ABC: Singapore's first transsexual beauty pageant a sell-out success

Singapore's first transsexual beauty pageant a sell-out success

Singapore's first major transsexual beauty pageant was held over the weekend to raise money for the poor, with the event's organisers hailing it as a ground-breaking, sell-out success. An audience of 1,350 people watched 13 finalists compete for the title of Miss Tiffany Singapore, based on the famous Thai contest of the same name, at the city-state's biggest in-house restaurant.

Thirty-three Singaporean transsexuals originally entered the contest, including one national serviceman, according to the organiser, Mogan Aruban. Mogan, who is the chairman of non-profit charity organisation Singapore Amalgamated Services Cooperative, told AFP the contest reflected an increasing tolerance in famously conservative Singapore. "This was a ground-breaking event considering the whole family values thing (of Singaporean society)," Mogan said.

"I think it's acceptable now because the Prime Minister has said we have to liberalise and among the younger generation there are so many gays." Former prime minister Goh Chok Tong said last year that gays would be allowed to work in the civil service as part of the Government's loosening of social controls, however homosexual acts are still illegal. Mogan said he had been staging more traditional fund-raising events, such as dance competitions and functions featuring international celebrities, over the past 15 years but Miss Tiffany was the most successful.

AFP: Singapore's first transsexual beauty pageant a sell-out success (Sep 26)

Singapore's first transsexual beauty pageant a sell-out success

Posted Sun Sep 26, 2004 6:17pm AEST

Singapore's first major transsexual beauty pageant was held over the weekend to raise money for the poor, with the event's organisers hailing it as a ground-breaking, sell-out success.

An audience of 1,350 people watched 13 finalists compete for the title of Miss Tiffany Singapore, based on the famous Thai contest of the same name, at the city-state's biggest in-house restaurant.

Thirty-three Singaporean transsexuals originally entered the contest, including one national serviceman, according to the organiser, Mogan Aruban.

Mogan, who is the chairman of non-profit charity organisation Singapore Amalgamated Services Cooperative, told AFP the contest reflected an increasing tolerance in famously conservative Singapore.

"This was a ground-breaking event considering the whole family values thing (of Singaporean society)," Mogan said.

"I think it's acceptable now because the Prime Minister has said we have to liberalise and among the younger generation there are so many gays."

Former prime minister Goh Chok Tong said last year that gays would be allowed to work in the civil service as part of the Government's loosening of social controls, however homosexual acts are still illegal.

Mogan said he had been staging more traditional fund-raising events, such as dance competitions and functions featuring international celebrities, over the past 15 years but Miss Tiffany was the most successful.

The Advocate: HIV infections climbing among Singapore's gay men

HIV infections climbing among Singapore's gay men

Government statistics on HIV infections in Singapore show that the number of gay men affected by HIV is rising, Agence France-Presse reports. In 2000, 12 new HIV cases were reported among gay men, but by 2003 that number had jumped to 40 cases. In the first six months of this year, 31 new HIV infections were reported among gay men.

Heterosexual sex still accounts for about 65% of all new HIV infections in Singapore, according to the government statistics. Gay men account for about 23% of new infections, and bisexual men account for about 8%.

AP: Singapore signs German TV deal, bans Taiwanese gay movie

Singapore signs German TV deal, bans Taiwanese gay movie

Singapore said last week it has stepped closer to its goal of becoming an Asian media and arts hub by signing a TV deal with a German company — but on the same day, said it banned a Taiwanese hit film for its gay content. Authorities nixed “Formula 17,” a Taiwanese movie about two teenage boys falling in love, after the Media Development Authority objected, saying it showed homosexuality as “normal, and a natural progression of society.”

The authority announced July 22 that Singapore’s Oak3films signed a $4.07 million deal with Germany’s FFP media to jointly produce the TV romance drama “House of Harmony.” It will be broadcast in Singapore and on Germany’s ZDF television network, the Media Development Authority said. But the authority, which is sponsoring part of the deal, said Singaporeans weren’t ready for “Formula 17,” and claimed that more than 70 percent of the city-state’s 4 million people reject homosexuality. Singapore law bans gay sex, but gays are seldom prosecuted.

ST: Magazine to tighten access

Magazine to tighten access

by M. Nirmala
The publisher of Manazine, a men's lifestyle magazine, has moved to limit access to the publication following complaints by concerned parents over its content and easy availability. The decision to issue subscribers with cards, which must be shown at selected outlets where the magazine can be picked up, follows talks with the Media Development Authority (MDA), the regulating authority. This 'controlled distribution' approach adopted by the publisher will also see copies of the magazine sent by post to subscribers, who pay $25 a year for six issues.

Mr Arjan Nijen Twilhaar, 32, the publisher and chief editor of Manazine, said that previously, the 10,000 printed copies of the magazine were distributed free at a number of locations. These included theatres, bars, art galleries and restaurants. But that changed after an Aug 11 meeting called by the MDA. At the meeting, Mr Arjan was informed that the MDA had received complaints from concerned parents about the magazine's homosexual content and its easy accessibility at outlets patronised by the general public. The MDA also highlighted some pages and 'we were also told to be sensitive to society's reactions to the gay issue. We listened to the advice and made sure that we do not cross the line,' he told The Straits Times.

Ms Casey Chang, the MDA's assistant director for corporate and marketing communications, confirmed the meeting and said yesterday that the authority also remindeded Mr Arjan that local magazines should not promote homosexuality as a lifestyle. This is not the first time the magazine, first published last October, has run into problems. It withdrew most of the 10,000 copies of its third issue in March following a public complaint.

But the light touch used by the media regulator appears to be in line with last year's recommendations by the Censorship Review Committee. In suggesting that a calibrated approach be taken so as to ensure that changes do not move ahead of society's mainstream values, it recommended that approved adult publications could be sold through controlled channels.

But sexually explicit magazines, such as Playboy, should stay banned, it added. Associate Professor Ang Peng Hwa, dean of the Nanyang Technological University's School of Communication and Information, noted the light touch taken by the MDA in dealing with the publisher. In this case, instead of having access to the magazine denied altogether, the publisher has been left to 'self-manage' access to the publication, he said.

Advocate: SIngapore to Host Asia's Biggest Gay Festival, August 7-9

Advocate, August 7, 2004

This weekend the conservative city-state of Singapore will play host to what is being promoted as Asia’s biggest gay and lesbian festival, according to a report by Agence France-Presse. A record 8,000 revelers are estimated to attend the fourth annual party in what is expected to be a lively boost to Singapore’s emerging reputation as one of Asia’s premier gay tourism and entertainment hubs. Stuart Koe, the chief executive of regional gay Web site Fridae.com, which is organizing the event, said the three-day festival beginning Saturday, August 7, was projected to generate $5.8 million in tourism revenue. “We have large numbers of people coming from Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States,” Koe told AFP, adding that the numbers of partygoers had grown from 1,500 in the event’s first year in 2001. “There’s nothing else like this in Asia. It’s really the only event on this scale.”

The festival is expected to increase tensions between Singapore and Thailand over which country can lay claim to the title of Asia’s gay tourism capital after a Bangkok-based lobby group was formed last week to win back the pink dollar from the city-state, AFP reports. However, Koe stressed the event, which coincides with Singapore’s National Day celebrations on Monday and boasts some of the region’s best DJs at its beach and nightclub parties, is not targeted solely at the gay and lesbian community. “This is an event that welcomes gays, lesbians, bisexuals, heterosexuals. It’s an event that does not discriminate against anybody,” he said. “We are trying to create an event that puts prejudices aside and really empowers people to be who they are.”

But many gay activists question whether the Singapore government is cynically chasing gay tourism dollars rather than genuinely trying to encourage a more tolerant and open society. Indeed, gay sex is still outlawed in the nation, and authorities are maintaining a ban on gay groups registering as societies. “All [the government leaders] are interested in is the entertainment dollar, not rights and freedoms and liberalization of the mind,” local gay rights activist Alex Au told AFP. Au’s People Like Us group, which represents Singapore’s gay and lesbian community, has been trying to become registered as a society since 1996, with its most recent effort failing in March this year.

The government restrictions reflect a self-confessed double standard on the part of the nation’s leaders toward gays. Singapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong said in July last year that gays would be allowed to work in civil service, while a first-ever help center catering specifically to gays opened a few months later offering phone counseling services and medical and legal advice. The city-state has also seen many gay-friendly clubs, karaoke pubs, saunas, restaurants, and fashion outlets open in recent years. Yet Goh insisted last year that gay sex acts would not be decriminalized because of opposition from Singapore’s conservative majority Chinese population as well as the Muslim community. “The heartlanders are still conservative. You can call it double standard, but sometimes it is double standard. They are conservative,” he said. “And for the Muslims, it’s religion, it’s not the law. Islam openly says the religion is against gay practice.”