“Going to the army is as you can imagine,” he said. “I can not embrace this side of myself in public and have friends only in the online community.” “But today I decided to show myself and I had no idea what to expect. I brought a skirt and changed it when I arrived at the park and I was so warmly welcomed. I enjoy everyone’s presence.” After two years of virtual rallies due to the pandemic, Singapore’s biggest queer pride event returned on Saturday in Hong Lim Park, where it first started on May 16, 2009. Crowds flocked to the hot, humid afternoon, holding up pink signs and waving rainbow flags in support of the city-state queer rights movement. Among the crowd were members of parliament Henry Kwek, from the ruling Popular Action Party, and Jamus Lim, from the opposition Labor Party. Gay sex in Singapore remains illegal even if it is consensual, between adults and takes place privately. But social attitudes, while still largely conservative, are changing, activists say, and the government is now “looking at the best way forward” to change the law, which has been in place since Singapore was a British colony before. for more than 60 years. “Policies need to evolve to be informed of such changes in views. And legislation needs to evolve to support informed policies,” Singaporean Minister of Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam told a recent session of parliament. “And if and when we decide to move, we will do so in a way that will continue to balance between these different views and avoid provoking a sudden, destabilizing change in social norms and public expectations.” Last week, the Disney Pixar movie Lightyear received an NC16 rating in Singapore, barring children under the age of 16 from watching the movie in theaters because of a controversial scene depicting a same-sex relationship. Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority said the animated film was inappropriate for young viewers because of “invisible gay portrayals.” “We do not have respect and equality, regardless of our commitment and the government – and that’s why it’s important to run Pink Dot every year,” said Nizam Razak, a 36 – year – old gay man at Pink Dot. “Why can’t our children see a lesbian kiss? Already, we are out of society in so many ways, and that’s not right.” “When will things really improve for us in the gay community? It’s hard to say.” One volunteer said attendance was higher than in previous years and they hoped to maintain momentum for next year. “The planning was a bit hasty, but at the end of the day, we did it. We gathered thousands to support our cause for queer rights and pride in Singapore and that was the goal,” said the volunteer. Clement Tan, a spokesman for Pink Dot SG, said: “We are encouraged by this year’s turnout, many of whom are young people here for the first time. This generation sees discriminatory laws and regulations as unjustified and demands. that our policy makers take our concerns into account and urge them to act decisively to address them. “ For first-time attendees like Dawn Lim, the Pink Dot experience “did not feel like I was in Singapore.” “This park, this sea of pink – was really a safe place and I’m glad I learned how it is,” Lim said. “For one day a year, I feel human and free to be myself without fear or judgment from people and when I leave Hong Lim Park tonight, I’ll just go home and go back to my secret life.”
