Interview with Kanako Otsuji, Japan’s first openly lesbian politician   Kanako Otsuji became Japan’s first openly lesbian politician when she was elected to the Osaka Prefectural Assembly in April 2003 at the age of 28 - making her the youngest person ever to be elected to the Assembly. In 2007, Otsuji was an official Democratic Party of Japan candidate. She lost the Upper House election with 38,229 votes. If Otsuji had won, she would’ve been the country’s first openly gay national politician ever in Japan. Over breakfast, Otsuji talked to Sayoni about being an openly gay politician in Japan. (more…) tags: coming out, gay, japan, kanako otsuji, politics, lesbian This Week in Queer Entertainment (26/5/08 - 2/6/08) High-profile lesbian scandals and wrestling… that is what we have for you this week. Hollywood Lesbian Scandal Jodie and and new lover Cindi (more…) tags: bisexual, jodie foster, queer, tila tequila, lesbian Review: Wilde The love that dare not speak its name   “Unasked by night; I am true Love, I fill The hearts of boy and girl with mutual flame.” Then sighing, said the other, “Have thy will, I am the love that dare not speak its name.”   – True Love, Lord Alfred Douglas It was a historical moment. Wilde, a movie made in 1997 was banned in Singapore for ‘homosexual content’, and it has been passed without cut with a R21 rating this year. (more…) tags: gay, indignation, singapore, wilde This Week in Queer Entertainment (19/5/08 - 25/5/08) Drama drama drama. That’s what we have for you, this week. What’s new, right? (more…) tags: bisexual, grey's anatomy, queer, tila tequila, lesbian WOMAN This article is written by our guest writer, Ho Chi Sam. Image taken from aboutleap.com The world is so much easily understood if we saw and believed in everything in binary opposites, and ideally, both ends/poles function in tandem, in contrast, interdependently, symbiotically, and eventually contribute to a whole, a stable system, a status quo. Where does the woman stand in the world of binary opposites? For millennia, literature, rhetoric and discourses have by default refer to “humanity” as “man”, “humankind” as “mankind”, most random persons as “he” (Freudian slip any one?). This whole, stable system and status quo privileges a dominant kind – the male-oriented. It is gendered and sexed accordingly to toe the line of the androcentric, patriarchal and heterosexist establishment. (more…) tags: androcentric, discrimination, dykes, fluidity, heteronormality, heterosexist, lesbian, lgbt, marginalise, patriarchal, queer, rights, sexual diversity, sexual minorities, woman, glbt This Week in Queer Entertainment (11/5/08 - 18/5/08)   Wedding bells, hot lesbian kisses and frat boys… this is what we have on your screen this week. Wedding Bells With the California Supreme Court striking down the ban on same-sex marriages as unconstitutional, our favourite celebrity lesbian couple, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi have announced their intention to get married. Spoilers after the break! Read at your own risk. (more…) tags: ellen degeneres, gay marriage, lesbian, queer, tila tequila, grey's anatomy This Week in Queer Entertainment (4/5/08 - 10/5/08) Image Copyright of Sayoni This is a new segment on our blog, where we will be covering bits and pieces of visibility of queer community, especially queer women, in the media - books, TV shows, movies, theater, celebrities, you name it. (more…) tags: grey's anatomy, lesbian, queer, tila tequila, gay Broken Promises Part II: HIV positive man prosecuted for s377A (Singapore) This was reported in the Straits Times on 8th May. IN THE first case of its kind, a chef infected with HIV was charged in court yesterday with engaging in oral sex with a 16-year-old without first informing him of the risks of contracting the virus that causes Aids.Chan Mun Chiong, 43, pleaded guilty to that charge as well as to another of committing an act of gross indecency with the teen. The Ministry of Health summons charge said he had oral sex without first telling the teenager about the HIV risk. He also failed to get him to voluntarily agree to accept that risk. The offence carries a fine of up to $10,000 or up to two years in jail, or both. The sex charge said that the bespectacled, spiky-haired man and the boy performed the sex acts in a cubicle of a men’s toilet at the Northpoint Shopping Centre in Yishun on Sept 15 last year. For the gross indecency charge, he faces a jail term of up to two years. Chan, who did not have a lawyer, was released on $10,000 bail. He is expected back in court today for his case to be dealt with. He does not face stiffer penalties that were passed by Parliament last month as they had yet to go into effect. Under amendments to the Infectious Diseases Act, those found guilty of having unprotected sex even if they do not know but have ‘reason to believe’ that they have or have been exposed to HIV can be jailed for up to 10 years and/or fined up to $50,000. The Health Ministry has in the past investigated some cases, but no one has been prosecuted until yesterday. One case was compounded last year. In another case, a foreigner being investigated left the country in 2005 before he could be charged. ‘Tis the season, not for merry and joy, but for news after news of institutionalized homophobia, here in Singapore. Firstly, two media providers were separately fined by the MDA for airing content deemed to be too pro-gay, barely weeks apart. Secondly, a gay sauna was unreasonably and (possibly extra-legally) raided by the police. (more…) tags: hiv, queer, s377a, singapore, gay A Chat With My Uncle   Image Copyright of Sayoni One Sunday I had lunch with my uncle. We get along fairly well and I am out to him, but we are not at the stage where we have copious open free conversations about my relationship status or my partner. Anyhow, during lunch, it was just the two of us because my aunt was out of town. We were having a routine, run-of-the-mill conversation as usual (What are you ordering; how was your trip to Bangkok, how much did you pay for a massage; did you know that iceberg lettuce lowers blood sugar; the car is due for servicing etc) (more…) tags: coming out, family, lesbian, queer Wilde-Indignation Fund-raising Gala Premiere (Singapore) Fridae.com, in support of People Like Us’ Indignation gay pride season, is organising the Singapore premiere of the film ‘Wilde’ on Tuesday 13 May 2008, at the Lido theatres. Directed by Brian Gilbert, this 1997 film tells the story of celebrated poet, novelist and playwright Oscar Wilde, who in 1895 was convicted of ‘gross indecency’ under a UK law that was the precursor of Singapore’s infamous Section 377A. Wilde was a martyr to the moral hypocrisy of his time, and which unfortunately still lives on in Singapore. The film was banned by the Singapore censors when first released. It has now been re-rated under revised film guidelines (post 2002 censorship review) as R21. Fridae’s gala premiere is intended as a fund-raiser for Indignation, since Indignation events themselves (scheduled for August 2008) are traditionally free of charge, in order to be accessible to everyone. Tickets are priced at $20 (US$15) and $50 (US$38) - the latter includes a cocktail reception - and are available from Fridae’s movie site, or more directly from their tickets shop. Crocodile men’s wear and Shaw theatres are the other sponsors and People Like Us would like to express our thanks to them and Fridae for their support. Sayoni has been, and still is, a proud participant in Indignation over the years, and we would like to express our full support to this Gala Premiere. I Saw The Fireworks: Part 1   Image Copyright of Sayoni  This is co-written by Yee and Qin, a love story which began in Sayoni through the Personals section… all it takes is an email, ladies. Another normal day at work, Yee was at her desk sorting the emails in her mailbox. *Click* *Click* A mail caught her eye from a sender named Qin. Little did they know that this email would set the clockwork in place to spin a tale of two souls whose paths crossed through the wonders of cyberspace; brought together by a forum which they frequent, Sayoni. They have never met, do not even know each other but somehow they were brought together which I would like to believe as serendipity. It was the beginning of a new chapter in their lives and hopefully, in the following chapters of the book, imprinted by the footprints of these two characters who met by chance. (more…) tags: lesbian, love story, relationships, queer Gay’s Anatomy Season 4 of Grey’s Anatomy returned with Episode 12 right before Lost did. I thought they ended the season with episode 11 due to the writer’s strike, but turns out they are just carrying on. Warning: If you have not watched the first three seasons, there will be major spoilers ahead! (more…) tags: grey's anatomy, queer, lesbian Review: A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila 2 Season Premiere   Guess who’s back? That’s right, bisexual bachelorette MySpace queen Tila Tequila is back for another shot at love, this time, with 15 guys and girls each. Tila and Bobby broke up barely months after the end of the first season, Bobby not being able to handle her job and its pressures, so a broken-hearted Tila is back for another season, looking for love. Still picky, still princessy, still as gorgeous as ever. Whatever she is taking to look that good, I want it too! For a change, you can watch this show free (and legally) online on the official MTV website, even if you are not in the United States. Thank you, MTV, for not pulling a ABC or Showtime. Warning: Mild spoilers ahead! Do not read further if you don’t want to know what happened at all. Rating: (more…) tags: bisexual, mtv, queer, reality dating show, tila tequila, lesbian Broken Promises - 377A and Non-enforcement (Singapore) The following news story was spotted on the blog of a local gay blogger - the original newsletter that was sent out is not available for linking. Club 1-7 is a male-only sauna, and such saunas are popularly associated with cruising venues for queer men. From 1-7 newsletter Dear members, Our water supply was turned off at 10pm on the 25th April 2008, Saturday. When we opened the back door to investigate and turn it back on, a few plain-clothed officers from the CID rushed in. Sam immediately tried to stop them and demanded to know what was going on. They told him that they were conducting a ’spot-check’. When asked what they were checking for, they simply repeated ’spot-check’. the officers refused to specify what they were checking for despite repeated demands. Sam also asked if they had a warrant to check the premises. They refused to reply. At this point in time, we turned on all the lights upstairs and downstairs to alert the members that a check was going on. None of the members were stopped from dressing or leaving, nor were they searched or any particulars taken. When a female officer tried to enter, Sam repeatedly shouted that she was not allowed to enter as we are a private men’s club and insisted that she leave. Thereupon, the supervising officer threw Sam to the ground and twisted his arms behind his back to handcuff him. Because of this, Sam sustained cuts to his wrist and bruises on his left rib, for which he was later brought to the Singapore General Hospital for treatment. The officers only removed several DVDs and Sam was arrested and spent the night in jail. He has been charged with assaulting (pushing) the officer that handcuffed him despite never having laid hands upon him. Sam is 74 years old. The officer was about 40. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will give a free return visit to anyone who was here when the incident occurred - just tell the front desk. We are open for business as usual for our 8TH YEAR from 11:30am to 11:30pm on weekdays and from 11:30am till 7am the following day on Fridays and Saturdays. Club One Seven. Editor’s Note: The above letter has been edited for minor grammar and spelling, but the content has not been altered. (more…) tags: police raids, queer, s377a, sauna, singapore, gay TV station fined S$15,000 for showing ”normal” gay family (Singapore) Barely weeks after Starhub was fined 10,000 for showing a lesbian kissing scene, another TV station has been slapped with a fine. TV Channel 5 has been fined by the Media Development Authority (MDA) for an episode in an acquired series, “Find and Design”. The episode normalises and promotes a gay lifestyle and was aired on Sunday, 13 January 2008 at 7.30am. The programme “Find and Design” is a home and decor series and in the episode concerned, the host helps a gay couple to transform their game room into a new nursery for their adopted baby. The episode contained several scenes of the gay couple with their baby as well as the presenter’s congratulations and acknowledgement of them as a family unit in a way which normalises their gay lifestyle and unconventional family setup. This is in breach of the Free-to-Air TV Programme Code which disallows programmes that promote, justify or glamourise gay lifestyles. MDA also consulted the Programme Advisory Committee for English Programmes (PACE) and the Committee was also of the view that a gay relationship should not be presented as an acceptable family unit. As the programme was shown on a Sunday morning, PACE felt that this was inappropriate as such a timeslot was within family viewing hours. Taking into account the severity of the breach, the telecast time of the programme and the fact that this was a second breach for MediaCorp TV, MDA found that a financial penalty was warranted and issued MediaCorp TV a fine of $15,000. So, just showing that gay people exist, and can be happy, is such an anathema that it has to be regulated by repeated stiff-upper-lip fines and threats, in this sunny island of Singapore. Once again, the authorities fail to recognise that there can be no “promotion” of homosexuality - people are either queer or they are not. What is this harm that they are bending over backwards to protect the people from? Because, the only thing that will result from watching the program is that maybe more people will be more accepting of homosexuality and learn that it is possible to have a happy gay family, that we are not all drug-using promiscuous unhappy people. Once again, this change in attitude, the acknowledgment that gay people are human, does not mean that they are going to BE gay. We are normal people living normal lives, paying our mortgages and taxes, going to work, contributing to society. The authorities are trying hard, very very hard, to make sure there is no way that attitudes can be changed in any way. What they are protecting is not families, but the shell that people live in, to make sure there is absolutely no possibility intolerant attitudes can change, because that would really mean the end of the world, if there was a little less hate in our hearts for people who are different from us. Protecting hate can be a tough job, and we extend our congratulations to the authorities for doing a fine job of it. tags: ban, gay rights, mda, media, queer, singapore, gay Artbortion Shvarts in her Studio Or when abortion becomes art. Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself “as often as possible” while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process. [Read the full article] Shocked? Disgusted? Fascinated? Whatever your reaction is, you are probably not alone - thousands of people in Yale and in the bloggosphere have been actively voicing their views on Shvarts’ “artwork”. I put those in quotation marks, because like the (badly written) “artwork” Jodie chooses to display at the end of Season 5 of The L Word, this didn’t really make all that sense to me. But then, I was never a fan of abstract art. (more…) tags: abortion, shvarts, women, yale, art Sayoni 2nd Anniversary Party   Sayoni commemorated our 2nd Anniversary in style on 12th April, at a rustic world-war-II bunker-like space in Food#03, a rising social entrepreneurship cafe. The party was the culmination of months of planning and preparation, from the drinks to the decorations. We were hosted by O’Ren Ishii, a new-found MCing talent within Sayoni who entertained the crowd with her wicked sense of humour and presentation. The highlight of the party was the Sayoni Awards 2008, where a series of fun titles were handed out to our beloved members, such as Drama Queen of the Year, Sticky Rice Couple of the Year etc. But apart from poking harmless fun at our members, we also know how to honour the outstanding women in our community. Ms Yong Meiling was awarded the prestigious Sayoni Woman of the Year 2008 title, with a beautiful crystal trophy. This is what Jean had to say when she honoured Ms Yong Meiling with the trophy. I first got to know Meiling in 2005, hoping to meet the leaders who are in charge of OC Women. We met up, I remember Meiling said she was ‘just helping out’ and nothing more. Over the years, it became, ‘helping out’, to ‘contributing’ to Program Director of OC women. And maybe boss now. Empathetic, Street smart and certainly no push over, Meiling has shown a remarkable willingness to make a step back for others to lead, change her mind over issues and stand up for those she believes in. We have all seen how OC women’s support group changed people’s lives. Always wanting to ignore our presence, society and gay men alike, it has been the ‘hope in the dark’ when all else is bleak in the society we live in now. Without demanding for hope, we would not have struggled, and without struggle we would not have been here. Virginia Woolf wrote in her journal, “The future is dark, which is on the whole, the best thing the future can be, I think.” Dark, she seems to say, not as in terrible. We often mistake the one for the other. To me, dark as in the familiar female womb where we all come from ready to burst forward to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Today, we honor Yong Meiling, helper to program director of OC Women. We hope to celebrate many many more anniversaries with you, and continue honouring women in our community.