viewing the others

personally, i dont hate transgenders. they have their own way of life, and i have mine.
there was a quote once by Howard Dean:
"From a religious point of view, if God had thought homosexuality is a sin, he would not have created gay people"

pardon the religious incorrect-ness of the statement. im not saying i fully agree with mr dean here
but all i'm saying is, transgenders - they are very much a part of humanity
probably a confused, discombobulated, maybe misled part of humanity, but humans nonetheless.

as a devout christian since a child, i've long been impressed "love-thy-neighbor-as-thyself"
but beyond compassion and understanding and all that, what i feel is a sense of respect for the courage of those transgenders in Singapore who dare to speak up.

as a singaporean, i know how much it takes to speak up against what is viewed to be the conservative norm of society
a breaching of that familiar boundary results in bountiful criticism, ostracism, and inevitably discrimination
this is especially the case when it comes to the widely stigmatized taboo of transgenderism in singapore
a conservative nation state that prides itself on its entrenched values of moral propiety, it is difficult for transgenders to be integrated into mainstream singapore

and that is exactly what impresses me about kumar.


granted, i cringed as he sauntered across the stage with an distinctly feminine walk on a particular TV show that i watched some time ago
but he is notedly one of Singapore's funniest and most popular transvestite because of his courage to be different, and his ability to stand his place even in the repressive air of distaste



im far from being a fan of the drag queen or any transgenders
but i feel that, singaporeans should at the very least applaud these strong individuals for being able to stand up for themselves, and live a life that they feel is more suited to their orientation
isnt this something that the government pushes for? not being afraid to take risks no matter its consequences. if it applies to entrepreneuership, why not to transgenderism in singapore as well?

in all humor, there was once a comedian who was quoted: "It's better to be black than gay because when you're black you don't have to tell your mother."
it is not easy being gay or transgender. it entails many consequences, seen or unseen
i feel singaporeans should be more accepting when dealing with transgenders, and be more open to various ways of life.

it is time to step out of the enclosed shell of comfort and familiarity,
and deal with the new and the unknown
we may end up learning more than we expected