Out in droves: People attending the annual Pink Dot event at Hong Lim Park in Singapore. — AFP
Drag performer Yeo Sam Jo has been feeling much more confident and safe heading off to shows in the full regalia of pink sequin dress, pearl necklace and heavy make-up.
Change is afoot in the conservative city state with a softening of attitudes and growing tolerance of gay issues, which some members of the LGBT community and academics attribute to the November lifting of a ban on sex between men.
“Some people will take photos and I’ll just let them. Whatever, I’m going for work, I’m going to perform,” said Yeo, or “JoJo Sam Clair” as he is known on stage.
“Sometimes the stares ... from ‘Wow, you look interesting’ to ‘Oh, you look different’ ... but nothing bad has been said or done,” Yeo said recently before jumping into a taxi on a balmy tropical evening on the way to a show.
Under a colonial-era law known as Section 377A, sex between men was illegal in the South-East Asian island nation until parliament lifted the ban seven months ago after years of campaigning by activists. Sex between women had not been covered under the law.
Sociologist Laavanya Kathiravelu said changes in legislation can shift mindsets, especially in places such as Singapore, with its “strong government that has often directed the moral limits of what is acceptable or not”.
“The repeal of 377A could be interpreted as a top-down signal that the social and political landscape has changed.
“This means that even those who do not necessarily agree with the repeal must now respect and acknowledge these identities,” said Kathiravelu, of the Nanyang Technological University.
An annual rally for LGBT rights known as Pink Dot drew big crowds this weekend.
Describing the mood as one of “celebration and joyousness”, Pink Dot’s spokesperson Clement Tan said it was a “relief” to hold the rally with the law no longer on the books. — Reuters/AFP
