Pink Dot: The Story of Jamie Yee.

Our recent thread on the blatant transphobic discrimination against Marla Bendini has drawn some weird commenters out of the woodwork. While it's normally in my nature to ignore and delete, my educator/promoter side thinks this episode also proves a good opportunity to raise a little more awareness on trans people's plight.

Gender and sexuality are very complex aspects of day-to-day living for some of us. Just because we do not see positive and affirming representations of the different sorts of people around leading largely differently lives than the norm doesn't mean that these people are insidious deviants. The media and our larger societal machinery has only so much time to dedicate itself to playing to a wider majority -- we here on the farm obviously think this rather misled.

To begin to fix this, Jamie Yee, a post-op transwoman, bravely came out recently to speak of her own experience in transitioning from her old self to who she is today. In a very touching video (accompanied by an article), in which she is joined by her two very enlightened parents, Jamie and family tell us the struggles they had in coming to terms with Jamie's transgender self. Her story reveals the remarkable power love has in overcoming seeming barriers of complex human life-paths to eventual acceptance and love for another human being.


Speaking of her mother's struggles:

Crucially, however, Jamie’s mother was opening to the idea that her son was really her daughter. Through her own very difficult period, while wrestling with thoughts of suicide, Mrs Yee went for counselling courses. It was there that she began to open up and learn more about diversity in human sexuality.

Transgendered people are individuals who express their gender in a non traditional manner. In Jamie’s case, she was born physically as a man, but sees and expresses herself completely as a woman. In practical terms, she has always been a female, but requires gender reassignment to fully express it.

Mrs Yee knew this. She knew that gender identity issues aren’t easy to deal with, and that family support can help her daughter. “I don’t think they have a choice”, she said, “sometimes they are born in this way, so they need the help and understanding from their family to help them and to believe in them.”

It took a while before Jamie's father learnt to grapple with her need for an operation, and eventually it would be his understanding that regardless of Jamie's complicated gender setup, they "have a child" in Jamie still, and that "I'm her parent, so it's my responsibility to see that she lives and grows as a healthy and happy individual no matter what she may be like. I cannot abandon her."

And we won't abandon our fellow friends of LGBTQ persuasion too, so we'll be at this year's Pink Dot gathering next Saturday, in our glorious pink coats of feathers and fur. Do join us too in promoting the right for people's freedom to love and be loved.

Pink Dot
15 May 2010, Saturday
1700-1830hrs
Hong Lim Park

More information: Facebook Event Page.

2010 Asia Internet MSM Sex Survey

2010 Asia Internet MSM Sex Survey.

Survey closes: 28 February 2010.

Dr Stuart Koe of Fridae.com is now conducting an internet survey on sexual behaviour of gay men (or any man who has sex with other men), transgender and intersex people in Asia. The study seeks to uncover a a better understanding of "social and behavioral factors with regards to HIV knowledge, attitudes, prevention, testing, care and support", which is essential to better address the spread of HIV and other STIs.

The test is available in various languages (English, 简体中文, 台灣繁體, 香港繁體, Tagalog, ภาษาไทย, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia, 日本語, हिन्दी).

This badly drawn gay pig has already taken the test, and I can assure everyone that it's painless. (And unsurprisingly fast for me because I don't really get out of the barn at all to meet other pigs.) And the results of the survey can be availed to you if you sign up for them.

Do pass this along to your friends who fit the sample descriptives.

2010aimss.com

Me and My Friend

Tomorrow is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. MARUAH has organised a bunch of events in observance of this day and in promotion of the human rights of persons with disabilities. Get yourself to some of them.

You won't be needing that

Just before the MARUAH Open House to which my porcine friend alludes below, at the same venue, MARUAH is also hosting a session on the education of children with disabilities:

At this stage, we hope to garner support for children with physical disabilities to be included in Singapore’s Compulsory Education Act. This is also in line with the Convention on the Rights of Children, which Singapore is a signatory party. We also hope to gather comments and feedback on special education in Singapore.

Facilitator: Ms Braema MathiAgenda for the Focus Group discussion:

1. Presentation of MARUAH’s paper on Compulsory Education for Children with Disabilities
2. Feedback from the participants on the paper
3. Any other issues or concerns of the participants

We are looking for the following Focus Group participants:

a) Any individuals with disabilities (physical and/or intellectual)
b) Parents of children with disabilities (physical and/or intellectual)
c) Educators of children with disabilities
d) Educators of non-disabled children
e) Members of VWOs focused on individuals with disabilities
f) Any other concerned individuals with experience in this area

Compulsory education is intended to ensure every child who falls within its purview is equipped with some of the basic skills and knowledge needed for them to participate in society. This Magical Chicken finds it difficult to comprehend why children with disabilities shouldn't have the same right to education as other children, and for the same purpose.

Nov 28: Maruah Open House.

(I'm not sure how Maruah is holding an "open house", since I don't recall them actually being physically housed anywhere. Still, what does a porcine know, right?)

For the uninitiated, Maruah is Singapore Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism. Led by ex-NMP Braema Mathi, the committee includes other named figured like gay activist Alex Au, CEO of Fridae.com Dr Stuart Koe, ex-NMP Siew Kum Hong, former-Law Society President, Peter Cuthbert Low, former-journo and current NTU lecturer Dr Cherian George, etc.

The point is that Maruah does very good and very important work in the advancement of human rights in Singapore, and they need more hands on board to assist in future work! From the website:

Date: 28th Nov 09, Saturday
Time: 4-6pm
Venue: Training Room 2, SCWO Building (Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations)
96 Waterloo Street
Click here for map (gothere.sg)

Please RSVP to maruahsg@gmail.com. Thanks and we hope to see you there.

As MARUAH looks to the year ahead, there is much work to be done. Human rights violations continue to occur unchecked locally and in our region. As a group we appeal for more hands and hearts on this. There are many issues of paramount urgency and this is where we want to engage everyone to see what other issues that could be explored.

This session is open to everyone – whether you’re a curious onlooker or you want to help out more in MARUAH’s activities. There is no obligation to continue on. More importantly, this session is for you to assess the opportunities for synergies between yourself and MARUAH.

Whose Right Is It Anyway?

Making A Commitment 2009 (Singapore) from PC on Vimeo.

United Nations Youth Association of Singapore and Maruah, Singapore Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, with the support of Wee Kim Wee Centre, SMU, are holding a youth workshop on human rights:

Whose Right Is It Anyway?

date: 31st October 2009, Saturday
time: 0900hrs-1730hrs
venue:
Seminar Room 2.5
Lee Kong Chian School of Business
Singapore Managment University
50 Stamford Road

Addresses + Plenary discussion/ presentation: (0930hrs-1130hrs)

Natalya Twohill: “Youth and Human Rights”
Alex Au: “The Rights History”
Sumi Dhanarajan: “Business and Rights – where do the two meet?”
Braema Mathi: “The Rights Way Forward”

(moderated by Siew Kum Hong)

Registration: http://whoseright.wordpress.com/register/

This male unfeminist pig certainly thinks human rights is a big topic on which Singapore and her people are still very behind. One of the reasons this is so is that the concept of human rights is comparatively new, which also means that people of certain generations may very well miss its imperative.

If the young'uns are not encouraged at a younger age to understand human rights as essential to an egalitarian society, then we're likely going to fail to absorb fully that every person is, can, and should be equal in standing and possess inviolable rights.

If that happens, then well, we'll have status quo. The belief that human rights is a foreign concept that white people have concocted to obliterate our good old, traditional, conservative Asian family values. Because you know, the right to freedom of speech, to not be discriminated against and our own bodily control and safety is something only an angmoh will want.

We, Asians, prefer to be oppressed, provided we don't actually know how to identify oppression and have every right to oppress others given the opportunity.