OVORIES {Our Very Own Residents, Immigrants, Expatriates in Singapore}: The OVORIES project is an online collection of anecdotes, stories and personal reflections of LGBT people in Singapore. If you have migrated or relocated to Singapore from another country, we are very interested to hear from you. We are hoping to know how is living, working or studying in Singapore similar or different for you as a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender person.
Tell us if it has been better or worse off, if you are more privileged or being discriminated in one way or another compared to the country or city that you have come from. Share your experiences with people like us as a part of the transient and migrant voices of Singapore. You can either post your stories in the reply box below or write directly to ovories@gmail.com. Do state your country of origin and anonymous entries are also welcome!
As part of the pride season and a larger project of widening participation spaces for LGBT people in Singapore, we want to share with everyone in and out of Singapore what the excitements and challenges of living in Singapore are, and hope these information will enrich each other with our everyday experiences. Whether it is your various encounters on grindr/qrushr, web forums or private/public gatherings, where you spend time with friends at the coffeeshops, cinemas, discos, gyms, saunas, shopping malls or elsewhere, we want to hear from you as a resident, immigrant or expatriate in Singapore. Drop us an email/comment today! (17 July 2012)
I am from France, and although there are Pride parades and the gay community is much more visible than here, I feel more safe here than back home. People here might stare or do a double take if they see me holding my boyfriend’s hand or being affectionate with him, but I have never encountered anyone starting to be aggressive with me as a result, the way I and my friends have experienced in Paris (being called names, taunted or even beaten up). I’m much more open about being gay here than I was back home. It’s just a shame that gay individuals here don’t have the same rights as straights. The same is true in France to some degree, but it is getting better (esp in 2013 if gay marriage and adoption is made legal).