Singapore gay history

LGBT activity in Singapore has frequently been a focus of social conflict. A transgender identity was recognised among the indigenous Malays. Male homosexuality was outlawed under British rule (1819-1942), despite being acknowledged among immigrant Chinese. Following Japanese occupation during World War II and the later gaining of independence, homosexuality and transvestism were visible as a street scene, and from the 1970s were catered for in some nightclubs. In that decade also, Singapore became a centre of gender-reassignment surgery. Concern over HIV arose after cases were reported in the 1980s. During the 1990s police clamped down on manifestations of homosexuality, leading to the growth of a gay movement. A statement from Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in 2003 seemed to open the way for greater tolerance, starting a controversy that involved anti-homosexual expressions by some Churches and others.

Relatively little is known about pre-colonial Singapore, let alone the history of homosexuality during this period. Nonetheless, it can reasonably be assumed that ideas and practices relating to sexual minorities were similar to other contemporary and nearby Malay societies.

As with all pre-modern societies, traditional Malay culture did not contain the idea or the figure of the modern gay individual. However, Malay society did acknowledge the reality and existence of alternatives to heterosexual practices. ‘Third gender’ or transgender individuals, who are called mak nyah, were socially recognised, tolerated and even incorporated into community life. They occupied a stable, albeit arguably marginalised position within society. The mak nyah are similar in many ways to the hijra in India or the fa'afafine or Mahu in Polynesia. Unfortunately, there is limited scholarly knowledge about homosexuality in traditional Malay culture.

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