Semua Kita: Singapore Goes Gay (Interview with Roy Tan - Part 1)

[groyn88]

In this episode of Semua Kita we speak to Roy Tan, a towering figure who is intimately associated with Singaporean gay history, whether as its unofficial chronologist, a founder of Pink Dot, or a litigant in the legal challenges to the decriminalization of Section 377A.
But what was it like being a teenager in Singapore in the 1970s when it felt like you were the only gay on the island? Roy tells us more.

[groyn88]

This is Part 2:

In the last episode of Semua Kita, we heard how, in the early 80s, access to information about being gay in Singapore was limited. The Hite Report was important in introducing the idea of homosexuality to a curious audience. But her studies were based in the United States. How relevant was this to Roy, and of what significance was it?
Hong Lim Park then became a place where Roy could explore these feelings further, as a place for both physical contact and forming human connection. It was where gay men could meet, but it was put in jeopardy when the police started raiding it and other spaces. HIV and AIDS and the ensuing entrapment operations transformed how gay men found safety there. Roy was overseas at the height of the raids, but he was always drawn back.

[Steve5380]

I watched these two videos and I was amused by the heavy SINGLISH, which I always find cute.  About the history of Roy, so far, I have much empathy because my history is even more restrictive.  Throughout high school I was attracted to one of my peers, who I later ( 50 years later ) heard that he was gay.  I never made any move, I was so shy. 

 

My first gay experience was in my early 20s when I went to Miami to visit my family, and I did hang out a little with the gay scene there. But this was very little.  Thereafter, my gay life waited until I was 50 and divorced.  Strangely ( or not? )  I have never felt a need for anal sex,  only doing it to please others. I must be a strange specimen, ha ha.

 

Hearing Roy's story of the entrapment of gays in the 80s, brought some familiar thoughts:  what an evil mistake, malevolence, abomination is the idea that there is any guilt, any sin in homosexuality!   I am sure that in our account of Karma held by Nature, we gays receive a large positive addition for having suffered this victimization by society, while all the responsible for the condemnation of homosexuality in the organized religions will get a large NEGATIVE charge for their evil.  

 

@groyn88, I hope you keep posting following episodes of this series.  I have not been able to find them in YouTube.

[Guest huh?]

6 hours ago, Steve5380 said:

Thereafter, my gay life waited until I was 50 and divorced.  Strangely ( or not? ) 

50, hmmm... that seems too late to enjoy being gay to the fullest.  You missed the best part of your younger life to attract men.   You are so weird!!!

[Steve5380]

37 minutes ago, Guest huh? said:

50, hmmm... that seems too late to enjoy being gay to the fullest.  You missed the best part of your younger life to attract men.   You are so weird!!!

 

Oh... you know so little about life!  There is more to life than to attract men.  And I probably attracted more men at 50 than you did at 20.  

[groyn88]

On 8/9/2024 at 4:07 AM, Steve5380 said:

I watched these two videos...

Thanks for sharing your life experiences, Steve.

 

[groyn88]

This is Part 3:

Many people know Roy as the recorder of Singapore's modern LGBTQ history, in this episode of Semua Kita he discusses what his motivations are, how he was influenced by activism taking place in other Asian countries and what helped keep his commitment to history going.
But Roy was much more than an observer, he was also a participant in Singapore's gay social spaces. When law enforcement became more permissive in the late 90s, were there any changes to the mainstream and alternative places where people could meet?
Encountering those like themselves allowed gay people to talk about their shared experiences and their increasing indignation at the unfair treatment they had in society. 

[groyn88]

This is Part 4:

In this episode of Semua Kita we continue our conversation with Roy as he talks about how he went from being only peripherally involved with Singapore's growing queer community, to taking a central place as one of its most visible activists and a founder of Pink Dot, Singapore's annual LGBTQ event.
Pink Dot was successful from the start, but faced ongoing criticism of complicity with governmental tokenism and its own lack of activism, particularly with its decision to downplay the protest aspect of the event and not mention Section 377A, the law which criminalized homosexuality in Singapore. Why did this change?

[Guest Eventful 2009]

I "credited" the success of the 2009 Pindot launches to the AWARE saga.  In that same year, the mainstream media, appearing in newspapers and on TV,  in various languages, worked together to raise awareness of the AWARE hyjacking incident, for several weeks, tacitly supporting the LGBT populations. Furthermore, the significant LGBT supporters attendance at Suntec City to challenge and "interrogate" the panel of Christian "Extremists" was seen as a successful protest and paved the road for the upcoming maiden pinkdot launch.  If my memory serves me correctly, despite the fact that the AWARE saga captured Singapore by storm in 2009, LHL was unwilling to discuss the issue on NDR (a missed chance to mobilize and unify the population).  As a result, the "White Camp" will not hesitate to organise their own method of protest against the LGBT, and the division could not be more apparent in the years to come.

 

Repealing of S377A was long overdue,  but somehow, I felt Pelosi short visit and BBC interviewing our minister on the matter might have greatly helped to expedite the repealing process in recent years.

 

 

 

 

[groyn88]

On 8/20/2024 at 10:04 AM, Guest Eventful 2009 said:

I "credited" the success of the 2009 Pindot launches to the AWARE saga....

 

 

Yes, the part that the AWARE saga played in boosting the turnout at the inaugural Pink Dot is noted in this wiki article: https://the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com/wiki/Pink_Dot_SG?so=search#AWARE_saga

[groyn88]

This is Part 5:

In this episode of Semua Kita we continue our conversation with Roy as he pivoted away from being on the committee of Pink Dot, to mounting a constitutional challenge to Section 377A. We explore why he felt that there was a good chance of success.
Now that Section 377A has been repealed, what does Roy think about the future of queer freedoms in Singapore?