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The terms 'gay' and 'homosexual' in this article are defined as 'having a greater sexual attraction for the same sex than for the opposite sex'. Thus, a person happily married to a spouse of the opposite sex may still be gay even though he or she consciously refrains from or has never indulged in homosexual acts.
The articles in this category have been intentionally prefixed "Singapore gay..." instead of the ideally accurate "Singaporean LGBTI..." so as to render them more accessible to the lay reader who may not be familiar with technical gender terms, and to increase the likelihood of their getting higher-ranking hits when users of search engines type "gay" and "Singapore".
Statistical problems
It is unknown exactly how many homosexuals there are in Singapore or what percentage of the population they constitute. The main reason for this is that section 377 of the Singapore Penal Code criminalises 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature' which includes even consensual, private, adult homosexual acts. The penalties are either:
- life imprisonment, or
- imprisonment for up to 10 years with or without a fine.
As such, in any survey or census, no citizen would readily admit to being what is essentially, in the eyes of the Law, a criminal. By the same token, it is impossible to determine how many murderers, rapists or grand larcenists there are.
This statistical vacuum was not regarded as any problem in the past and no population census conducted in Singapore has ever bothered to quantify such people. However, with the increasing cognisance of equal, universal human rights, freedom of individual expression and the growing political and economic clout of homosexuals, this hitherto neglected aspect of sociological statistics will become increasingly important in the future.
The 2000 U.S. decennial census estimated (by extrapolation from hard data) that the proportion of gay men in America was 2.5 percent and of lesbians, 1.2 percent (source: Scientific American, March 2005 issue, page 20, 'Gay and Lesbian Census' by Rodger Doyle ) even though socio-psychological studies from the Kinsey era to the present day show that the same percentages of those claiming greater erotic attraction for the same sex were 7.7 for men and 7.5 for women. No conclusive explanation exists for this anomaly. Figures in Singapore may be broadly similar.
- Read PLU3's review of previous international studies:
Available statistics
In 2001, Fridae, Asia's largest English language-LGBT web portal, polled its gay and lesbian members residing in Singapore. Of the 595 respondents, 39% declared that they were "attached" or "living with a partner." 40% of the respondents who were in relationships had been with the same partner for more than 6 months.
A high proportion of respondents lived with their parents, while only 22% owned or rented their homes. This was despite the relatively high income levels of the respondents, with 50% earning more than S$80,000 (US$47,000) per annum – 20% reporting income levels of more than S$180,000 per annum, 11% between S$120,000 to S$180,000 and 19% between S$80,000 to S$120,000.
Historical background
See the articles:
Singapore gay culture
See the articles:
Singapore gay personalities
Historical
Paddy Chew- Singapore's first AIDS victim to come out to the general public (1998)
The first Singaporean AIDS victim to publicly declare his HIV-positive status, thus giving a face to a hitherto anonymous affliction which mainstream society considered remote from possible encounter. He came out on 12 Dec 1998 during the First National AIDS Conference in Singapore. He identified his orientation as bisexual.
His plight was dramatised in a play called "Completely With/Out Character" produced by The Necessary Stage, directed by Alvin Tan and written by Haresh Sharma, staged from 10-17 May 1999. He passed away on 21 Aug 1999, shortly after the play's run ended. (For more information, see the article Paddy Chew)
Contemporary
The following categorisations are arbitrary as most of the LGB individuals listed are active in more than one field. Transgender personalities and cross-dressing artistes are listed in the article Transgender people in Singapore.
Activists
Entrepreneurs
- Max Lim
- Dr. Stuart Koe, founder of Asia's largest English-language LGBT web portal, fridae.com
- Vincent website founder of Singapore's first East-meets-west gay bar
Arts practitioners
- Tan Peng - Singapore's first openly gay artist and also one of the first Singaporeans to come out to the general public.
- Alfian Sa'at
- Martin Loh , Singaporean artist
- Jason Wee , Singaporean artist and photographer
- Cyril Wong , Singaporean poet
- Dominic Chua , Singaporean poet
Academics
- Dr. Russell Heng interview, Singaporean academic, playwright, psychologist and former journalist
- Dr. Tan Chong Kee interview, Singaporean academic, social activist and writer
- Christopher Tan Review
Professionals
Other prominent personalities
Singapore gay venues
(For a discussion of places no longer extant where homosexuals used to socialise or cruise such as Le Bistro, Pebbles Bar, Treetops Bar, Vincent's lounge, Niche, Marmota/Legend/Shadows, Spartacus, Rairua, Boat Quay and Esplanade Park, see the article Singapore gay venues: historical).
Non-commercial/non-sexual venues
A Singaporean Christian church which welcomes all people regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or economic status. It conducts Sunday services at 10:30 am.
Set up by activists from Action For AIDS (AFA) to inculcate pride in being gay and in staying HIV negative.
Its main features are the extensive library of local and international gay literature, whose catalogue can be searched online on its website, and an archive of Singapore gay history and culture.
Arts venues
The following list consists of exhibition and performance venues where many works dealing with LGBT themes or by LGBT arts practitioners have been held. However, they are not exclusively used for such purposes.
Founded in 1990 by the late Kuo Pao Kun, it is Singapore's first independent contemporary arts centre, centrally located in the civic district. Its sub-sections include a black box theatre, a gallery, a dance studio, the Blue Room and two multi-function classrooms. It was the venue for the nascent PLU Sunday meetings in the early 90s. The historic PLU 2 pre-registration discussion was also held in the Blue Room in 2003.
A growing arts, entertainment and lifestyle block managed by Guan Seng Kee Pte Ltd, just next to Ya Kun Kaya Toast. The lift serving the upper floors has a modern interior but is rickety and painfully slow. The building houses the following establishments:
- 1) Space 21
An unrenovated 1950-sq ft art space and multi-function hall situated on level 3, the second home of Utterly Art.
- 2) MOX Bar & Café website on level 4.
- 3) The Attic
The topmost floor is a vault-like loft under the same management as MOX Bar & Café. It has a seating capacity of up to 150 people and is suitable for exhibitions, fashion shows and performances. It was the former location of the Sunday services of the Free Community Church (from 2002 to 2004) and Toy Factory Theatre Ensemble (from 2004 to 2005). Currently, it houses Bianco which contains a small bar and has an all-white decor. Dr. Russell Heng's talk When Queens Ruled! A History of Gay Venues in Singapore was held here on 16 Aug 05 as part of IndigNation, Singapore's first gay pride month.
It provides exhibition space and management services to local and Asian artists, and photographers. The most active gallery on the Singapore art scene, it is a leading showcase of works by established painters like Martin Loh and Chng Seok Tin, as well as popular young artists like Trina Poon.
It was the venue for the very first event of IndigNation, Singapore's historic, inaugural, government-approved gay pride month celebration in August 2005. This was an exhibition of paintings by artist Martin Loh entitled Cerita Budak-Budak, meaning 'children's stories' in Peranakan Malay. The event was followed up with Contra/Diction - A Night with Gay Poets held on 4 Aug 05, Singapore's first public gay poetry reading session which was attended by over 70 people, with standing room only.
The future
The greatest impediment to the achievement of absolute gay equality in Singapore is the rampant spread of HIV infection amongst Men who have Sex with Men (MSM). The Ministry of Health is contemplating measures to curb this exponential increase. These may include the closure of gay saunas. However, activists from Action for AIDS have drawn up guidelines for safe sex in saunas which they published in August 2004. If these are ratified by the Ministry of Health, it would avoid such a drastic eventuality which would impact a considerable portion of the economy. (For a further discussion, see: )
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