‘What doors will open?’: Hope in Singapore ahead of gay sex decriminalization

By Paloma Almoguera

Singapore, Sep 24 (EFE).- After almost a century in force, Singapore is preparing to repeal a law inherited from the British Empire that criminalizes sex between men – a decision that generates elation but also doubt among the LGBT community of the conservative island state.

“There (is) a question on what else would come. Still there is a lot of insecurity of what the trade-offs are. Okay, we will repeal the law, but what are you going to take away from the lives of gay people?” asks Becca D’Bus, the pseudonym of Eugene Tan, creator of a successful drag queen show.

Becca, 44, is referring to the fine print of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s Aug. 22 announcement that Section 377A of the penal code will be repealed, and that she thinks the government will try to “appease” certain groups who have expressed opposition on the island of 5.7 million people.

Among them is part of the influential religious sector. Singapore has a 33 percent Buddhist population, while about 20 percent are Christian and 14 percent Muslim, in addition to other minority faiths.

In force since 1938, section 377A includes penalties of up to two years in prison for men who commit acts of “gross indecency” with another man.

Lee said the repeal, the date of which has not been announced, will “bring the law into line with current social morals, and I hope, provide some relief to gay Singaporeans.”

Initially, it does. The repeal has for decades been the main goal for the LGBT+ community in Singapore, which in February suffered great disappointment when the appeals court ruled against a claim of unconstitutionality.

“I feel happy for the people who had fought hard for the repeal. They should be recognized for their hard work,” says Joseph (not his real name), a Singaporean who has been in a gay relationship for years and who prefers to remain anonymous.

His happiness is shared by Becca, although from a different perspective.

“Marriage is not something that I care about, but it is clear that there is an attempt to sort of limit the ways in which citizens can be heard,” she tells EFE.

“I think we should be talking about care, families and how people choose to care for each other and how we protect these relationships, whatever they may be,” she adds.

The eventual repeal of 377A, which India annulled in 2018 and which is still in force in former British colonies such as neighboring Malaysia and Myanmar, is considered the definitive end of the criminalization of gay sex in Singapore, even though the government has not been enforcing the law for years.

“I have never felt any form of discrimination here due to my sexuality – both personally and at a professional level,” Joseph says.

However, sitting in a cafe devoid of the make-up and wardrobe she wears on stage every Saturday night, Becca says that many companies and theaters have refused to contract her show for being too queer, and questions the impact that the repeal will have on vital issues.

“There are suggestions that materially things won’t change: housing laws (Singapore, where 80 percent of the population lives in government-subsidized housing, makes it easier for married people and families to access accommodation), marriage, discrimination in the work environment…”

“If someone thinks he has been fired because his bosses are homophobic, he doesn’t have a case in court – we are not protected,” Becca denounces.

What they both agree on is that new discussions must be had and that their lives will not change much immediately after the repeal.

“As a guy who is in a long-term relationship, who shares a household with another man, this repeal does not really impact me. Our lives before and after the repeal will remain the same,” says Joseph.

Becca jokes: “I don’t think I will be having more sex.”