Posted on 08/08/2004 6:50:06 AM PDT by propertius
By Fayen Wong
SINGAPORE, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Some 6,000 people turned out for the start of a three-day gay and lesbian festival in Singapore - where homosexual acts are still illegal - making it Asia's largest gay event, its organisers said on Sunday.
"Nation.04" - a festival of international DJs, podium dancers, pumping music and muscular boys stripping off their tops on packed dancefloors - has increased in size every year since it was launched four years ago, said organiser Stuart Koe.
"Last night's turnout was really higher than expected," he told Reuters. About half the 6,000 were foreigners from other Asian countries and the United States, said Koe, who runs Fridae.com, Singapore's main gay and lesbian Web site.
The size made it Asia's largest known gay festival, he said.
The festival is at odds with Singapore's image as a strait-laced city state, but the government has turned a blind eye to the growth of an entertainment industry catering for homosexuals, quietly acknowledging the potential of the "pink dollar."
Singapore still has a law that criminalises consensual homosexual acts - Penal Code section 377A states that acts of "gross indecency" between two men are punishable by up to two years in jail.
But in January the government said it planned to review its sex laws, and would probably decriminalise oral sex - but only between men and women.
Nation.04 kicked off with a "Make Love Not War" party on Saturday, a politically loaded theme in a country where organised protests are illegal without a permit and where the government staunchly supported the U.S.-led war on Iraq.
"Singapore is making very big moves in liberalising. People here feel alot more empowered than before to take risks and to speak their minds," gay rights activist Alex Au told Reuters.
Most Singaporeans expect the gradual relaxation in social controls and official attitudes towards alternative lifestyles to continue, though relations between the gay community and the state remain awkward, partly because of the sex and censorship laws.
I suggest we send Barney Frank and Hillary Clinton to the rally to represent America.
A pretty good way to describe homosexual acts, I think. A two word description of the morality and physically disgusting nature of the acts being performed.
Lee Yuan Kew:
Damn straight!
LOL yes but their streets are clean because spitting is illegal I hear!
It was part of a collection of humorous essays/stories that was published under the title Wry Martinis.
The basic premise of the parody was that a group of conservative donors/political operatives had pooled their resources to create a new 24 hour cable channel devoted solely to conservative programming.
Here's a sample of the "evening" fare.
8-8:30: DESTINATION: SIGNAPORE-Tour guide Margaret Thatcher takes you behind the scenes in the best-run country in the world, where sneezing in public brings a ten-thousand dollar fine.
I think chewing gum is illegal, too.
NOT making that up.
Donno about spitting, but chewing gum is banned. Singapore is a very pleasant place, especially in the outer neighborhoods, which are easy to explore because the whole island is almost crime-free. I've taken jet-lagged strolls at 3am there.
However, there ain't nuthin' goin' on re clubs, raves, etc. Some very tame discos. No real bar scene. I surprised the gays didn't die of boredom.
It should be here in New York absolutely illegal to spit and chew gum. That's my rule :-)
Any group as self-convinced of their immunity in the face of a fatal lifestyle can hardly be expected to fear lightly-enforced laws.
Personally, I cannot stand either habit.
Men who spit make me cringe. Specially if it's a boy trying to look "manly"
Few things I hate worse than someone who chews gun with their mouths open, and for people who snap and pop....
Oooooooohhhhh!
If you MUST do it, do it QUIETLY and with your mouth closed.
And for cryin' out loud, dispose of it properly.
It spreads disease, and is a disgusting habit.
You're right
Don't even get me started on children who must PLAY with their gum!
( I'm a Mean Mom! Just ask my daughter! LOL! )
chewing gum WAS illegal until a few years ago. The logic was that folks that chewed gum tended to spit it on the streets and dirty the streets. And the Singaporeans are very VERY finicky about cleanliness
Sorry to hear that they changed it!
I also can't stand people who stick the stuff under tables in a restaurant.
Uggggghhhhh.
According to news stories I have read that, while it isn't banned completely, you have to have a gum-chewing license. Getting a new srynge claiming to be a herion addict might be easier than getting a stick of gum.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.