitudes are less entrenched than in second-tier cities and more remote Asian manufacturing centres.

The international dimension of investment banking is also forcing employers to confront the issue of homosexual discrimination more regularly than their counterparts in retail banking and other more local institutions. A recurring problem is the difficulty of getting investment bankers to relocate to countries that do not offer dependent visas for same-sex partners.

Still, the jurisprudence governing homosexuality is not necessarily the best guide as to where gay people will find it easiest to work in the Asia-Pacific region, according to some executives who gathered at a recent evening party of Fruits in Suits, an association that holds monthly events in Hong Kong.

Some even contrast life in Sydney, where the Mardi Gras celebration is one of the world’s biggest annual gay events, with the macho working environment within parts of the Australian financial services industry, which one banker says is “a lot behind the curve”.

India offers another intriguing situation, according to Stephen Golden, a vice-president at Goldman Sachs, who helps co-ordinate the bank’s global leadership and diversity programme. He says: “India is one of those places where the laws relating to homosexuality haven’t changed but society has. We have had employees who are openly gay and have been asked to transfer to India and have gone there without any issues. They understand the cultural environment and have had very good experiences.”

On the flip side stands South Korea, where there is no legislation banning gay sex but where gay people say they cannot be open about their sexuality for fear of being treated as social pariahs. Kay McArdle, who heads Goldman’s diversity programme in Asia excluding Japan, describes Seoul as “the least diverse office we have in Asia”.

Still, she finds reason for optimism in the current staffing problems that Korean firms are confronting. Recognition that there is a dearth of women in the workplace should eventually translate into broader improvements for gay people and others who struggle to gain acceptance in the Korean workplace, she argues. “The Korean government has recently been doing a huge push on getting women back into the workforce as many employers face acute staff shortages.” Ms McArdle says. “They are getting up the curve, slowly but surely. And that is good news for diversity in general.”

Exclusion zone: how Asia gives short shrift to same-sex partners

In November, the Thai subsidiary of AIG, the American insurer, found itself under attack for allegedly refusing to sell life assurance to a leading gay activist.

Natee Teerarojjanapong, president of the Gay Political Group of Thailand, threatened legal action against American International Assurance, which is owned by AIG and is Thailand’s biggest insurance company. AIA denied Mr Natee’s claim, saying he had never formally applied for a life assurance policy. While the company vets each applicanton individual risk, it denied any discrimination on grounds of sexual preference.

Although AIA now says “there is no dispute any more”, Mr Natee promises to “continue to fight” and proceed with some legal action. He told the Financial Times: “This is just the beginning. If we make enough noise, insurers will start to accept that it’s a real problem . . . The situation is very bad for gays but for transgender [people], it’s even worse.”

Independent of the row involving AIA, possible discrimination in the insurance sector is a recurring theme in discussions relating to homosexual employment in Asia’s financial services industry.

Goldman Sachs, for example, had to deal in Tokyo with a complaint from an employee over access to the firm’s healthcare benefits for a domestic partner. The Japanese company providing Goldman’s healthcare scheme would not extend the coverage to a same-sex partner. The problem is “close to being addressed”, according to the US bank. Another executive familiar with the Asian insurance industry says: “When you put together insurance and Asia, you’re essentially talking about a marriage between caution and conservatism. That’s not exactly great for gays.”

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

The Advocate: Holiday Stress Levels Higher for Lesbians Than Straight Women (Dec 19)

Holiday Stress Levels Higher for Lesbians Than Straight Women

Lesbians tend to be more stressed and depressed during the holidays than straight women, according to a survey conducted by market research firm Harris Interactive and Witeck-Combs Communications.

The survey found that 80% of lesbian adults felt more stress around the holidays, compared with 64% of heterosexual women. And while 51% of lesbians said they tend to feel more depressed around the holidays, only 36% of straight women did.

“Estrangement from family, marginalization within and isolation from society, separation from children (sometimes due to custody battles), and inadequate access to culturally sensitive health care practitioners are all factors that can adversely affect mood during a season so identified with family activities and belonging,“ Linda Spooner, a Washington, D.C., physician, said in a press release.

Smoking is also a greater problem for lesbians, according to the survey. Twenty-five percent of lesbians said they smoked, compared with 19% of heterosexual women. Half of the straight women polled said they would try to quit smoking in the next year, while only 23% of lesbians said they would try to stop. (The Advocate)

erstory celebrates 9 years of PRIDE @ZOUK 13 Dec 2007

Herstory @ZOUK
VR Challenge, Herstory.ws Re-launched, Herstory 9 YEARS OF PRIDE - THE
PARTY
The long awaited herstory.ws re-launched is finally completed. We all
deserved a GOOD Party to celebrate Singapore largest womyn online
portal. Come together for THE PARTY of the year.

10 contestants will come together on stage at ZOUK on 13 Dec to vie for
the title - Herstory Online Ambassador. You will decide who is the best
candidate by voting for them online from 14 Dec - 4 Jan 08.
It is the butches vs the femmes in this first ever Herstory Virtual
Reality (VR) Challenge. Finals will be held at ZOUK on 10 Jan 08. The
winner will be crown Herstory Online Ambassador and will represent
Herstory online brand for one year and walk home with 3 years of FREE
Herstory BLACK Membership, 1 bottle of 42below vodka and 1 NewUrbanMale
Fashion Bag.

Catch them LIVE in action at ZOUK on 13 Dec for the PREVIEW and 10 Jan
for the FINALS!

They will 'SHOW OFF' their talents and get up close with you during 'I
WANT TO KNOW YOU' segment.

HERSTORY CELEBRATES 9 YEARS OF PRIDE @ZOUK!!
$100 worth of NewUrbanMale product vouchers for 1st 500 entry and
42 below vodka for 1st 100 entry!

Don't miss Herstory Quarterly Grrls Only Party happening once every
three months at ZOUK. Whether you want to sit and chat or dance and
cruise, you're guaranteed to find something you'll like at Herstory
Party. See ya..

Showtime
VR Challenge, Herstory.ws Re-launched, Herstory 9 Years Of Pride - THE
PARTY starts at 11pm

Party Theme
It's the end of a fabulous year so wear your best suit and impress the
grrls. If you are spotted by us at the door looking cool in your outfit,
you get complimentary entry to the party plus a FREE housepour on us.

Programme Highlights
Chillout 9pm-10pm
Showtime VR Challenge, Herstory.ws Re-launched, Herstory 9 Years Of
Pride - THE PARTY 11pm
Chart Topping Hip Hop and Sexy R&B Dance Music 11.45pm-2.30am (by Zouk
resident DJ)

Pop Hits Dance Music till 3am (by Zouk resident DJ)

Drinks Promotion
One for One on all standard housepour 9pm-10pm

Admission
No Cover Charge
Applies to all members/non members
Herstory Members - $4
Non Herstory Members - $8
Entry for men - Subject to Approval at Door ($12)
POLICY : Mainly womyn with men as guests

LOCATION
17 Jiak Kim Street Singapore 169420

MRT / BUS
Bus 16

OPENING HOUR
9pm - 3am
Every 2nd Thursday of the Quarter Year.

LOTL & Herstory Partnership
We would like to announce the partnership between Herstory and LOTL
(Lesbian On The Loose) International, Australia 's best known monthly
lesbian magazine. We have launched an unique and exciting online lesbian
magazine for lesbians visiting herstory.ws. It is a premium magazine
content in a special easy to read format. Please check out
http://lotl.herstory.ws for you FREE copy of LOTL online magazine.

Send Us Your Comments
Tell us what you think & how we can improve Herstory by writing to
admin@herstory.ws

Tell Your Friends
If you like what Herstory has been doing. Please help to promote
Herstory by telling your friends at
http://www.herstory.ws/recommend.php

Contact Us
http://www.herstory.ws/about/contact.php

AP: Chicago Lutheran Church Ordains Lesbian (Nov 20)

Chicago Lutheran Church Ordains Lesbian

A Lutheran church in Chicago has ordained a lesbian who refuses to take a vow of celibacy, becoming the first to test a new resolution that gives bishops leeway in disciplining such violations.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America requires vows of celibacy for gay but not for heterosexual clergy -- a policy the Reverend Jen Rude, 27, calls discriminatory.

Chicago's bishop, Wayne Miller, did not try to block Rude's ordination at Resurrection Lutheran Church on Saturday, but he also didn't attend the ceremony. While he has said he believes the celibacy rule should reversed, he also has urged bishops to follow rules set by the church.

''My goal is to keep people in the conversation, and I do not see this as an issue that should be dividing the church,'' he said before the church ordained Rude.

Rude, whose father and grandfather are both Lutheran ministers, expressed gratitude to the congregation.

''It's meaningful to me in the sense that my call is being affirmed not only by God, but the people of God,'' she said.

Some of the more than 100 members of the congregation cried as Rude stood before them during the ceremony.

''We all realized that sexual orientation has nothing to do with how well a person can minister a congregation,'' said Kathy Young, a church member.

At a national assembly in August, Evangelical Lutherans urged bishops to refrain from defrocking gay and lesbian ministers who violate the celibacy rule, but they also rejected measures that would have permitted ordaining gays churchwide.

Advocates for full inclusion of gays were encouraged at the time, calling the resolution a powerful statement in support of clergy with same-sex partners. Conservatives, however, said bishops would feel more secure in ignoring denomination policy.

Miller said he met with Resurrection's congregation last month to discuss the possible consequences of Rude's ordination if national church leaders decide to enforce the policy later. Among those consequences: the congregation could be expelled from the denomination.

Like other mainline Protestant groups, the Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has been struggling for decades to reconcile differences on the issue.

An ELCA task force is near the end of an eight-year study on human sexuality, which is expected to culminate in the 2009 release of a statement that will influence church policy.

The 4.8 million-member ELCA is the country's largest Lutheran denomination. (AP)

ST Review: The Gay Debate, Present by denied (Nov 1)

Nov 1, 2007
THE GAY DEBATE
Present but denied
By John Gee

AFTER the parliamentary debate over Section 377A ended in the retention of the clause, one pro-change activist was quoted as saying: 'What makes this so divisive is that so many of those who are against gays do not have gay friends and do not understand them.'

The sad reality is that many probably do have gay friends, but they just don't know it.

As a teenager in Britain, I remember hearing programmes on the radio in which gay characters featured, and knowing about certain gay people in public life and history books, but I didn't know any fellow students or teachers who were definitely gay.

Among people of my acquaintance, I was aware of no gay men and knew just one woman who was fairly certainly a lesbian, although the word was never used. She was a great-aunt of mine, who would come to family occasions with a woman who was always known as her 'friend', and whom she lived with for half of her life until she died at a ripe old age, loved and respected by all who knew her.

It was only when I went to university that I met men and women who were very open about being gay or lesbian, but that was something of a special environment, more tolerant of differences than most, even though male homosexuality had been decriminalised in 1967 (lesbianism was never recognised in British law).

Even there, I realised that there were gay men who quite deliberately kept their distance from those who were 'out'. They made a decision not to draw attention to their sexuality. I don't think it could have been as easy as it would at first seem; it meant forgoing the casual intimate exchanges in which heterosexuals often engage without a second thought - a touch, an embrace, an intense, close-up conversation.

As chance would have it, I came to know more lesbians than gay men, and two became close friends. Things they said gave me new insights into why it is that many homosexuals are wary of revealing their sexual identity.

One woman came from a Muslim family and had lived quite happily until her father decided that it was time she got married. Arranged marriages were the rule in her community, but she decided that she could not marry someone she could never love, and left home. Her mother and brothers were quite sympathetic, but the rift between
father and daughter was lasting.

When I first met her, I thought that she was very puritanical as whenever any reference to sexual matters arose, she seemed uncomfortable and would steer the conversation to another topic. It was only after a couple of years that a mutual friend told me, in a very matter-of-fact way, that she was a lesbian. Eventually, after a big upheaval in her life, she suddenly became very willing to pour out
her woes to me, and it was then that I heard the whole story.

Another woman I knew had several boyfriends, but the relationships never lasted long. It was only after a few years that she told me one day that she had a girlfriend.

She said she would have mentioned this to me before, but I had told a story about a gay man I knew that she saw as derogatory of him, and that frightened her into keeping quiet about her own sexuality. I knew her parents, whom she loved very much. Both were devout Catholics.

Her father died without her being able to tell him honestly about her sexual identity, but she did eventually manage to talk about it with her mother. There are old school friends she still sees occasionally, but she does not dare to risk them turning away from her if she reveals her sexuality.

Odd incidents served to remind me what gay people could face, simply because they were gay. A man I knew was beaten up one night just outside his own home after a group of particularly unpleasant and hefty young bigots living in the neighbourhood discovered that he was gay.

This was a far from isolated incident, but it hadn't happened to anyone I knew before.

A writer I knew and respected shared a home with his male partner for most of his life. They were very happy together and, had they been man and woman, most people would have seen theirs as a model relationship.

The writer died, and his lifelong partner was status-less. Arrangements for the funeral fell to the deceased's nearest blood-relatives and the grieving partner had to request their permission for him to attend, which, to their credit, they gave
willingly. I attended the memorial service and could not help thinking that this relationship had never been more explicitly acknowledged by the author's friends and family than at that moment.

I knew a trade union official who took on the case of a woman who claimed that she had been unfairly dismissed from her workplace. He soon found that his union superiors were reluctant to support her. One eventually spoke to him 'off the record' and said: 'You know she's a lesbian, don't you?' - an issue that had not figured explicitly in her dismissal. The official, an Irishman of distinctly nationalist
outlook, stood his ground: 'Lesbian? I'd defend her even if she was a Protestant!'

Homosexuals belong to many different communities and backgrounds, which is why talk of a 'gay community' can be misleading; sexuality is not the be-all and end-all of anyone's existence.

One consequence of this is that some gay people share most of the values of people who display strong hostility towards them. They may be strongly Christian or Muslim, or socially conservative; it must be wounding when they hear words of condemnation or mockery, but they persist in these antagonistic surroundings because they feel they have so many shared ideals.

And so I look back on my schooldays with a mind informed by experience and I realise that I almost certainly did know gay people then. I also remember the jokes told about homosexuals and how they were so often figures of fun, malice and fear.

I felt uncomfortable about the hostility this expressed, and soon stopped laughing at the jokes, but I didn't speak up to object, and I don't remember anyone else doing so: After all, people might have said that you were one of them, and who wanted that? How would young gay people have dared to reveal their true sexual feelings in those
circumstances? So they lived out a pretence, unable to be true to themselves.

It still happens, all around the world. If, in most societies, homosexuals largely seem to belong to a middle class or intellectual environment, it is because that is where they tend to be most readily accepted as the individuals that they are. Homosexuals who are poor and live in more socially conservative environments just become used to adopting a heterosexual facade, even entering into loveless
marriages that must often leave both partners unsatisfied and children disturbed at the sense of something missing in their parents' relationship.

I have no view one way or the other about homosexuality being right or wrong: It exists and it doesn't matter to me what consenting adults do in their private lives, providing it causes no harm to others. That is what reason says, regardless of religiously based prohibitions. I do have a definite view on lives being blighted and human happiness denied by the enforcement of codes of behaviour and values that force
many of those they target into living a lie: That is wrong - morally wrong, I believe.

I can only be sceptical of perspectives that, at no cost to those who embrace them, force upon others lives of self-denial and often loneliness, as well as varying degrees of estrangement from family, co-religionists and segments of their communities. While that happens, many people will go on knowing gay men and lesbian women, but not knowing that they do.

John Gee is a freelance writer based in Singapore.

Lesbian kiss photo riles Singapore

An online auction site has seen bids to buy the photo of a girlish peck. And it is still making its rounds on the Internet – the result of a ‘silly prank’ that backfired.

In a rash moment, two girls from Anderson Junior College (Singapore) locked lips for the camera – all for a wacky class photo. They pulled off the joke under the noses of their form tutor and their classmates, when posing for an informal memento at the annual photo-taking session.

Now, the former Year One Science students say they did not mean it and are sorry for what they did. However, it has caused unnecessary embarrassment to the college, their tutor and their parents.

The photo was taken last August. Six months later, it is still making faces go red, no thanks to its circulation via the Internet.

AJC’s principal of five years, Mr Tan Tiek Kwee, told The Y Scene that the photo of the kiss was not a result of some fancy digital trick, as some suspected at first. It was just a result of a ‘silly prank’, he said. The ‘fun’ pose, captured by a photographer from AJC’s Photographic Society, was for the class to keep. As the photographer said ‘One, two, three’, the girls kissed on the count of three.

Mr Tan claimed that the tutor and the other classmates were not aware of the quick peck – until the photo was developed about a week later. The vice-principal then took immediate action to confiscate the photo and retrieve the negative.

Mr Tan did not want us to speak to the tutor and the girls, but said the tutor was ‘unhappy and disappointed’ with what happened. When confronted, the girls had cried – out of remorse.

Mr Tan said, “They said they had not pre-planned what they wanted to do.and it was done on the spur of the moment. ‘They wanted something creative but they went overboard.” He added that there was no ‘special relationship’ between the two.

The girls have also been punished. They had to do community service in school and write a reflection on what they had done and why they did it. Mr Tan added that the girls’ parents were informed and they had apologised to the principal and the college.

Just when they thought the matter was behind them, the photo was put up for an online auction this month. An ex-student also e-mailed Mr Tan, to tell him that he had received the photo as well. Mr Tan, who thought that he had destroyed all evidence of the photo, was bewildered.

Upon further investigation, he found that three copies of the photo had been made by a member of the Photographic Society. The boy had kept one for himself and passed the other two to his schoolmates. Mr Tan said, “One of them passed it to his friend, a polytechnic student. What happened after that, we can’t be too sure.”

The online auction had started on March 9. Within five days, there were seven bids for the photo. The starting bid of SD $13.14 had risen to SD $53.30, but the auction was cancelled when the school wrote to the site.

Washington Blade: Japanese lesbian loses historic race for office (Aug 3)

Japanese lesbian loses historic race for office

Friday, August 03, 2007

TOKYO — The first openly gay candidate in Japanese national politics failed to win a seat in upper house elections last week, but vowed to continue her fight for minority rights, according to a Reuters report. Kanako Otsuji, 32, who is backed by the main opposition Democratic Party, had campaigned in front of rainbow flags, with loudspeakers declaring to passers-by she was a lesbian. She appeared to be holding back tears at her election headquarters in the heart of Tokyo’s gay community on July 23. The report said supporters were also emotional as Otsuji thanked them, many of whom had waited until dawn for final numbers. Otsuji, formerly a local legislator in Osaka, said she decided to go into national politics because it took her five years to come to terms with the pain and isolation she felt in accepting her sexual orientation, Reuters said. She made headlines in 2005 when she married her wife, Maki Kimura in a commitment ceremony.

3rd Screening of WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN: Conversations in Singapore

3rd Screening of WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN: Conversations in Singapore
Running Time: 65 minutes

"It is better to be hated for what one is,than to be loved for what one isn't"- Andre Gide, Writer

The screening of WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN ON Saturday, 21 July, 4.30 pm is full.

Come and join us for the third screening of the documentary at Pelangi Pride Centre on the same day at 7.30 pm.

One of the few documentaries ever made about lesbians in Singapore, this documentary, filmed in 2006 uses interview footage with three Singaporean lesbians-Amanda Lee, Sabrina Renee Chong and Gea Swee Jean, to get a rare glimpse into lesbian lives in Singapore. Intimate and often candid, these lesbians share about their lives and loves and their views on topics such as coming out and relationships. Sometimes heartbreaking, and often times, funny, the documentary captures the lives of lesbians who have chosen to live authentically and is a testament to the courage, tenacity and experiences of lesbians living in Singapore.

There will be a Question & Answer session with the interviewees and filmmaker, May Ling following the screening.

Details at a Glance
Event: Premiere of WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN: Conversations in Singapore
Date: Saturday, 21 July 2007 (210707)
Time: 7.30 - 9.30 pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Bianco, 21 Tanjong Pagar Road, #04-01
Cost: FREE-OF-CHARGE

Please take note that this is a private event by registration only.Please RSVP with your name(s) to [ngiamsulin at yahoo dot com]by 18 July to ensure a seat.

Fridae.com: Interview with Filmmaker and Interviewees for Singapore's Latest Lesbian Documentary

July 5, 2007

women who love women: conversations in singapore

By News Editor

Premiering this Saturday, WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN: Conversations in Singapore features three Singaporean lesbians who talk about their lives in the city state where same-sex acts are still illegal.

Produced by 33-year-old graduate student Ngiam Su-Lin and directed by Lim Mayling, the 65-minute film is one of few documentaries ever made about lesbians in Singapore. According to the film's publicity material, it seeks to “capture the lives of lesbians who have chosen to live authentically and is a testament to the courage, tenacity and experiences of lesbians living in Singapore.” The three women - Amanda Lee, Sabrina Renee Chong and Gea Swee Jean - will share their coming out experiences, and their views on topics such as coming out and relationships. WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN: Conversations in Singapore premieres on Saturday, Jul 7, at Pelangi Pride Centre, Bianco, 21 Tanjong Pagar Road, #04-01 at 4.30pm. There will be a Question & Answer session with the interviewees and filmmaker, May Ling following the screening. As the screening on Jul 7 has reached maximum capacity, a second screening + Question & Answer session has been organised on July 21. Free entry. Fridae speaks to 27-year-old Mayling who is an event/project manager and the three interviewees, Sabrina, Amanda and Swee Jean about their involvement in the project. æ: How did this project come about? Mayling: I was approached by Su-Lin who wanted to produce a film; a snapshot of the lives of lesbians in Singapore. At that time I was looking to make a documentary and was exploring options in terms of subject matter. It is difficult if not impossible to find an honest portrayal of the lesbian community in Singapore. I was presented with the opportunity to fill that space through lesbians who were willing to be interviewed and share their lives and views onscreen. I felt it was the right time and what better way to put my skills to use since it will give a face to lesbians in Singapore and perhaps move on to serve as a platform for others to build upon. æ: What drew you to this film? Why did you want to make a documentary about lesbians in Singapore? Mayling: The common purpose underlying this documentary is to give an honest portrayal of the interviewees and in the process give a face to the lesbian community in Singapore. To shout out that we exist and provide a better understanding of issues concerning the lesbian community by allowing these individuals to express their different perspectives. æ: How were the three subjects selected? What were you looking for? Mayling: We were looking to feature lesbians from different age groups. They will have to be comfortable about revealing their stories to possibly a mass, international audience. Through email blasts, word of mouth, we met with the possible candidates. It was a tough ride since most lesbians are private people with many other things to worry about in their lives and most were concerned about the final representation of the documentary. In the end, we were fortunate to have gotten the three women. They cast their fears aside, trusted us with their story and opinions and were supportive throughout the whole process. æ: What's your advice for budding filmmakers who are looking to document gay/lesbian life in their community? Mayling: Steady hands and a good heart. Sabrina Renee Chong, 39, photographer & events specialist æ: When were you first aware of your attraction to women? Sabrina: I was first aware that I was attracted to women/girls when I was eight years old. I was Primary 3 in a convent school and this other girl at school and I were "fighting" over this girl we both liked. æ: Michael J Fox once said, "Film is forever." Did you feel any apprehension having your very personal experiences and thoughts on public record? What made you decide to do it? Sabrina: I do feel apprehensive about how people will react to the film and what we’ve said in it. It is a coming out of sorts again to the world but in greater detail. But it is my hope that this film will: 1. help lesbians all over the world to understand and embrace their own sexuality and individuality, 2. pave the way for greater acceptance of the GLBT community in Singapore and Asia and 3. help families and friends understand their gay and lesbian child/friend and bridge the distance between them. It is my hope that gay and lesbians can have the invaluable source of support from their families and friends as they are growing up. As I was growing up, I had no one to turn to for help and direction with regards to understanding and coming to terms with my sexuality. It was a bewildering time and I hope that this film will help those who are discovering and coming to terms with their gay sexuality. æ: What's your vision for the gay/lesbian community in Singapore/Asia? Sabrina: I hope that gays and lesbians can be assimilated and accepted by society at large and be recognised for the individuals that they are and the contributions that they make. There are so many talented gays and lesbians in our midst who do make contributions to the arts, social causes, etc, but in spite of that, the GLBT community in Singapore and Asia is still very marginalised. It's very strange but in some countries/places that are not as advanced or "forward" as Singapore, they seem to have greater acceptance of gays and lesbians. I hope that Singapore as progressive as it may seem will truly come of age and be in the rankings of first world countries where GLBT community are accepted in their own home countries. Amanda Lee, 23, student æ: When were you first aware of your attraction to women? Amanda: I have always been aware and comfortable with the possibility of my attraction to women. I started my primary education in a convent school, where I nurtured strong female friendships that didn't center around boys. When I moved on to a co-ed environment in secondary school (which upset my father for a while because it wasn't a Catholic school), I was immediately alienated by the excessive, and often oppressive heterosexual energy. I always felt a little affronted by how differently the girls behaved in the presence of boys, and the whole experience strengthened my belief that boys were not my cup of tea! Add to that, I've always loved the female body. A friendly male classmate in secondary school would pass me notes with rather artistic anatomically accurate nudes that he had drawn, and I would always prefer looking at the females. So, when I experienced my first sexual attraction to a woman, albeit a little late at 21 but so intense it seemed to have made up for lost time, it was something that felt natural, almost like I'd been expecting it. Michael J Fox once said, "Film is forever." Did you feel any apprehension having your very personal experiences and thoughts on public record? What made you decide to do it? Amanda: I really appreciate how open and supportive this process of being in the documentary has been for me. We were consulted and affirmed every step of the way. Even when I had my doubts, I felt comfortable enough to raise them and discuss within the team as opposed to being obligated to just move along. It helped that Su-Lin, the producer, is a very persuasive person! The decision to be showcased in this documentary was easy enough for me. I strongly believe in what it sets out to do. If someone sees me in it and wants to talk about it, I know I am ready to. What was more difficult was thinking through and dealing with the opinions of some people, well-meaning I'm sure, mostly on the possible repercussions on my future work. The job that I was holding then was no issue because I enjoyed a supportive environment where I was 'out and proud' in a cosy department of four. The company I was working at has a strong anti-discrimination policy and out of the gamut of corporate philanthropy work they do, they also back programs to advance the rights of gays and lesbians and champion civil unions. It makes a great difference to work in such a gay-affirmative, inclusive environment. I was just talking to Swee Jean, one of the other girls on the documentary, and we compared our view on work with the mentality of an older generation. We are confident of our skills, we know that our youth, willingness to learn and to be mobile gives us a certain privilege to choose. While I call it our 'youthful arrogance', I believe that there is no reason for us to fear not having a job. I suppose we're pretty sure we don't ever want to enter politics, haha. Ultimately, I don't believe in living my life in fear. By putting ourselves and our stories out there, we hope that it will give a face to the Singaporean lesbian community. We may be invisible to the law, and a minority in society, but we are here and our lives are as authentic and important as the next person on the street. We may not know how the future will pan out, but none of us ever do. The best we can, and must do, is follow the truth of our hearts, bravely. Given that the interviews were done about a year ago, has there been any drastic change in views or opinions that you would like to share with those who have or are going to see it? Now is the time... Many things have changed for me since filming for the documentary. I've moved on from a job I loved to being a student again. I am currently pursuing a degree in liberal arts in Canberra, Australia, and majoring in gender studies. In the documentary, I talk a fair bit about my relationship with my first girlfriend. That has since ended. It has been difficult for me, but in the healing process, I have learnt so much about myself and best of all, I have found myself an unlikely ally, my mother. She has been terribly supportive in her odd little ways during my breakup, and now, our relationship is the best it's ever been. I guess absence has made the heart fonder too. I still believe in everything I said in the documentary. It really is my personal story, and the more I experience and learn, the more I am convinced of the importance of a documentary like this. And I think the timing of its release is perfect, following recent public debates on whether lesbian sex should be criminalised, and the furor created after Minister Mentor Lee mentioned the possible abolishing of laws with regards to homosexuality. Another thing that hasn't changed- I still feel a little awkward seeing myself on film! æ: What's your vision for the gay/lesbian community in Singapore/Asia? Amanda: I hope that all of us can be a little braver in our little ways. A life lived in fear is a life half-lived. I have had the privilege of living openly because of what other gay people have done ahead of me. I have seen how a little effort and sincerity in sharing one's life with another person has given them a reason to rethink their negative views of gay people. I experienced my first Mardi Gras in Sydney this year, and I was so proud I almost cried. It is important for us to reach out, both in our gay and heterosexual communities, and build honest and healthy networks for ourselves. I don't think a perfect world for gay people is one where our sexuality is a non-issue, in fact, I see that there is so much for us to celebrate as gay people. We own the privileged view of an outsider; the opportunity to sift through the 'givens' in life to create our own paths. I guess I have plenty of pride as a gay person, and I hope every gay person would claim that same pride for themselves. Gea Swee Jean, 24, Business Manager æ: When and how did you come out? Swee Jean: When I was about 19, I started feeling like I couldn’t contain my being gay from my parents anymore. So much had been happening in my life on which they’d missed out on – way back from the time I was 15. I felt bad about this. I wanted to be able to be open with my parents as we are normally quite close. I remember several moments when I literally felt like I was bursting at the seams with this secret. Still, I had not yet freed myself of the guilt I felt over being gay, and this spilled out the first time I tried to come out to my mom. I was crying as I told her, and it seemed more like a guilty confession than a healthy coming out – and naturally she didn’t take it well. This ended up in me “taking back” what I just said. I eventually came out successfully to her on my second try, about a year later, when I had resolved some of my own issues over feeling guilty. I came out to a few friends while in junior college, and then to a lot of friends while in university. All of them took it well, and for that I am both immensely grateful to and proud of them. All my friends have in some way or other witnessed first hand my difficulties – in coming out to my parents, in trying to have a healthy relationship with my girlfriend while she was still very closeted, and so on. I believe that although most of my friends are straight, it does not hinder them from understanding me, and understanding very fundamental things such as love and acceptance. æ: Michael J Fox once said, "Film is forever." Did you feel any apprehension having your very personal experiences and thoughts on public record? What made you decide to do it? Swee Jean: Do I feel apprehension? Of course I do. But I choose not to let the fear control me. I decided to do the interview when Su-Lin, the producer, asked me if I would do it. At that point, faced with the decision, I said yes – because I knew I would not be able to live with myself if I had chosen not to do it, which is, in effect, to hide. Why should I hide if I believe that being gay is absolutely normal? It was a decision made out of self-respect, and it is integral to my self-esteem. æ: Tell us about a cause that you support? Swee Jean: I feel a lot for people with disabilities in Singapore. I guess I can relate to them, because I know how it feels to live in a society that doesn’t always see you as being normal. For my final year project, my teammates and I published a book on people with disabilities in Singapore. It’s called We Are Family: Stories of People with Disabilities. I believe our good old National Library Board has stocked copies of it. If you’d like to buy if, please call the Spastic Children’s Association of Singapore at (65) 6585-5600 – proceeds from book sales go directly to them. æ: What's your vision for the gay/lesbian community in Singapore/Asia? Swee Jean: My vision would be for gays and lesbians to live confidently – to be unafraid of being relatively open and honest about their sexual orientation, to be brave enough to stake their claim as being happy, productive, GLBTQ citizens who contribute to society. WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN: Conversations in Singapore premieres on Saturday, Jul 7, at Pelangi Pride Centre, Bianco, 21 Tanjong Pagar Road, #04-01 at 4.30pm. There will be a Question & Answer session with the interviewees and filmmaker following the screening. As the screening on Jul 7 has reached maximum capacity, a second screening + Question & Answer session has been organised on July 21. Free entry. Please take note that this is a private event by registration only. To RSVP, email your name(s) to ngiamsulin@yahoo.com by July 18 to ensure a seat.

2nd Screening of WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN (21 July 2007)

WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN:
Conversations in Singapore
Running Time: 65 minutes

"It is better to be hated for what one is, than to be loved for what one isn't"
- Andre Gide, Writer

The premiere of WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN ON 7 July has reached maximum capacity. Come and join us for the second screening of the documentary at Pelangi Pride Centre on Saturday, 21 July 2007 (210707)

One of the few documentaries ever made about lesbiansin Singapore, this documentary, filmed in 2006 usesinterview footage with three Singaporean lesbians-Amanda Lee, Sabrina Renee Chong and Gea Swee Jean, toget a rare glimpse into lesbian lives in Singapore.

Intimate and often candid, these lesbians share abouttheir lives and loves and their views on topics suchas coming out and relationships. Sometimes heartbreaking, and often times, funny, the documentary captures the lives of lesbians who have chosen to live authentically and is a testament to the courage,tenacity and experiences of lesbians living in Singapore.

There will be a Question & Answer session with the interviewees and filmmaker, May Ling following the screening.

Details at a Glance
Event: 2nd Screening of WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN: Conversationsin Singapore
Date: Saturday, 21 July 2007 (210707)
Time: 4.30 - 6.30 pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre Bianco, 21 Tanjong Pagar Road, #04-01
Cost: FREE-OF-CHARGE

Please take note that this is a private event byregistration only. Please RSVP with your name(s) to ngiamsulin@yahoo. comby 18 July to ensure a seat.

You're Invited to the Premiere of Singapore's Newest Lesbian Documentary

WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN: Conversations in Singapore
Running Time: 65 minutes

"It is better to be hated for what one is,
than to be loved for what one isn't"
- Andre Gide, Writer

You’re invited! Come and join us for the premiere of WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN: Conversations in Singapore at Pelangi Pride Centre on Saturday, 7 July 2007 (070707)

One of the few documentaries ever made about lesbians in Singapore, this documentary, filmed in 2006 uses interview footage with three Singaporean lesbians – Amanda Lee, Sabrina Renee Chong and Gea Swee Jean, to get a rare glimpse into lesbian lives in Singapore.

Intimate and often candid, these lesbians share about their lives and loves and their views on topics such as coming out and relationships. Sometimes heartbreaking, and often times, funny, the documentary captures the lives of lesbians who have chosen to live authentically and is a testament to the courage, tenacity and experiences of lesbians living in Singapore.

There will be a Question & Answer session with the interviewees and filmmaker, May Ling following the screening.

Details at a Glance
Event: Premiere of WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN: Conversations in Singapore
Date: Saturday, 7 July 2007 (070707)
Time: 4.30 - 6.30 pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Bianco, 21 Tanjong Pagar Road, #04-01
Cost: FREE-OF-CHARGE

Please take note that this is a private event by registration only.

Please RSVP with your name(s) to ngiamsulin@yahoo. com by 5 July to ensure a seat.

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.

TNP: S'pore gay returns, says 'Things have changed' (Oct 19)

S'pore gay returns, says 'Things have changed'

SHE left Singapore at 18 as a gay asylum seeker. Mary (not her real name), 32, was granted asylum in Canada in 1995 but has since returned to Singapore.

19 October 2006

SHE left Singapore at 18 as a gay asylum seeker. Mary (not her real name), 32, was granted asylum in Canada in 1995 but has since returned to Singapore.

She left for Toronto in 1993 after being beaten up by a group of men who saw her and her then-girlfriend holding hands.

She told The New Paper: 'Those were different times - we were still being beaten up, harassed - it wasn't like how it is now. There was a sense of fear - but things have changed.'

With whatever savings she had, Mary bought a plane ticket to Toronto. She initially lived in hostels. Then she found a more permanent accommodation.

To pay for school and living expenses, she worked part-time.

One of her few Singaporean friends was a gay male who shared the same immigration lawyer. She had nearly no contact with her family back home throughout her stay there.

She moved back to Singapore in 1998 after being diagnosed with chronic fatigue, which rendered her unable to work.

As her savings were dwindling, her family paid for her plane ticket home.

But Mary said her homecoming was joyful.

'I found that the (gay) community had grown, that it wasn't so underground anymore,' she said.

'The moment I realised that Singapore was opening up, I wanted to be here, to be a part of it.

'Most of us don't want to go - I didn't.'

Now, Mary works as a counsellor, dealing mainly with young women in similar circumstances.

She does not plan to return to Canada.

'At that time, I had to be where I wasn't going to be living in fear. I was scared - but it was a learning experience.'

Curve: Our Films, Our Selves

Written by: Diane Anderson-Minshall

Almost 3 million people watched Sambal Belacan, Madeleine Lim’s award-winning documentary about three Asian women making a home in the United States. The attention was nothing new for Singaporean-born, San Francisco-based director who runs the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project. The wildly successful QWOCMAP trains women of color to make films and then helps get those films in front of viewers. Lim talks to CURVE about her work and fostering the careers of other queer women.

What has surprised you most about your QWOCMAP experience?

I’m definitely surprised by how successful QWOCMAP is. We have expanded exponentially from year to year. The demand for the training program has been incredible, to the point where we maintain a waitlist for interested participants. By the end of this year, a total of 35 short films will have been completed through the training program. That’s 35 films made by and about queer women of color, going out to film festivals all over the world. Our screenings are packed. Which is why we’re expanding our exhibition program to weekend-long screenings. The training program was awarded the 2003 Best Video Program by the San Francisco Community Media Festival. Last week, I was awarded — as artistic director of QWOCMAP — a certificate of honor by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in public recognition of distinction and merit for outstanding service to the people of San Francisco. The level of excitement generated by community and funders alike has been phenomenal.

Besides Sambal Belacan and Shades of Grey, you did a film on homelessness, right? What other films have you done?

The video on homeless youth was called Youth Organizing: Power Through Art. In 2002, I made a documentary that traces the history and development of San Francisco’s Chinatown called A Vision of Smart Growth. I made an experimental short, which world-premiered at the San Francisco lesbian and gay film festival this year called Dragon Desire. I’m currently editing a documentary on the experiences of Afghan youth living in California. I’m also seeking funds for several documentaries. One project is about the experiences of newly arrived immigrant Chinese mothers and their daughters. Another project documents the lesbian of color movement in Europe, starting with a French group called the Sixth November Group. I also have a narrative script in development about the experiences of lesbians of color living in 1850 gold rush era California.

Can you tell me a bit more about QWOCMAP?

The objective of Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project is to build a vibrant and diverse community of queer women of color filmmakers in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lives and experiences of queer women of color — lesbians and bi-sexual women who are Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, Latina, Chicana, Native American, African American — are seldom heard or seen in mainstream cinema. Who will tell our stories if we don’t? So what QWOCMAP does is put filmmaking tools into the hands of queer women of color so that we can tell our own stories, and address the social and political issues pertinent to our diverse communities. The more films there are, the more images that reflect our real lives, the better.

How do you do that?

QWOCMAP promotes the creation and exhibition of films and videos by queer women of color through our two programs: the training program and the exhibition program. The training program is a free 16-week long digital-film production workshop that is offered to queer women of color. I believe in demystifying technology for my students. Because of economic issues, and survival issues, queer women of color don’t think to go into film or media, or we don’t have access to that technology. Participants learn major aspects of screenwriting, directing and video production, from conception of project idea to movie distribution — lots of hands-on exercises. The workshop culminates with individual projects that are written, directed and edited by the participants. Topics covered include development of idea, writing a script, storyboards, creating a shotlist, cinematography, continuity, lighting, sound, directing actors, managing crew, editing, film festivals and distribution.

Called the Queer Woman of Color Film Night, our exhibition program showcases the completed video projects annually during the San Francisco Queer Arts Festival every June. The screening is free and always packed, with standing room only, typically over 300 people. The atmosphere and sense of community is really incredible — watching new filmmakers experiencing public acknowledgment and love for their creative work from an extremely supportive audience! For 2005, we hope expand our one evening of film screening into the first [annual] Queer Women of Color Film Festival, a weekend-long affair. Fingers crossed on getting funding for it.

You have a very multicultural background — how does that work to your advantage in filmmaking?

Ethnically, I’m mostly Chinese, with some Malay, Indian, and Portuguese mixed in. I was born and raised in Singapore, with a stepfather who is German. My own journey in self-acceptance definitely informs my filmmaking. I definitely do not shy away from exploring the complexities in our society, and subsequently to convey those same complexities through film by interweaving different elements that can best tell that story and the issues involved. My films tend to be mixed-genre and pushes at traditional filmic boundaries. I find the traditional narrative form or the traditional documentary form somewhat limiting in terms of fully expressing my experiences. I weave scripted scenes, found footage, poetry and dance into a documentary, so that the final mixed-genre form is more able to fully express my vision.

What was it like coming out in Singapore?

Hard and challenging. I attended an all-girls convent school. I had my first girlfriend when I was 15 and I almost got expelled from school at 16, in 1980, for being a lesbian. I was constantly pulled out of my class and interrogated by the teachers and the principal about how unnatural lesbianism was, how I should use make-up, how I should date boys.

My girlfriend and I were literally forced to break up. There were no women’s support groups, no LGBT support groups, no books, no information, nothing. I literally had to re-invent the wheel for myself. I finally came out to my mum at 19. At 21, I ran an underground lesbian feminist newsletter for two years and tried to organize a lesbian community. That effort really came from trying not to feel isolated and alienated as a lesbian. After the Singapore government arrested dissenting citizens, I left for the U.S.

Do you have to struggle to get your lesbian identity validated in Singapore? How about your Asian identity among American lesbians?

Being a lesbian in Singapore today is very different than it was in
1980. Young lesbians, especially the butches, are very visible everywhere. There are organized sports for lesbians, lesbian nightclubs and email listservs for lesbians. Information is available literally at the tip of your fingers through the Internet. The last time I was in Singapore in 1999, I didn’t have to struggle to get my lesbian identity validated.

I’m extremely fortunate to live in San Francisco where a third of the population is Asian or Asian American. The community that is closest to my heart is of course the Asian Pacific Islander queer women’s community. There are tons of API queer women’s ethnic organizations here: Japanese, Mandarin speakers, Vietnamese, Singaporean and Malaysian, Filipino, South Asian, Middle Eastern — the list goes on. Asian American lesbians have been extremely supportive! So I feel totally at home here in San Francisco. The issue for me is less about being an Asian than it is about being an immigrant in the U.S. and feeling like I belong and included here.

What are your hopes for lesbian filmmaking in the future overall?

Film and video is such a powerful medium — visually and emotionally. It is the means by which we see reflections of ourselves. It is the means through which we understand our quests for self, community, the tangible and intangible world around us.

Films are all about fantasies. Fantasy of the perfect romance.
Fantasy of the ideal parents. Fantasy of the best childhood. The question is, “Whose fantasies get to go up on the big screen?” I personally have never been able to identify with any of the characters in most films. My hope is to see the lives of queer women of color reflected on the silver screen. I want to see films that tell the stories of lesbians of color from center stage, instead of having our experiences relegated to the sidelines, or worse yet, completely non-existent. I would love to see a sexy, sizzling, romantic comedy between two lesbian of color characters! Soon!