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Tag: Pink Dot

  • Jae Andrew Lim: Sexual Identity Matters In National Belonging

    Jae Andrew Lim: Sexual Identity Matters In National Belonging

    I thank the writer for a crucial insight noted in her letter “Continue to promote family, but recognise others” (May 18): That the eradication of laws must not be conflated with progress.

    Changes in law should, theoretically speaking at least, be in response to particular contextual contingencies and concerns of a nation rather than progress. Yet, it is precisely this contingent, changing notion of progress that the writer fails to consider.

    The assertion that a nation is progressive only if it protects the natural heterosexual family is built on the assumption that this family form is universally valid.

    Arguably, the valuation of the heterosexual nuclear family was set in Singapore’s post-colonial days, when the nation required industry, economic growth and a constant workforce to progress to the First World.

    This developmental and economy-centric notion of progress has shifted in recent times to accommodate more subjective concerns such as happiness, belonging and identity.

    As we continue to extol the natural family, it is perhaps unfortunate that the current situation does not reflect the writer’s injunction that we “recognise the existence of other family structures”.

    Section 377A, too, represents another facet of non-recognition of homosexuals.

    These two concepts matter not only in self-identity and personhood but speak also to feelings of national belonging.

    Sociology professors Jeffrey Weeks and Diane Richardson have encapsulated this millenial phenomenon in the concept of sexual citizenship, where sexual subjectivities are coming to matter in national belonging.

    To move us forward, I echo the writer’s call that Singapore’s future depends on the promotion of wholesome family values — values regardless of sexuality that uphold love, compassion and children’s wholesome growth both in and outside the family.

    Arriving at this stage requires inclusive dialogue governed by logic, empathy and a desire to negotiate assumptions of sexuality and family, and not purely in terms of progress, but also feelings of belonging, which are just as crucial.

     

    *Article written by Jae Andrew Lim was published in Voices, Today, on 23 May 2015

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Diana Abdul Rahim: Not A Case Of Secular Fundamentalism

    Diana Abdul Rahim: Not A Case Of Secular Fundamentalism

    I refer to Mr Walid Jumblatt’s letter, “Don’t let secular fundamentalism be the norm” (May 15), which was a reply to Mr Hairol Salim’s letter, “Efforts of Pink Dot ambassadors should be lauded, not condemned” (May 13).

    Secular fundamentalism connotes scorn of religion and its adherents, and is usually accompanied by attempts to exclude and limit religious expressions in public. The burqa ban in France is an example.

    Secular fundamentalism seeks to trivialise the persecution faced by adherents of a certain religion who are confronted by structural disempowerment. This is, however, not the case in this debate.

    Mr Hairol’s point about “religious-driven emotions” was addressed to a particular group of “activists and individuals from certain religious communities”. It was not a sweeping statement against the legitimacy of religious voices.

    Indeed, he stated that “views of all faiths and belief systems should be given fair consideration”, which echoes Mr Walid’s sentiments.

    It is illogical to construe this willingness to provide fair consideration for all perspectives, religious or otherwise, as an expression of secular fundamentalism.

    If we are serious about being inclusive, then Mr Hairol’s appraisal of those who voice the concerns of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community should hold no controversy.

    Claims of respecting the democracy of dialogue have no legitimacy if we are unwilling to allow the people we disagree with the space to speak on their own terms.

    To me, there is much common ground between both writers. For dialogue to work in a reasonable, respectful and empathetic manner, however, interlocutors should be charitable and avoid misrepresenting the positions of their counterpart.

     

    *Article written by Diana Abdul Rahim was published in Voices, Today, on 22 May 2015

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Ireland Votes Overwhelmingly To Approve Same-Sex Marriage

    Ireland Votes Overwhelmingly To Approve Same-Sex Marriage

    Ireland has become the first-ever country to approve same-sex marriage by referendum, voting overwhelmingly to approve it despite opposition from clergy in the heavily Catholic nation, according to official results announced today.

    Reuters says in Friday’s vote “more than 60 percent of eligible voters cast their ballot, the highest turnout at a referendum there in over two decades.”

    Earlier, both sides in the debate acknowledged that the “yes” vote had succeeded.

    Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s health minister who came out as gay in January just as the campaign was getting underway, said Dublin appeared to have voted 70 percent in favor of the measure.

    “We’re the first country in the world to enshrine marriage equality in our constitution and do so by popular mandate,” Varadkar said. “That makes us a beacon, a light to the rest of the world of liberty and equality. It’s a very proud day to be Irish.”

    NPR’s Ari Shapiro, speaking with Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon, says that although Ireland is a predominately Catholic country and many clergy urged a no vote, “the Church has had a lot of scandals” in recent years. Without a doubt, he says, the Church is “one of the losers in this vote.”

    The head of the Iona Institute, which ran the No campaign in Ireland’s vote to legalize same-sex marriage, has tweeted his congratulations to the yes campaign.

    Here’s the tweet from Iona Director David Quinn:

    Ari says that conservative areas that voted against legalizing divorce in the 1990s have come in with a Yes vote for same-sex marriage.

     

    Source: www.npr.org

  • Bryan Kwa: Stop Stigmatising Sexual Minorities

    Bryan Kwa: Stop Stigmatising Sexual Minorities

    Last Friday’s letter (“Distinguish between helping gays and supporting an agenda” by Mr Leo Hee Khian) cautioned against affirming same-sex attraction.

    Mr Leo wrote that in Denmark, where there is same-sex marriage, “married homosexuals have been found to die at an age about 20 years younger than their heterosexual counterparts”.

    This statistic is disputed. It is drawn from a paper published by the Family Research Institute, a partisan organisation associated with the Christian right and branded as a hate group.

    Its founder Paul Cameron has been censured by numerous professional organisations. He was also dropped from membership in the American Psychological Association for violating its ethics code.

    The American Journal of Public Health published a study of mortality among Danes in same-sex marriages, which concluded that “claims of drastically increased overall mortality in gay men and lesbians appear unjustified”.

    In fact, supporting gay rights improves public health.

    The New England Journal of Medicine published an editorial last month supporting same-sex marriage.

    The doctors highlighted that “a fundamental tenet of all medical care is the acceptance of patients as they are, for who they are, with respect and without prejudice or personal agendas” and posited that “same-sex marriage should be accepted both as a matter of justice and as a measure that promotes health”.

    Make no mistake, this is not about ideological standpoints. This is a public health issue; homophobia kills.

    A study by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, found that LGB (lesbian, gay, bisexual) individuals who lived in communities with high levels of anti-gay prejudice have a shorter life expectancy, compared with their peers in the least prejudiced communities. The same study also found that the rates of suicide, homicide/violence and cardiovascular diseases were all substantially elevated among sexual minorities living within high-prejudice communities.

    Considering such findings, how may the Government reconcile its heteronormative and heterosexist policies with the stated vision and mission of the Ministry of Health?

    The science is clear. It is imperative that we stop stigmatising sexual minorities and start upholding their rights.

    For all the moral grandstanding, surely we can agree that literally driving people to their death is unquestionably amoral.

    Bryan Kwa Jie Wen

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Not Just About Munah And Hirzi – Look At The Invisble Hands Behind Pink Dot

    Not Just About Munah And Hirzi – Look At The Invisble Hands Behind Pink Dot

    R1c,

    I just to share with you further on how insidious Pink Dot is.

    Pink Dot does not just choose their ambassasors. These individuals hope to get something back for themselves either for their careers or their publicity. Pat Mok earned herself a lot of hate within the gay community when she drunkenly accused a GAY PERSON of molesting her at a GAY bar, Daren Lee is desperate to get fans because who has really heard of him and of course the 2 Youtubers will do anything to get more fans. Hirzi can pretend all he wants but at the end of the day he is just another gay boy desperate for attention and get laid.

    But who is behind all this?

    The connections the organizers have are very enticing for those who want the limelight. Boo Junfeng one of our so called critically acclaimed local directors in charge of the sappy Pink Dot videos every year and in charge of taking the video for the dot formation at night. Alan Seah who works in Mediacorp as a senior VP of creative services and is one of the main organizers. How about Izzie Ali who leads their PR team and loves embarrassing Singapore every to the international media (he also works in Fulford PR the agency that represented Anton Casey) and also the son of President Tony Tan’s Head of Media and Communications Saleh bin Ali?

    The ambassadors are just a convenient decoy for the real people moving behind the scenes.

    Do not be duped.

     

    Anonymous