What's It Like To Come Out As Gay To The SAF?

Contents:

• WHAT’S IT LIKE TO COME OUT AS GAY TO THE SAF?
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO COME OUT AS GAY TO THE SAF?

In 2001, an article entled “Unrstandg Homosexual Servicemen—A Case Study” appeared Counsel-Lk, the quarterly publitn of the SAF Counsellg Centre (SCC). The article scrib her experience unsellg N, a 22-year-old “Che homosexual servg his Natnal Service as a clerk an army mp”. “I had wanted very much for N to choose a ‘straight’ life … I was sadned when he chose to rema as a gay after we had explored the challeng he would face as a homosexual.

In fact, as the unsellg relatnship strengthened, I enuraged N to attend a programme for homosexuals, n for the purpose of helpg gays change their sexual orientatn to one that is ‘straight’. “I also felt hypocril when I assured N my acceptance and rpect for him, regardls of his cisn on whether he would rema gay, when my sire was for him to make a different cisn. “I am grateful to N who gave me the privilege to enter to his world of homosexualy, ” Lily nclus.

“I have learnt much about the homosexual subculture and had challenged me to review my own worldviews and stereotyp. They range om the closeted pre-enlistee worried about beg bullied the army, to gay men sharg their experienc clarg 302 (the official medil the SAF to classify gay men), to r fanatics who are “sred kena touched the dark” by their gay bunkmat. The most reliable and oft ced belongs to Lim Chi-Sharn, who meticuloly tailed the procs of g out as gay to his medil officer bee he, too, was trated by “[sketchy] word-of-mouth … rmatn available onle” and “wanted to partially fill this lack of publicly available rmatn by documentg [his] own experience”.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

Origally published 2002 on the email group SiGNeL (the Sgapore Gay News List), and later picked up by Fridae and Yawng Bread, his acunt is lengthy and worth readg full. Chi-Sharn’s “officer t trag … [was] termated” after he disclosed his homosexualy;. Homosexualy is listed as an example of a “social problem” the medil claratn form (though, a later versn that I found, the phrase seems to have been altered to “social issue”);.

Tan mentned that ‘sensive’ areas [ the ary] are probably out-of-the-qutn” to gay servicemen;. Tan told Chi-Sharn that the SAF do not nsir homosexualy a mental illns. Tan also acknowledged that the SAF’s “‘Directory of Diseas” ntas entri on homosexualy and transsexualy.

In an attempt to unrstand N, her client, better, Lily nstcted a mol of the potential problems gay servicemen may face. ■ It is assumed that gays would threaten disciple and morale. ■ It is believed that gays are subject to blackmail the ary ntext.