This was Pink Dot’s 17th edition, and the third since the repeal of Section 377A, a clause that for decades defined queer lives in Singapore. In its absence, something else has begun to take shape: a new language of visibility. This year’s theme, “Different Stories, Same Love,” pronounced by Pink Dot’s spokesperson, Clement Tan, offered a reminder that LGBTQ+ identities in Singapore have never fit into a single frame, they have always been plural, always shifting, always rooted in relationships that defy the binaries.
There was something almost surreal about watching Members of Parliament (‘MPs’) walk through the grounds, exchanging greetings with volunteers and posing for photos. Ten years ago, that would have been unthinkable. But here we are. MPs across party lines—PAP’s Alex Yeo and Ng Shi Xuan, WP’s Louis Chua and He Ting Ru, and PSP’s Samuel Lim—stood in solidarity at Hong Lim Park. Their presence marked a symbolic shift—one mirrored by the work of established LGBTQ+ charity and social welfare platform, Oogachaga supporting, affirming the community, whose decades of frontline support and advocacy have helped lay the groundwork for such visibility.
And still — here we are.
Acceptance, like love, is not a fixed point. It is lived in practice. It is a mother teaching her child that love is not gendered. It is a 50-something man saying he no longer has to look over his shoulder. It is a Member of Parliament (‘MP’), who once circled Hong Lim from the outside, and now walks straight into it. That movement, inward, toward community, is a kind of courage too.
This moment also marks a decade since Kyle kickstarted Popspoken’s LGBTQ+ news column. In 2019 the then Popspoken editorial team — imagined what their future would look like. Most wrote, not knowing the answers, but were certain of one thing: there would be a future, with people who would be there to read it.
With the backdrop of a local media landscape where queer stories were footnotes, his was a voice that insisted: we’re here, and we have stories to tell, with nuance and with pride. The column was never about activism. It was about creating a consistent, visible archive of queer life in Singapore, for allies and mainstream media alike. The kind of slow, steady documentation that shifts culture quietly until one day, it isn’t culture anymore. It’s just life.
Footnotes on Boundaries, Respect, and What Connection Is Not
Whilst we are all for visibility, especially during Pink Pride month. The heart of community is showing up for one another. There is showing up, and then there is blowing steam: reaching out to third or fourth parties post-removal (2021), to suggest or imply a non-existent connection. These footnotes are not about exclusion, but about addressing what respect looks like in practice. Any fear based escalation, to seek contact, is disavowed.
Throughout June, we observed repeated outreach from individuals deflecting requests for the return of retail items post-exit — despite unaccounted for personal expenses being waived in good faith. Instead of resolving matters directly, with the company, pertaining to misappropriation of items, or unauthorised retention of items, some have involved unrelated parties — including editors, mutuals, and more concerningly, unrelated folks, with zero connection to the items sought for restitution. Whether for attention or otherwise, these actions appear to be an attempt to remain attached or connected to the reputational weight, credibility, of established brand names. This crosses a line.
The original issue was met with a clear offer of resolution, and to triangulate and to transform it into a lobbying matter, is not only irresponsible, but deeply disconcerting to others observing this from outside the LGBTQ+ community. We do not support any use of this situation to push personal agendas or gain traction within LGBTQ+ youth platforms. In light of conversations around modern families, we also reaffirm a point in Singapore, via Yahoo since 2019, which adheres to a general broad spirit of the Adoption of Children Act (2022), in not normalising and encouraging “the movement of life from one hand to another“, by using money:
Payment or reward to the biological or adoptive parents for the adoption of a child in Singapore is strictly prohibited, except with the sanction of the court.
Wong Cassandra, Senior Reporter, Yahoo News Singapore
Broadcasting without legal finality or court sanction may constitute a breach of confidentiality, privacy and safeguarding. These individuals, seeking to reputationally manipulate legitimacy, are encouraged to seek qualified lawyers or Singapore counsel, from the stated LGBTQ+ Inclusive Panel of Law Firms, via Same Same but Different, which include, Han & Lu Law Chambers LLP, Eugene Thuraisingam LLP, Hoh Law Corporation, Bih Li & Lee LLP, Circular Law Chambers LLP, JinHuang Legal LLC and, Withers KhattarWong — the latter being an ongoing legal sponsor of Pink Dot, a non-profit movement founded by individuals who care deeply about the place that LGBTQ+ Singaporeans call home.
Europe’s Perspectives on Donor Conception
While many liberal democracies have taken steps to expand access to assisted reproductive technologies, the most progressive models are beginning to reckon with the deepening ethical and regulatory gaps — one that even the most progressive countries are now scrambling to address.
With demand surging for donor-conceived births due to the increased access sought for by same-gender identity couples and single parents, so too are the implications. From medical oversights to psychological fallout.
Eight EU countries are now urging for a region-wide hard cap on the number of children conceived per sperm donor, citing cases of accidental incest, identity fragmentation and heritable diseases, risks that money cannot easily resolve. Ethicists also acknowledge that pricing or advertising reproductive material, for a fee, commodifies intimate human connections.
Discovering that you have dozens of half-brothers and sisters in Europe or even the wider world carries a huge (psychological) impact. The world is getting smaller and smaller. People look for each other, find each other faster.
Belgian official, speaking freely to EU Media under anonymity
Even the European Sperm Bank, one of the continent’s largest cryobanks, admits the limitations. Only 3–5% of donor applicants pass health screenings, yet even those cannot catch everything. One donor passed on a rare cancer-causing mutation to multiple offspring, a risk that routine screening missed.
Without an EU-wide limit or registry, donors have fathered hundreds of children across borders — one Dutch donor fathered over 550 before being banned.
We don’t want genetic half siblings to start families.
Carolina Östgren, Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics
Liberalisation comes with a cost, and not just the one written on an invoice.
Respecting Cultural Norms
Singapore’s stance on such matters reflects prevailing norms.
Any ally, LGBTQ+ partner or LGBTQ+ individual seeking to connect with longstanding LGBTQ+ communities may direct message “Popspoken Pink Pulse” for a private group invite: [LINK]. Entry requires admin approval. Continued indirect solicitation, from some of these unnamed individuals, without resolving some core issues, may lead to further steps being taken. Let us respect the cultural norms, as well as maintain boundaries that keep Singapore safe and accountable.
By 2050, Pink Dot will be opening a time capsule, comprising 70 objects from the LGBTQ+ community placed in today, that will be opened in the future. We see that some of the stories we wrote have grown legs. Others are still catching up. But we also see children holding balloons, families picnicking with their queer friends, MPs choosing to show up — and people, telling us plainly: there’s more work to do. And so the stories continue. Different stories.
Image credit: Straits Times
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