Why Sgapore's gay sex law change is a double-edged sword for LGBTQ activists | CNN

Contents:

• SGAPORE GAY TRAVEL
• GAY SGAPORE SGAPORE CY GUI
• GO HOME, GAY BOY! OR, WHY DO SGAPOREAN GAY MEN PREFER TO "GO HOME" AND NOT "E OUT"?
• WHY SGAPORE’S GAY SEX LAW CHANGE IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD FOR LGBTQ ACTIVISTS
• THE BT GAY BARS AND CLUBS SGAPORE
• END OF SGAPORE'S GAY SEX BAN A 'SMALL STEP' FOR SOME LGBT UPL
• A YEAR AFTER SGAPORE DECRIMALIZED GAY SEX, ITS LGBT COMMUNY TURNS ATTENTN TO FAY
• SGAPORE REPEALS GAY SEX BAN BUT LIMS PROSPECT OF LEGALIZG SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
• FOR SGAPORE’S GAY MEN, REPEAL OF SEX BAN BRGS HOPE AFTER YEARS OF PA
• THE BEST SGAPORE GAY CLUBS & BARSSEE ALL THGS TO DOGAY CLUBS & BARS SGAPORE
• WHAT’S IT LIKE TO COME OUT AS GAY TO THE SAF?

SGAPORE GAY TRAVEL

Here are a few other fantastic hotels and hostels for gay travelers Sgapore that are highly rated, affordable, and perfectly loted for explorg the cy. And while ’s not as ostentat as the gay districts of big-time gay statns,  boasts a range of gay nightlife venu and LGBT-iendly tablishments.

GAY SGAPORE SGAPORE CY GUI

As I remend the sectns above, stayg anywhere the southern half of Sgapore’s Central Area will make super nvenient to accs the lol gay bars.

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’.

Public opn has gradually swung towards slightly more tolerance towards same-sex relatnships or even gay marriage, although is still not overwhelmgly favour. After dark there’s a thrivg gay scene and of urse there’s more than enough to do durg the day to keep all travellers – gay, straight, unirn – by and happy. In and around Chatown is where most gay bars and clubs are based, so to feel totally ee and easy ’s a good ia to stay here or spend a lot of time here.

GO HOME, GAY BOY! OR, WHY DO SGAPOREAN GAY MEN PREFER TO "GO HOME" AND NOT "E OUT"?

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.

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

There are certaly a range of hotels that have got brilliant reviews om our gay iends – some high-end sophistitn, some cheap (for Sgapore) and cheerful.

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.

Neil Road Chatown, known as ‘Pk Street’, has the only gay nightclub – Taboo – and an anizatn lled PLAY arrang gay takeover parti four or five tim a year.

THE BT GAY BARS AND CLUBS SGAPORE

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’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.

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.

As for the gay thg (sigh), anti-gay laws are still on the books, however, Sgapore's got a gay pri para, a vibrant gay scene and you n hold your partner’s hand and feel wele everywhere you go (unls you’re chewg gum, of urse). Now let’s dive to what’s actually tertg about this place sce as a gay traveller you will feel gladly received everywhere you go spe the antiquated laws.

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

For your five Sgapore gay gui, all s glory, you’ve e to the right and mischievo, the motto of the Vagabond Club is “If you mt get trouble, do at The Vagabond Club”The bt hotels SgaporeLet’s start this gay Sgapore travel gui wh a roundup of the bt plac to stay Sgapore. It was only wh the AIDS crisis, the liberalisatn of society spurred by the growth of the Inter, the troductn of ble televisn to Sgapore, the worldwi trend toward human rights and eedom of dividual exprsn, pl the enomic advantag of social diversy regnised by the Government, that gay Sgaporeans have been urageo enough to stand up and be unted for what they tly are. Publisher of the world's first glossy Asian gayrotic perdil, OG, which was produced Sgapore, prted Hong Kong, and wily distributed around the world through the 1980s and 1990s.

Even as this mistry affirms lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenred (LGBT) people opposn to the stance of the stutnal church, he was nvced this was a mistry he uld not eva, a rponsibily he uld not avoid - to clare Christ’s clive love to those who had been ostracized and neglected for far too long by the Church. Alex Au (see ncise tobgraphy, webse) - Sgapore's most wily-rpected gay activist, regard by many as beg the foundg father of the Sgapore gay movement. She relquished her appotment as print of the pro-tem mtee of People Like Us 3 2006 but ntu to build a bridge between the lbian and gay muni.

He was the first to anise outdoor gay parti the early 1990s at such venu as the East Coast Lagoon and Big Splash, and non-Sunday gay dis nights at var mastream clubs like Dancers - the Club Clarke Quay and at Far East Shoppg Centre.

A YEAR AFTER SGAPORE DECRIMALIZED GAY SEX, ITS LGBT COMMUNY TURNS ATTENTN TO FAY

Lim was the first to experiment wh such novel ncepts as a 24- hour sna that never clos, a totally gay rtrant, a transwoman pri march down Ann Siang Road and Club Street, a drag artiste baret-dis, swimmg tnk fashn shows, erotic film screengs, overnight lodggs for gay men, and offerg patrons the optn to buys shar gay enterpris. Vcent Thnay - founr of Vcent's lounge / Vcenz, Sgapore's first dited East-meets-Wt gay bar where ternatnal patrons uld socialise wh lol gays.

He was the first to experiment wh such novel ncepts as a 24-hour sna that never clos, a totally gay rtrant, a transwoman pri march down Ann Siang Road and Club Street, a drag artiste baret-dis, performg drag his own revu, swimmg tnk fashn shows, erotic film screengs, overnight lodggs for gay men, and offerg patrons the optn to buys shar gay enterpris.

His large pastel drawgs tackled issu of importance to lol gays: opprsn, prsure to marry, visibily, reprsive religns, safer sex and HIV regivg, and police entrapment. Cyril Wong (see webse) - The only openly-gay poet to w the Natnal Arts Council's Young Artist Award for Lerature, Wong is at the foreont nvassg greater public support for the arts general, and poetry particular.

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

Ng Yi-sheng (see reer blog, vio of IndigNatn lecture) - thor of SQ21: Sgapore Queers the 21st Century and Last Boy, a llectn of personally wrten poems cludg gay-themed on. Domic Chua (see Yawng Bread article) - Sgaporean poet who anised Contra/Dictn, Sgapore's first gay poetry-readg ssn, held durg IndigNatn, Sgapore's first month-long gay pri celebratn Augt 2005. The most senr of all the gay activists, Heng was the first lol amic to wre rearch papers on homosexualy Sgapore and also one of the foundg members of People Like Us.

Together wh fellow cizen Tien Kim Chuan, Tan marched Sgapore's first and only gay Chgay ntgent when the public were allowed to form their own marchg group 2010[7]. All the dividuals the book SQ21: Sgapore Queers the 21st Century, cludg Nicholas Deroose, producer of queerst, Sgapore's first gay, rad talk show-style podst and Leow Yangfa, a profsnal social worker. By examg how Sgaporean gay men negotiate their sexualy wh their fai, I qutn the validy of g out and gog home as both ontologil disurs and strategi.

FOR SGAPORE’S GAY MEN, REPEAL OF SEX BAN BRGS HOPE AFTER YEARS OF PA

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. 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. As associate law profsor Eugene Tan of the Sgapore Management Universy put : “Sgapore removed a law long regard as beg discrimatory towards gay men. 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.

THE BEST SGAPORE GAY CLUBS & BARSSEE ALL THGS TO DOGAY CLUBS & BARS SGAPORE

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.

Stg alone at the park on Saturday, wearg a pk wig and large sunglass, the 50-year-old tells TIME that, here at Pk Dot, he do not have to hi his inty as a gay Mlim man—a secret that he has kept om his fay for s and has no plans of divulgg. Phuong Nham, a Vietname gay man who moved to the Southeast Asian cy-state about 13 years ago, tells TIME that every Pk Dot event he has attend sce 2016 has been filled wh explic lls for the repeal of Sectn 377A, the law which crics say has long formed the basis for a host of discrimatory polici agast the LGBT muny. The mov e as other parts of Asia, cludg Taiwan, Thailand and India, are regnizg more rights for the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) muny.

“We will try and mata a balance…to 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. Stunt Ashleigh Ng, 15, danc wearg a rabow flag, durg a ncert performance at a park for the annual Pk Dot gay pri event on Saturday, July 1, 2017, Sgapore. 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.

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

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.