‘Invisible yet visible’ S’pore’s transgender people live in the shadows

SINGAPORE: A chest binder, packaging from used hormone injections and a preserved penis donated after a sex- change operation – all part of an exhibition designed to showcase Singapore’s rich transgender history.

The display is an attempt by one of Singapore’s best known transgender citizens to raise awareness and preserve the surprisingly vibrant history of LGBT+ culture in the famously conservative country.

Affluent Singapore is modern in many ways, yet social attitudes are often highly conservative, with sex between men banned. Samesex marriage is illegal.

But it has not always been this way. Back in the 1950s, transgender people were an ever-present part of the lively clubs and bars of Bugis Street, Singapore’s former red light district.

“I don’t want our history to be forgotten,” said June Chua, who opened the exhibition in December and also runs Singapore’s only shelter for transgender people.

“I want the public to understand us. If you understand us, where we came from, who are we ... you will then see us as no different,” said Chua, who said she realised she was a girl trapped in a boy’s body when she was just 12.

The project was inspired by a visit to Stonewall Inn, the bar considered the birthplace of the US gay rights movement that now has national monument status.

Singapore is among a handful of Asian nations that recognises transgender people, and sex reassignment surgery has been legal in the city-state since 1973.

Those who have undergone the procedure can change their gender on their identification cards. — Reuters