Marginal, Tolerant, Diverse: A Viewing of the Film by Singapore's "Coolie" Director
On the evening of June 5th, I watched the film "Some Women" by Singaporean Trans Woman director Quen Wong and her team at SİNEMA Cinema in Berlin. After the movie, Quen Wong answered questions from the audience, including the author, and also exchanged views with the audience.
The film tells the story of director Quen Wong, who, as a "Queer (i.e., a group of people whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual and/or whose gender identity is not traditionally binary)", has gone from hiding his identity as a "Queer" to boldly "coming out" as a "Queer" in Singapore. "The film is a story of coming out of the closet, breaking out of the closet, revealing oneself, and falling in love. The film also showcases the lives and voices of her "husband" and other members of the LGBTQ community who are also "coolies".
I am not a "coolie"/LGBTQ, and I belong to the social majority in terms of gender identity and sexual orientation. But I was still touched by the film, as Quen Wong and her peers have long survived as marginalized members of society because of their gender identity and sexual orientation. Decades ago, when homosexuality and transgenderism were generally regarded as "sick", they had to hide their sexuality by marrying "heterosexuals" who were emotionally unavailable and unavailable for arousal, and were not able to express their true and desired gender identities on a daily basis. The story is one of gender identity. Many of them live their lives in pain, hiding their true colors.
Quen Wong is lucky. She was born into an enlightened family with a relatively favorable living condition. Even so, she had to hide her true gender identity and orientation for a long time due to social pressure. It wasn't until she was 46 that she found the courage to show her true self-identity to those around her. Later, she used her camera to document her journey from biological male to female, wearing women's clothing openly and entering into marriage with the love of her life. The love story between Quen Wong and her husband Francis Bond is particularly touching.
The LGBTQ community in Singapore has gradually moved from the margins to the public arena, from private space to public society, and is brave enough to express its identity and aspirations. They want substantive equality with the mainstream in education, healthcare, civil rights and social welfare. Over the decades, Singapore's public and private sectors and society at large have become more open and inclusive towards the LGBTQ community.
The film also shows the life of Quen Wong and her father's Chinese family in Southeast Asia. For example, the Chinese blessing "Happy New Year, Dragon Horse Spirit", which is spoken during the New Year's greetings, reflects Southeast Asian Chinese people's adherence to their traditional culture and national identity, and it also makes me, as a Chinese person, feel very close to the Chinese people. Singapore is a pluralistic country, and the Chinese in Singapore are not only members of Singapore's multi-ethnic community, but also have a unique identity and cultural heritage.
After the screening, I asked Director Quen Wong about the similarities and differences of the LGBTQ situation in Singapore, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, to which Ms. Wong replied that comparatively speaking, the LGBTQ community in Taiwan has more rights and freedom, and same-sex marriages have been legalized. Hong Kong, on the other hand, has more discrimination against LGBTQ, but LGBT rights advocates are active. Mainland China and Singapore, on the other hand, have their own problems.
In the subsequent off-site discussion, Ms. Wong told me that although there is no open institutional discrimination in Singapore, there are still many invisible discrimination and pressure in the system and society towards LGBTQ people. For example, in some schools, school psychologists are reluctant to provide counseling to LGBTQ people, and the person is forced to seek help from expensive private agencies. And when seeking employment, they are politely rejected by more conservative organizations.
Hearing all these, the author knows that although Singapore has become quite pluralistic and tolerant nowadays, some special groups still face various dilemmas. And these dilemmas are often overlooked by officials and the general public. These neglects are due to socio-cultural reasons, institutional reasons, and the lack of mutual communication and understanding between people of different identities.
The Chinese community has always had a traditional cultural sense of valuing the family, passing on the family name, and following the rules of etiquette and order, and tends to regard the union of a man and a woman as the destined way of life. Such a culture has indeed enabled the Chinese to survive tenaciously, pass on their culture and live on. But it also has a conservative side, with differences and frictions with the pluralistic society of the 21st century, new cultures, new trends and new people who respect different gender identities, sexual orientations and lifestyles.
Under the collision of tradition and modernity, order and human rights, the issue of the rights of the LGBTQ community has also surfaced and attracted more and more thoughts. In fact, Chinese culture does not have a strong anti-gay or anti-transgender tradition. Some ancient Chinese emperors and celebrities, such as Liu Che, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty in the "Qin Emperor and Han Wu", were bisexual. History books frequently record the prevalence of the "male trend" in high society, which also refers to the prevalence of homosexuality. This shows that the Chinese have not always rejected homosexuality, only that due to the subsequent rigidity of the system and the prevalence of rationalism, the shackles have increased and the freedom has diminished, gradually forming a cultural pattern that suppresses different sexual orientations.
Compared to differences in ethnicity, religious beliefs, and political views, which may lead to conflicts and disputes, or even bloodshed and violence, the LGBTQ community only wants to have a unique private life, not be discriminated against by cisgender heterosexuals in public spaces, and express their own identities and hobbies more freely, and do not want to confront the mainstream society (and hope to integrate into the mainstream society while preserving their own gender and sexuality identities). Social security crisis.
Some people worry that the LGBTQ community will impact traditional family structures and social order, not to mention the fact that families and societies need to keep up with the times, and that LGBTQ people do not jeopardize the existence and interests of traditional families, nor do they have any intention of destroying society. Instead, the unreasonable restrictions and various discriminatory suppression of marginalized people have led to resentment and dissatisfaction, which in turn has increased the factors of instability. LGBTQ people are also part of the nationals, citizens, and the people, and respecting and upholding the dignity and rights of LGBTQ people is more conducive to the stability of the country and the peace of the society.
Therefore, whether in Singapore or China, Hong Kong or Taiwan, whether it is the Chinese community or other ethnic groups, whether it is the system or the general public, there is no need to treat the LGBTQ community with tinted glasses and a wary or even hostile attitude, but rather be more tolerant and considerate, or at least treat the LGBTQ people with the principle of non-discrimination. This is not only in line with the modern concept of human rights, but also in line with the ancient culture of freedom and tolerance, which is conducive to the harmony of social plurality.
Singapore has achieved stunning success in the areas of economic development and the rule of law, as well as harmonious coexistence, multicultural coexistence and intermingling of different ethnic groups such as Chinese, Malays, Indians and Europeans. All of this is admirable and respectable. It would be nice, then, if Singapore could make more progress and breakthroughs in the areas of safeguarding LGBTQ rights and freedoms, and institutional and social inclusion of sexual minorities. A harmonious society should tolerate every member who does not intend to harm others and the society, regardless of his/her ethnicity, beliefs, identity, sexual orientation, or whether he/she is "mainstream" or not, all of them should be respected and cared for.
The fact that Quen Wong, a transgender woman, has become a world-famous director and artist and won many awards proves that the LGBTQ community has the ability to achieve as much as cisgender heterosexuals. The state and the public should give more praise and encouragement to these strugglers who have to be on the margins of society but strive to make themselves known. For those obscure LGBTQ people, they should not be treated with indifference and implicit discrimination, but rather with understanding and tolerance, and provide assistance to the best of their ability. Such a diverse, colorful and loving Lion City would be a warm family for all Singaporeans and a role model for the Chinese world.
Tolerance and encouragement of the "cool kids"/LGBTQ community is not just something that Singapore should do, but also mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the global Chinese-speaking regions and Chinese communities, as well as other countries and ethnic groups. All gender identities and orientations should be respected; they are free to change their identities however they wish; and same-sex relationships and unions are an inalienable right. Others should not be insulted, slandered, harassed or abused, but should be honored and blessed.