Singapore Censors Healthy Same-Sex Depictions In Media.

Singapore, known for its glamorous first world city lifestyle displays third world mentality in the guise of the Media Development Authority (MDA), the country's primary moral guardian over presentation of arts and media in the republic. Earlier this decade, depictions of LGBT as a natural progression of society were banned or censored by the MDA from any arts and media broadcast within its jurisdiction.

Taiwan's highest grossing movie of 2004 “Formula 17”, a gay themed romantic comedy was banned from Singapore screenings for its potrayal of a “homosexual utopia, where everyone, including passersby, is homosexual and no ills or problems are reflected”. This starts a sad premise where true positive lives of LGBTs in the world today are considered unfit to be discussed and should be removed from existence.

The mantra supposedly changed in 2006 when the MDA chose to relax on its censorship in order to market itself as a arts and media centre for the region. This move allows top LGBT movies being shown uncut such as "Brokeback Mountain" and "Transamerica" in 2006. As recent as last year however, the MDA decided to grow a branch a year back in time.

A two-week exhibition of 80 same-sex kissing photos was cancelled after the MDA rejected the license on the grounds of “promoting the homosexual lifestyle” late last year. Early this year, part of the Oscar award acceptance speech by director Cynthia Wade for her documentary "Freeheld" was censored on its repeated broadcast because of its mention of equal rights for same-sex attracted individuals. Then the high profile LGBT documentary “A Jihad For Love” was also banned from public viewing.

From strictness, MDA then shows its absurdity, when they recently fined StarHub Cable Vision $10,000 Singaporean dollars for airing a commercial presenting a new song by artiste Olivia Yan called “Silly Child” which depicts two lesbians innocently kissing. The statement by the MDA reads:

Quote:

The commercial which was to promote a song by the singer, 阎韦伶(Olivia), was aired on MTV Mandarin Channel on 26 and 28 November 2007. Within the commercial, romanticised scenes of two girls kissing were shown and it portrayed the relationship as acceptable. This is in breach of the TV advertising guidelines, which disallows advertisements that condone homosexuality.

MDA also consulted the Advisory Committee for Chinese Programmes and the Committee concurred that the commercial had promoted lesbianism as acceptable and romantic, especially when shown together with the lyrics featured.

In that same month, MDA fined MediaCorp TV Channel 5 $15,000 Singapore dollars for airing a home improvement show called "Find and Design" that featured a gay couple who wants to renovate their game room into a nursery for their baby. The MDA statement here reads:

Quote:

The programme "Find and Design" is a home and decor series and in the episode concerned, the host helps a gay couple to transform their game room into a new nursery for their adopted baby. The episode contained several scenes of the gay couple with their baby as well as the presenter's congratulations and acknowledgement of them as a family unit in a way which normalises their gay lifestyle and unconventional family setup. This is in breach of the Free-to-Air TV Programme Code which disallows programmes that promote, justify or glamourise gay lifestyles.

MDA also consulted the Programme Advisory Committee for English Programmes (PACE) and the Committee was also of the view that a gay relationship should not be presented as an acceptable family unit. As the programme was shown on a Sunday morning, PACE felt that this was inappropriate as such a timeslot was within family viewing hours.

This two cases shows a blatant lack of knowledge and understanding of the homosexual condition as a sexual orientation by a shallow media guardian. It is deeply regretful for the LGBT community in Singapore who is still trying to find an illusive dignified social position in the republic, to be swept under the carpet by governmental agencies such as the MDA. Media is supposed to represent truth, and recent events portray the MDA as unable to accept and realise the unsurmountable truth: that homosexuals are normal human beings and exist in equivalence to any heterosexual conditions.

The Singapore MDA sent a loud and clear message to the world; any representation of homosexuals as sensitive individuals capable of love or as a capable well-adjusted family unit is not to be tolerated. Ignorance to the existence of gays and lesbians as ordinary human beings is to be educated. And self-praising in the form of a rap video is the way to go while the artistry and talent of LGBT is to be shipped to Australia. Interesting step backward indeed, for an agency bent on proving their nation's worth as a international media hub.

Who are we to judge Sufiah Yusuf?

I have been following the story of Sufiah Yusuf (Shilpa Lee) with interest. At 13 she is a math genius and now as a young adult she is a full-time escort. What disgusts me is the reaction of the worldwide moral police consisting of bloggers, religious people and journalists having their own opinions on why she choose the life of an escort. It goes from “Blame the father” to “Pressure from young age” then “Divorce from her husband”. Reactions consists of “She needs to 'bertaubat' (repent)” to “sad state of mind” then “unlucky”, recently “look at the kind of money she is making!”

I find all these very silly indeed. I had a chat with my friend recently about her and we both agree, we should stop making assumptions and just listen to what she had to say. And she finally uttered this sentence, “By the time I was 15 I wanted to be in control of my life. I fought back”. This sentence seemed to be virtually ignored by every person reading her story. In fact, many quarters still wishes to define her for herself when she is already in control of her life. In fact, everyone is trying to act like they know her, still repeating the really annoying dogma of “Blame the father!”.

She was 15 when she decided to take control of her life. I wish I had the courage and determination to do so at that age. When I was her age, until a few years back I was still being controlled by people; parents, church members, friends, teachers and boyfriends/girlfriends. They imposed what they believed was for the good of me when it made me a severely confused girl who is trying to be a boy to please everyone. Whatever I do was taken under scrutiny. In the process, I lost the soul of what makes me, me. I became the parody of each and everyone's definition of the surname “Choe”.

If I had chose to stop listening too much to people at that age, and start to question and think for myself, I would have a hard a life as a transsexual female at a very young age. But at least I know I would be happy. But knowing that at 30 plus I am finally in control of my life makes me realise it is not too late. And of course, there are the usual ridiculous assumptions of what made me “become” this way; “Must be the mother”, “She had been sexually abused”, “The last girlfriend must have hurt this person so badly”, and a host of other fallacy of ambiguities. All post hoc, ergo propter hoc.

I took control of my life as Sufiah Yusuf did. I wish I had the maturity to do so at her age. But at least I am on my way. Sufiah Yusuf is now happy in her career and we all should just leave her alone. We talk so much about “blame the father”, but are we not doing the same things the father did? The father pressured her when she was too young to be a math prodigy, did we not say that? And look what we are doing now. We are pressuring her to “repent” and we made out her story like a personal disaster movie; but she already stated that she is happy her life had turned out this way.

And what is wrong with being a escort? The calls of “sin” again? Are we not sinful too? And I sincerely ask every women reading my humble blog here this question. Since most of us Malaysia women would also have our chance encounters with men until we slept with them for the night, which is better, to give men sex for free or to give men sex for money? This is a controversial subject, but just think. How many one night stands had some of us women had with just a “mamak” supper to show for. If we call her a “hooker” for earning her kind of money, what about us then?

Let us all just respect her for her decision. Who are we to judge her? Are we giving her money to use in United Kingdom? Are we feeding her or clothing her? For goodness sake, she is taking care of her own life. It is time we should leave her alone. We would bear consequences of our own fallen nature, and similarly would not like to be judged in the same manner. And she is smart enough to know she cannot be in this field of work forever. And we cannot live forever without taking care of ourselves too. It is insane trying to control or define Sufiah Yusuf when we do not even know her.

It is time for us to stop condemning or pitying or judging her. It is time for us to start listening to her, because she is happy in her life. We would be ultra shallow to resort to condescending remarks about her when we have our own problem and our lives to live. How would we feel if we were to be under the same scrutiny and being defined by everyone around us? We surely would not like that. To Sufiah Yusuf, I give you my sincere high 5 . You are a very brave young woman. Even though everyone thinks you are crazy, you are an inspiration to me. Take care, all the best for the future.

Selective wit and wisdom of Sufiah Yusuf (Shilpa Lee):

"People think escorting is sleazy and terrible but I don’t see it like that,”

"I hate this stereotype society has of escorts as being exploited. It is so far from the truth. My clients treat me like a princess. One guy took me shopping on Bond Street. He bought me a beautiful black Gucci dress for £300 (RM1,920) and then took me to Selfridges, where I could pick a handbag I liked.”

"As I grew older, I began to clash with my father. He was violent at times. He pushed me so far academically, I became more confident for any girl my age. I grew up too quickly.”

"Oxford was an amazing place but I was too young. By the time I was 15, I wanted to be in control of my life. I fought back,”

"I have never felt so confident about my body and I’ve had some of the best sex of my life”

Yuki's thoughts:

She Is Da Bomb! Kinda Inspire Me To Really Do Something About My Body. : )

Where Is The Love? It Is Found In Love Itself.

A friend from the Credo group recently alerted me of this article, which cleary and instinctively explains the situation between LGTs and Christianity with the conflicts within. This is an excellent commentary worth sharing for all to peruse:
From PopMatters:

Queer, Isn't It?: Jesus Loves Me, This I Know by Michael Abernethy.

"Imagine you are in a park with your young son or daughter. It’s a nice day and you’re enjoying your time with your child, when you notice a man in the park. One of the other parents tells you that the man is a homosexual. How would you feel? You would worry about the safety of your child. You should leave the park as fast as possible, and you probably wouldn’t go back to that park again.”

This frightening scenario was the introduction to a presentation one of my college students made; the proposed topic of his speech was why homosexuals shouldn’t be allowed to marry. It’s not a position I support, but I encourage my students to be honest in their speeches, so long as they can provide a rational foundation for their positions. However, this particular young man chose not to argue in his speech that marriage was intended for one man and one woman, but instead proposed that all homosexuals should be rounded up and forced to live together on an island. His rationale for this proposition: the Bible.

Needless to say, I was disappointed by his speech. Assuming his idea was feasible and the horrible homosexual sinners could so easily be isolated, why stop there? How about the Isle of Lost Adulterers? The Strait of Whores? Pedophile Peninsula? And why stop with the sexually-based sins? Why not have the County of Persons who Fail to Honor Mom and Dad, False Witness Valley, and Coveter’s Cove? But then you start to run into problems with logistics. Where, for example, would you put the person who bore false witness against his or her parents?

Certainly, each individual is entitled to his or her beliefs. My student has every right to support a homophobic, antiquated idea of morality. Likewise, each individual is free to define sin however he or she chooses. I’m sure more than a few religious types would be disturbed by my notion of who is rotting in the inner circle of Hell, so I won’t presume to tell them whom they have to believe is there. Nonetheless, no one concept of sin or religion should be considered a mandate for a philosophy of government.

In the United States, of course, that mandate usually stems from calls for legislation based on a conservative Christian ideology. The implications of governance based on conservative Christian beliefs are far-reaching for the GLBT community. A Marriage Amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and woman is a certainty, civil unions will be banned, and protections against hate crimes and discrimination on the job and in housing would be erased. Quite possibly, a return to imprisonment or death for GLBT persons could occur.

Those who think a return to the days of killing homosexuals is far-fetch need only read Leviticus 20:13-14, which calls for exactly that (but only male homosexuals—lesbians get a pass on being put to death at least, but they too, will be persecuted). Thus, the rhetoric of the upcoming election rightly has gay and lesbian activists worried as to how far some candidates would go.

Take the words of presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who announced while campaigning that Ameicans should amend the US Constitution to match “God’s standards”, not change God’s standards to match the Constitution. Or how about John McCain, who told Beliefnet.com that the Constitution founded a Christian nation (although not really, as the Constitution contains no reference of God whatsoever). While McCain has retracted his statement, there’s still the Republican Platform of Texas, which flat-out declares that the United States is a Christian nation.

But whose Christianity? There are 67 million Catholics, 16 million Southern Baptists, and six million Mormons in the United States. All three of these branches of Christianity have vastly different interpretations of the Bible, and their readings differ from those of the Methodists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Lutherans, Greek Orthodox, and others. If we go with the majority, clearly then America is a Catholic nation, but try selling that idea to Texas Republicans.

Then there are the fringe Christians, such as the members of Westboro Church, better known as Fred Phelps’ church. According to Phelps, Heath Ledger will burn in Hell for playing a gay man, along with former NFL star Patrick Tillman, who died defending a country that harbors gays. In Phelps’ worldview, God may be displeased but can accept the 17,000 yearly murders, 92,000 annual rapes, and 234,000 convicted pedophiles in Phelps’ country; however, homosexuality has angered God to the point that He is willing to allow innocent people to die in war, natural disasters, and terrorist acts just to make a point. Where does this interpretation of Christianity fit in a Christian nation?

Therefore, the first challenge of this Christian nation would be to set a standard of what "Christianity” means. Its second challenge is to have a major overhaul of both its government and its economy. Currently, only two acts listed in the Ten Commandments are illegal. Constitution amendments need to be passed immediately to insure that Americans aren’t taking the Lord’s name in vain and that the next time a President gets a blowjob outside of wedlock, there will be no doubt about his fate.

Also, those Constitutional amendments outlawing slavery will have to be revoked, although the new slavery will be economically-based and not racially. The Bible is very explicit about who can and should be a slave—for instance, any one who is a daughter, i.e., all women, are game.

Of course, the greatest economic impact will be the closing of, well, everything on Sunday. No cops or prison guards working, hospital employees will get the day off, no store clerks or restaurant workers can work—which means that all stores and restaurants will be closed. No football or other sports, no newspaper, no TV broadcasts, no Sunday matinee at the movies, no zoos or museums available on this day. Americans must not ask those people employed at such places to risk their eternal souls by working on Sunday. The resulting loss of revenue to those industries is incalculable, not to mention the loss of human life when paramedics, fire personnel, and doctors fail to answer emergency calls.

The fashion industry will be hit particularly hard, as the mixing of fabrics is banned, which I find problematic as I got this really cool sweater for Christmas I’ll have to burn. The farming industry will also be hit hard, since it’s forbidden to mix seeds within a field. No more growing corn in the same field as lettuce. Both the food industry and football are in for a shake-up, as touching the carcass of a pig is prohibited. On the up side, sheep farmers will see a boom, since people will be able to offer up ewes as offerings for their sins. Likewise, the poor will prosper in this Christian nation, as the Bible commands all to be “open-handed” with them.

There are literally thousands of changes that will have to be made for Americans to truly form a Christian nation, from stoning women who don’t cover their heads in church to exempting newlywed men from military or civic duty. But suppose Americans unite under another religion, say, Islam, Hinduism, or Scientology? No matter what the religion, big changes will have to be made.

To some, what I am suggesting may seem ludicrous. No civilized Western country would engage in such practices as the ones listed here. Yet, Jesus tells us it’s an all or nothing proposition:

I tell you this: so long as heaven and earth endure, not a letter, not a stroke, will
disappear from the Law until all that must happen has happened. If any man therefore sets aside even the least of the Law’s demands, and teaches other to do the same, he will have the lowest place in the kingdom of Heaven… (Matthew 5:18 - 19)

Thus, it’s clear that one doesn’t get to pick and choose which parts of the Bible will be obeyed, but realistically, that’s what happens every day. In America, mandates within the Law of the Bible that are no longer culturally acceptable, such as slavery or public stoning, are ignored, while others become political talking points.

All of this Biblical talk matters for one simple reason: many use the Bible as justification for discriminatory practices. We can’t allow gays and lesbians to wed because it isn’t sanctioned in the Bible. We can’t allow gays and lesbians to raise children because the Bible rebukes them. We can’t allow gays and lesbians to live because it makes God mad.

Yet, we allow these same “special rights” to other” sinners”. If you want to deny me my rights because I’m a sinner, work just as hard to deny the rights of every other sinner in this country. Otherwise, shut up.

Perhaps if Americans want to incorporate religion into their governing process, they should invoke the ethic of reciprocity, the one idea that is consistent across every major religion of the world. In Christianity, it’s known as the Golden Rule. The Buddhists say “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful”, while the Islamic faith states “None of you believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.” Native American religion tells us "What we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One”. Wicca preaches that in all things, practitioners should do no harm. In other words, if you don’t want your right to marry to be based on whether people accept whom you have fallen in love with, don’t impose that standard on others.

When you remove the religious position from the equation, there is no argument as to why gays and lesbians shouldn’t marry. Nothing in the US Constitution forbids it, and the structure of that governing document for the Country encourages equity. Sure, lots of people will posit arguments based on biased and disreputable “research” (gays are all pedophiles, lesbians can’t sustain relationships), but the truth boils down to this: there is no justifiable reason to deny GLBT persons equality under the law. It’s not about your right to believe in religion; it’s about your right to impose those beliefs on all of us.

Yuki's Thoughts: LGTs have a long way to go in gaining recognition and presence in Christianity. But the prayer remains for a better tomorrow in peace and love.

Transgenders/Transsexuals And Malaysia (We Love Our Country, But Our Country Do Not Love Us).

The elections in Malaysia are coming again, and once again there is not even one politician willing to take on the lesbian, gay and transgender issues in Malaysia. Over at the United States, the proponents of the issues is headed by Democrat Senator Barrack Obama, followed by Senator Hilary Clinton and surprisingly Republican John McCain. Both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton had voiced disgust over the senseless murder of 15-year old transgender Lawrence King in California.

In the States, and across the world, the adaptation of the new look on homosexuality and transgenderism has hit a high. When the APA removed homosexuality from the DSM-IV in 1973, a stance supported by other major medical and mental health institutions (something the Christian fundamentalists view as caused by pressure of gay groups), more and more people are realising it is absurd to state that 477,000 medical and mental health professionals bowed down to any pressures.

Instead it is a reassurance that decades of studies had proven that homosexuality is just as normal a condition as heterosexuality. On Gender Identity Disorder or GID (know to be equated at some quarters as Harry Benjamin Syndrome (HBS)), the general public is beginning to realise that this medical condition exists, and goes to challenge the very fabric of sexuality perpetuated by religious groups and the conservative public. Sadly, these information is filtered out in my country, Malaysia.

In Malaysia, transgenders/transsexuals are considered a culture and often rejected by society as freakish outkasts. Most are considered to be creatures having declined social morals. And because the people in this box called Malaysia refuse to think out of the box, most transgenders are always stuck in their closets, fearing disrimination and rejection. Transsexuals got it worse, because they can never be in closets, making them an obvious target of not only ridicule, but also violence.

Three years ago, a transsexual named Mumtaz in Ipoh was arrested, stripped and humiliated by Malaysian Police personnel for waiting for her husband in a hotel room. Last year, a transsexual named Ayu was arrested for just chatting with a friend at a bus stop, then was seriously beaten by religious authorities. This year, another named Freda was found murdered. The media disrespectfully portrayed her as a 'he' wearing red long-sleeved T-shirt, black bra and black pants.

Along the lines, the media never cease to broadcast 'bad news' about transgenders at every opportunity. And authorities continue to be brutal towards transgenders. Across the years, many transgenders/transsexuals are being penalized (some are non-muslims), abused, raped, cheated and even murdered. Some managed to get some headlines thanks to affiliates and groups such as PT Foundation. Most sadly ended up John Doe's, even though medical sciences calls them Jane's.

Transgenders/transsexuals are people. Some of us are registered voters like me. Democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. So why is the government treating transgenders/transsexuals with such disdain is beyond me. GID/ HBS are valid medical conditions requiring treatment of aligning the body to its correct sexual identity. We need protection. Alas, in Kuala Terengganu, they attempt rehabs to get MF transgenders/transsexuals out of feminine 'habits'.

The absurd, foolish and ludacrious treatment handed out by Malaysian authorities upon transgender/transsexuals have not even raised one eyebrow hair in the government of Malaysia. Malaysia claims glory and coming of age in sending a space flight attendant (oops, sorry, erm' astronaught) to space. Malaysia heralded development of infrastructure like the Petronas Twin Towers. However for transgenders/transsexuals, Malaysia chose to be ignorant and preducicial.

Such is a country labelled around the world as a laughing stock. “First class facilities, third class mentality” they called Malaysia. Seriously for a country that gives its Muslim women the right to decide whether to have their hair covered, Malaysia still chooses to be stubborn in regards to it's own people who are transgenders/transsexuals. With more GID/HBS medical approach and legal protection applied by the world today (even Iranians are on it); what becomes of my country now?

Colour Blind.

One of the first clubs I went, to coming back to Malaysia was Rainforest, located just in front of Sunway Pyramid in Petaling Jaya. There was a bunch of African blacks there dancing away, as my friends and me sat with some other chinese customers, as distant from them as possible. As security goes, we try not to even look at them, and prefer to watch the Manchester United vs Birmingham match which was shown on the screen. They are foreigners, but this is also how we treat our blacks.

My experience with the Indians in Malaysia is riddled with mixed emotions. My best friend's boyfriend is an Indian, and I recall all the problems she has with him. Indians are probably the worst possible offenders in treatment of transsexuals in Malaysia, ranging from producing derogatory remarks to violence. I had also been at the end of such acts, having my car scribbled with graffiti to being molested. At the same time however, some of my good friends are Indians.

The crime rates in Malaysia is also pointing a lot of African blacks being involved, and even Malaysian Indians are not spared. Whenever there is a robbery or murder, the suspect is often pointed to our dark coloured fellow human beings. As my former employer and good friend always say which I agree, a lot of Indians are drunkards, and wife abusers. One of my ex workmates I overheard have bruises all over and lost a few teeth due to the endless beatings from her boyfriend.

There is something about blacks that somehow compound our deepest fears. When the AIDS epidemic surfaced back in the early 1980's, way before the religious right blamed homosexuals for it by calling it gay cancer, it was a well known fact that the HIV was carried across the seas by either Haitians or African blacks. Yes, it is the blacks again. But I wonder is it our own prejudice that caused our own discrimination. Or are they really that dangerous part of human civilization.

The recent worry of the government is the big amount of naïve Malaysian women cheated into becoming drug mules. Many of those arrested recalls their stories of how they were lured into friendships with African men who ask them to carry things across the Pacific to friends, or offered them jobs to travel overseas under a lucrative package, without knowing what was packed inside the luggages. Middle Eastern men was implicated but the volume seems louder towards African blacks.

Back home, both Malaysian Indians are African blacks are usually involved actively in gangsterism. Pimps from the African black community are also rampant, especially around the Bangsar area, ready to offer money and drinks to unsuspecting girls who are eventually lured into the sex trade by them. And when there are fights at any pubs, it is usually Indians who are involved. In fact, in every pub or club I went to, the most unruly people who disrupt all the fun are always Malaysian Indians.

I do not wish to say more, but the statistics and the reality are really not good towards people who are blacks. While we idolize the black Americans in the US, with the sounds of Timberland one of my favourite pieces of musical masterpieces to listen to and Denzel Washington one of the actors I like to watch, the sad fact is when you are staying in the United States, many of the crimes committed there are also by blacks, and many forgot American blacks are from African heritage.

My good friend who is a Malaysian Indian and owns a curry house told me that Indians are ruining their own reputations because they have no choice. A huge lot of them are living below the poverty line, which is why they choose to live a rouge life. I cited Tamil movies with all its violence as a bad influence, but he reminded me that there are also a fair share of gun slinging and fighting in Chinese movies as well which is true. So what does it all come down to then? The colour black.

As the recent demonstration in Malaysia points out to us, blacks are a deeply marginalized community, not only in Malaysia, but everywhere. Yes, they may have a police record larger than the yellow pages, but have we ever thought what have we done to push most of them to live in such deplorable standards? Are we the ones who placed them into boxes until they had to use means up to violence to shred the box to pieces? Could society be better if we learnt to be colour blind?

One the parallel lines, I see very clear similarities between transsexuals and Indians. Most transsexuals have no choice but to resort to prostitution; and in the same breath, Indians have no choice but to live off crime. Some transsexuals are lucky enough to be given stereotype jobs such as salons, as with Indians driving lorries and carrying goods. Those who are fortunate transsexuals and Indians, the ones who are blessed with education, we run away from this country for better pastures.

Both communities are insecure people. Both often turn to drugs and alcohol to relieve the pains. Both groups are a community often not given opportunities like medical health care, better living conditions, and proper jobs because of we are minorities. Sometimes I do think, what can we do to contribute to the world to make a better place. One of that, is love. But sadly, the world is now materialistic and realistic enough not to believe in love anymore. I personally hope it is not too late.

I spent some time with my best friend's boyfriend the other day, and I find him to be a nice boy. Children like him, and except for the occasional temper he could be a nice gentlemen. He is responsible at work, driving miles and miles on the lorry for his boss. He is also a fine pool player. He is a good person. If we had give him, Indians, or blacks around the world, more opportunities, just ponder their potential contribution to society. What goes around, would always come around.