Hello! Out here to wish all of my fellow LGBT+ Singaporeans a happy Pride month (tbf I wanna celebrate us all EVERY month, every day, every minute because we deserve it but then it'd get a bit too repetitive!)

To clarify to any non-queer people who aren't allies on the subreddit what Pride exactly means or it's origins, Pride month is celebrated in June as a commemoration to Stonewall, which took place in June 1969, indicating our resistance and resilience to how states and society are violent towards queer people. While this has roots in the United States, Pride is now celebrated worldwide, especially in Singapore with events like Pink Dot and a whole host of community gatherings, celebrations, and events.

Pride month, in my view, is two things that are overlapping. It's meant to celebrate each other for who we are, the love we share, without judgement or ridicule, knowing that, in the structures of society we live in, queer people are traditionally marginalized, which is to say that they don't have the same level of power or freedom to live their lives, and if they do, it's in spite of the state and society they live in. Basically, Pride month is showing resistance to power that is violent towards queer people by celebrating, appreciating, lifting up, and loving who we are.

This hits close to home, especially to people like me (a pansexual pal who's just realized they're non-binary AND a relationship anarchist). There may be some rumblings that 377A could be repealed, thanks to a speech by Shanmugam and that one REACH survey, but even if it does, queer discrimination, especially material privilege, is more than 377A. Heckin' Unicorn has a great post here, but here's a few notable ones.

We are still denied public housing until later in life as queer couples/family units can't get married/have a civil union, which prices out many queer people in finding safe, queer-friendly housing unless we rent (which ain't too cheap in SG, and landlords can still kick queer people out) or fork out tonnes of money (which only those with existing privilege can realistically afford) to buy a private place. For trans people, healthcare costs get seriously high for gender-affirming healthcare which trans people have to pay the brunt for, which also affects their own health if they are not able to receive such care that they need. Even for adoption rights, Singapore literally took the effort this year to close a legal loophole that previously allowed queer couples to adopt children. Not to mention that 'conversion therapy', a hokey, dangerous practice that people impose onto queer people to dispel the gay/trans out of them, is not outlawed in Singapore.

Repeal or not, queer people will always be seen by state power to be unfit to exist in this nation, which is why Pride is SO IMPORTANT, because we celebrate who we are, how much we love and care for ourselves in this nation, to show that yes, we do exist, and we fucking love ourselves, because we are different, because we're diverse, and because we're Q U E E R.

There are many things going on this month, but the biggest thing is that, yes, Pink Dot is back to being an in-person event!! It will be held at Hong Lim Park on June 18th, 3-7 p.m. I will admit that, yes, Pink Dot isn't great at sharing space/power with diverse groups of queer folk (cos yes, racism does exist, and cis-gay people can be excluding of other queer people, especially trans/nb folk), but I still recommend going as I personally find gathering physically is the best way to find community in a state that discourages the formation of such communities. There are other events too (I believe PinkFest.sg has TONNES), but honestly celebrate in the best way for you. Whether that's physically gathering at a large event, going out for a private thing, meeting up with online pals, having a small party with fellow queer people you know, or even just celebrating yourself, Pride month is the time to celebrate yourself for being queer, and that's fucking awesome.