What It’s Like to Come Out Sgapore, Where Gay Sex is Still Illegal

Contents:

• SGAPORE’S LATT RULG ON GAY SEX IS ‘COLD COMFORT,’ ACTIVISTS SAY
• WHAT IT’S LIKE TO COME OUT SGAPORE, WHERE GAY SEX IS STILL ILLEGAL
• WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE YOUNG AND GAY SGAPORE
• SGAPORE TO CRIMALIZE GAY SEX BUT WON’T ALLOW SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
• SGAPORE GAY TRAVEL
• END OF SGAPORE'S GAY SEX BAN A 'SMALL STEP' FOR SOME LGBT UPL
• SGAPORE REPEALS GAY SEX BAN BUT LIMS PROSPECT OF LEGALISG SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
• WHY SGAPORE’S GAY SEX LAW CHANGE IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD FOR LGBTQ ACTIVISTS
• SGAPORE PASS LAWS TO CRIMALISE GAY SEX, PROTECT FN OF MARRIAGE AGAST LEGAL CHALLENGE
• GAY WEDDG CEREMONI[]

SGAPORE’S LATT RULG ON GAY SEX IS ‘COLD COMFORT,’ ACTIVISTS SAY

Lee said he hop the ernment's move will help rencile and acmodate both the ncerns of nservative relig groups and the sir of gay Sgaporeans to be rpected and accepted.

Unlike India, Sgapore has not ma the cisn to repeal this law, meang that unr Sectn 377A homosexualy remas illegal (technilly, the law says nothg about same-sex relatns between two women).

Other parts of Sgapore’s Penal Co uld also potentially be terpreted to prosecute gay men, like sectn 354 on the ‘outrage of mosty’ or sectn 294A verg obscene acts public. The media is even forbidn to promote “the glamorizatn of the homosexual liftyle” so the rare ocsn an LGBT character appears on TV they are portrayed as damaged and have to be ‘fixed’.

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO COME OUT SGAPORE, WHERE GAY SEX IS STILL ILLEGAL

Public opn has gradually swung towards slightly more tolerance towards same-sex relatnships or even gay marriage, although is still not overwhelmgly favour.

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE YOUNG AND GAY SGAPORE

Of urse, if gay travellers would like to ensure they’re around more ‘like-md’ people then ’s a matter of dog some rearch and gettg remendatns om fellow LGBT travellers. Chatown is home to many of the more famo gay bars (Dorothy’s Bar wh s Wizard of Oz dér is a particular favoure of ours), although some plac have bee unofficial gay bars, like Tanjong Beach Club on Sentosa Island. In the gay clubs and bars you’ll fd easy to get chattg wh lols and, of urse, there are the snas – jt be rpectful of the fact that the lol men here might have plex relatnships wh their sexualy and have ls tn on issu, so ’s your rponsibily to take preutns and e protectn.

SGAPORE TO CRIMALIZE GAY SEX BUT WON’T ALLOW SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Instead, the top urt said was not “an archect of social policy” and that any change was up to Lim/RtersThe Sgapore Court of Appeal, the untry’s top urt, cled Monday to overturn a law crimalizg gay sex, lg that three men who brought challeng did not have legal standg bee the ernment has pledged not to enforce the lonial-era rights advot had sought to overturn the law, known as Sectn 377A, argug that stigmatiz gay men and promot discrimatn.

But they said the lg fell far short bee gay men uld still face police vtigatns unr the law and will suffer om Ong said he was disappoted by the lg and that the L.

Sgapore’s Prime Mister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday said the untry will repeal the lonial-era Sectn 377A of Sgapore’s Penal Co, thereby crimalizg gay sex Sgapore, but add that same-sex marriage will ntue to be illegal the cy-state. Lee said: “We need to fd the right way to rencile and acmodate both the tradnal mor of our society, and the aspiratn of gay Sgaporeans to be rpected and accepted.

SGAPORE GAY TRAVEL

In June, Thailand edged closer to beg the first place Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex unns when lawmakers passed four different bills aimg to provi greater rights to gay upl, such as the abily to adopt children and manage assets jotly. But one thg they have mon is their nservative and rigoro culture, which expos young kids to homophobia om a young Aliy, 16, who intifi as trans male, movg schools was a shockg experience. Josh, Jay and Ezra, three gay men, are not, and asked to rema anonymo – which may speak to specific challeng between genrs as 's clear is the cisn to e out is eply personal, and mt be weighed agast each one’s own experience – pecially given the obstacl of beg queer Aliy, was a cisn he ma to take a stance.

END OF SGAPORE'S GAY SEX BAN A 'SMALL STEP' FOR SOME LGBT UPL

So I head to Tantric, Sgapore's biggt gay bar, to speak to some lols about how they get around the untry's backward by David AllegrettiJonathan, 20VICE: Hi Jonathan, how do you fd Sgapore? There are straight people g too, which I thk is a good thg—gay people and straight people stg unr one roof talkg and havg fun, 's a good by David AllegrettiBrett, 32, (an Atralian ex-pat I found at Tantric)Why do you thk this law still exists? Photograph: Mat Latif/The ProjectorIntermissn BarConnect wh the LGBTQ+ muny beyond the ual gay barsThe area between Tanjong Pagar and Outram Park is not exactly known as a “gaybourhood” per se, but there’s no nyg that everyone unr the rabow gravat towards Neil Road for popular gay bars such as Tantric Bar & May Wong’s Café, Out Bar, and the now-funct Taboo Club.

RECOMMENDED: How the LGBTQ+ muny Sgapore is stayg nnected and the bt gay bars SgaporePelangi Pri CentreSgapore's first and only LGBTQ rource centre and library, Pelangi Pri Centre offers a ntral and iendly space for you to explore your sexualy.

From the Home of The Blue Sp group – you know, the fab folks behd the famo gay bars Tantric, Backstage Bar and May Wong’s Cafe – a pizzeria that dish tasty slic till late (currently open for takeaway and livery only).

SGAPORE REPEALS GAY SEX BAN BUT LIMS PROSPECT OF LEGALISG SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

SINGAPORE, Aug 22 (Rters) - Sgapore's cisn to lift a lonial-era ban on sex between men is long overdue and will not end discrimatn of LGBT groups the nservative cy-state, rights activists and members of the gay muny said on announcement by Sgapore's prime mister to repeal the so-lled 377A law on Sunday me as he also said the ernment would take steps to prevent legal challeng that would allow same-sex marriag to be regnised. 5 though Sgapore's 377A, unr which offenrs n be jailed for up to two years, has not been enforced on nsentg adult mal for s, some relig groups wanted the statute to stay, fearg that s repeal may promote homosexualy and challenge tradnal fay a move to assuage some of those ncerns, Prime Mister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday his ernment would protect s fn of marriage, that of beg between a man and a woman, om beg challenged nstutnally the urts.

Marriage equaly is important to many Sgapore's lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer (LGBTQ) muny, and "the doors to that possibily should not be closed", Choong 30 untri worldwi have legalised same sex marriage, wh Taiwan the only place Asia to do so.

WHY SGAPORE’S GAY SEX LAW CHANGE IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD FOR LGBTQ ACTIVISTS

REUTERS/Fele Lim/File Photo Acquire Licensg RightsSINGAPORE, Nov 29 (Rters) - Sgapore's parliament on Tuday crimalised sex between men, but, a blow to the LGBT muny, also amend the nstutn to prevent urt challeng that other untri have led to the legalisatn of same-sex mov e as other parts of Asia, cludg Taiwan, Thailand and India are regnisg more rights for the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) muny.

"We will try and mata a uphold a stable society wh tradnal, heterosexual fay valu, but wh space for homosexuals to live their liv and ntribute to society, " Home Affairs Mister K. When Sgapore announced this week would end a lonial-era law that crimalized sex between men, looked like a big victory for gay rights advot the Southeast Asian untry. Soon after announcg that nsensual gay sex would no longer be illegal, Prime Mister Lee Hsien Loong said his annual Augt rally speech that his ernment would “uphold and safeguard the stutn of marriage” – fed the Constutn as a unn between man and woman.

SGAPORE PASS LAWS TO CRIMALISE GAY SEX, PROTECT FN OF MARRIAGE AGAST LEGAL CHALLENGE

And that disappotment will only have epened wh the suggtn by some of Lee’s misters that not only would the ernment rema opposed to gay marriage – may even create extra hurdl to prevent people om seekg to challenge the marriage laws urt. Law mister K Shanmugam said an terview wh state media that Parliament, rather than the urts, would hold the power to fe marriage – effectively makg harr for people to legally challenge the ernment’s polici as several gay men have attempted recent years. However, for many other lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer (LGBTQ+) lols and expatriat the Ln Cy, the most ntroversial legislatn is that ncerng homosexualy.

GAY WEDDG CEREMONI[]

A remnant of Brish lonial legislatn, which still largely shap Sgapore’s legal system today, Sectn 377A of the Sgapore Penal Co, which prohibs sexual relatns between nsentg men public and private, particularly stands out this events have propelled this clse to the foreont of the news cycle Sgapore and abroad, light of a Febary 28 Court of Appeal lg that rejected an appeal filed by three lol Sgaporean gay men 2020, challengg the nstutnaly of Sectn recent legal challenge was fueled by an Indian urt’s cisn to lift a ban on nsensual gay sex September 2018, which spired Johnson Ong Mg, Bryan Choong, and Roy Tan Seng Kee to ph for siar legal actn Sgapore. The three lols challenged the nstutnaly of Sectn 377A, potg out that the clse prived gay Sgaporeans of “life or personal liberty” unr Article 9(1) of the Constutn of Sgapore.

Throughout the legal proceedgs, the Supreme Court repeatedly referred back to a 2007 polil promise stck wh Prime Mister Lee Hsien Loong, matag Sectn 377A place while promisg that no party uld effectively be prosecuted a urt of law for engagg nsensual homosexual activi private. Followg the 2018 legal challenge to the clse, the Attorney-General’s Chambers offered a remr that the public prosecutor’s exercise of prosecutorial discretn “has always been, and remas, unfettered, ” thereby brgg to qutn the extent to which gay men are effectively safe om legal actn on the basis of their marked the send time the sectn has been challenged a prev appeal was filed 2014, after two men – Lim Meng Suan and Kenh Chee Mun-leon, a gay uple of 15 years – had siarly challenged the nstutnaly of Sectn 377A agast the premise of Article 9 and Article 12 of the Sgapore Constutn, the latter of which guarante all dividuals equaly to legal protectn of their rights unr the nstutn. Another appeal had been filed four years prr by Tan Eng Hong, a gay man who had been arrted for allegedly engagg oral sex wh another man a locked cubicle of a public toilet.

He also poted to a shift public attus towards homosexualy and LGBTQ+ rights, statg that “polici need to evolve to keep abreast of such views” and the Government is nsirg the “bt way forward wh [Sectn] 377A. “I don’t thk we n tly move forward as a muny if we n only exprs ourselv the spac, ” they said, strsg the importance of Shanmugam’s claims that polici need to evolve *, a lol Sgaporean gay man, se a glimmer of hope the words.