Take a roller-coaster ride from teenage years to adulthood, as queer women from four different generations talk about their perspectives and experiences in coming out, singlehood, relationships, health and ageing.

Enjoy rhapsodies and barrels of laughter as we share and learn from each generation. A lifetime opportunity that you wouldn’t want to miss.

Organized by Sayoni (www.sayoni.com) – Empowering Asian Queer Women

Date: Saturday, 5 August 2006
Time: 7:30 pm
Admission: Free
Venue: Theatreworks, 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road

How to get there : 72-13

A better map can be found at : www.72-13.com

Eleven months ago Utopia launched its publication division. Since then we’ve published 6 guidebooks under the Utopia banner: the Utopia Guide to China; to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar & Vietnam; to Thailand; to Singapore, Malaysia & Indonesia; to Japan, South Korea & Taiwan, and to Asia (16 countries). See http://www.utopia-asia.com/utopiaguide/ for more info.

As companions to our 6 guidebooks we want to publish additional volumes under the Utopia banner and would like to invite artists and authors to contribute to the first of these, a collection of short works (10-50 pages would be ideal) by gays and lesbians exploring destinations in Asia. Works should not be extremely “time-sensitive” as the intention is to continue selling this book for years to come.

You may select any location within the region, and any subject you wish to focus on. Essays or stories that touch on gay/lesbian-related subjects will be given priority in the final selection. In addition to non-fiction, works of fiction or poetry are also welcome. Photographs are as well, although these will appear only in black and white.

Content may be erotic but must not be pornographic. Authors retain all rights. Utopia retains the right to edit works as needed. Works should be proofed and spell-checked and submitted in plain text format or Word format.

The book will be distributed by Ingram, the largest distributor in the US. The books will be available in electronic form and will also be available in printed form from major online resellers around the world.

Please contact us for details if you are interested in participating. There will be a fee paid to those selected for publication.

Feel free to submit more than one piece. We are also looking to publish complete works under the Utopia banner, so if you have an Asia-themed novel or other gay/lesbian-Asia related project sitting around gathering dust, please let us know.

We look forward to your participation!

Contact: Utopia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Indignation 2006, the second annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Season, starts on 1 August and will comprise around 20 events.

The event calendar can be seen at www.plu.sg/indignation/

Like last year, there will be a number of forums on various subjects, from women’s issues to gay marriage, from Indian classical literature to the recent general election.

Well-known writer Christine Suchen Lim will be reading two of her stories on 10 August in the event titled “Mothers at the edge”. Acclaimed playwright Desmond Sim’s new play, “Fairy Godfather” will be given a reading on 12 and 13 August.

Dominic Chua will once again be organising ContraDiction”, an evening of gay poetry, on 3 August.

This year, transgendered Singaporeans will also be having their own dialogue session, also on 3 August.

The organisers of Indignation 2006 are a subgroup from People Like Us, a gay and lesbian group whose mission is public education with respect to sexuality and non-discrimination.

“There is a tremendous amount of energy and creativity among gays and lesbians,” says Russell Heng, one of the organisers. “The pity is that Singapore doesn’t realise the contribution made by gay and lesbian Singaporeans unless one organises a festival like this to showcase it.”

Adds Alex Au: “Nor do many Singaporeans realise that straight people too, e.g. Suchen Lim, one of our contributors, support the message that ignorance and discrimination is wrong.”

“Indignation is a broad tent. Everybody, straight and gay, is welcome to participate,” stressed Kelvin Wong. “And hopefully, people will realise that that party set do not typify the gay community.”

“The ultimate message of Indignation,” says Jean Chong, “is that lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and gays are part of Singapore life and members of our families, and we should be asking ourselves, why do we discriminate against our own?”

Agreeing, Miak Siew, who is curating an art exhibition, titled “Sama-sama”, says, “We want to reflect the dreams and aspirations of the gay community as part of Singapore.”

Not all events are serious; Pride Season is interspersed with social evenings for light-hearted fun including an evening of Chinese singing at Xpose cafe and the Great Singapore Makeover at Mox bar and cafe. Tantric Bar is organising Paradise 2006, to celebrate National Day.

The Pride Season will round off with a book launch on 24 August, followed by a chill-out evening at Club95.

For more information, please see:

www.plu.sg/indignation/
(email link available from that site)

Queer Singaporean youth launch a portal for themselves.

A group of young queer Singaporeans have come together to start a youth portal establishing itself as a resource for their peers.

Led by 20-year-old polytechnic graduate Azimin Saini, the group comprises 9 youths with different racial backgrounds and sexual orientations.

�There really are no resources to deal with gay youth in Singapore, even till today.� He said. �And we�re often the ones who are crying out for help and need it most.�

The website can be seen at www.plume.sg

The name PLUME stands for People Like You and Me, an amalgamation of the acronym, PLU (People Like Us), which has incidentally become widely used to describe gay people in Singapore, and Senior Minister Goh�s widely quoted phrase that gay people are just like �you and me�.

The logo centers on a youth�s sense of individuality with the circle ringed around ME in PLUME. It also means �feather�; the jagged wings symbolise the act of taking flight � to discover the unlimited potential as young people and to be free from the mental constraints society imposes based on sexual and/or gender identity.
�In our conservative society and in most circles, the word ‘queer’ is considered a taboo that is left unspoken. Many pretend that we, as young queer Singaporeans don’t exist and shrug it off�, said 19-year-old Cher Tan, an Editor on PLUME.

Many others feel that they are, too, being ignored.

�Coming out was difficult. I grappled my way around and it was really lonely. I see all these well-adjusted gay adults � but what about us? Have they forgotten what it was like?� asked 20-year-old NS-man, Victor Raj.

A simple survey of 26 youths ranging from the ages of 18 to 21 across the gender and sexual orientation spectrum revealed that all 26 felt there were not enough resources to deal with being young and queer. While it was not meant to be a comprehensive study, the sampling was indicative of the general sentiment among this segment of the population.

PLUME hopes to be a platform for LGBT youth to express themselves through writing, foster the growth of an LGBT youth community in Singapore, and in doing so, provide support and resources for queer youth. Operating like a publication, it will publish articles and reader-submitted stories

�We�re hoping that this project will help in any small ways it can�, said Jasper Chen, another Editor on the team. �And hopefully, it will ease the pain young gay individuals face at that tough period of time.�