Friday, September 21, 2007

You've Got A Problem With Gays and Lesbians?

7 out of 10 Singaporeans have a problem with homosexuals. That was what I read in yesterday’s Straits Times report. It was based on a NTU SCI survey out of 1000 people. This high percentage of non-acceptance of homosexuals really baffled me. Who did they survey on? Could it be a coincidence that the surveyed ones are generally less receptive of the ‘social deviant’? From the people I know, friends, family members and relatives, who are all between the age of 10 and 62, I found out that more than half of them do not really mind having homosexuals around them. To them, homosexuality is created by nature and is not of a choice in life, so there should not be any discrimination against this group of people. I agree with this logic.

So I am curious. Is it just the people around me who are more liberal in thinking and does the Singaporean society generally find homosexuals disgusting?

I did my little ‘survey’ from a few popular Singapore blogs and websites and was pretty surprised to find out that the results were totally different from that of the survey done by the Straits Times.

From Tomorrow.sg, out of 1280 people surveyed online, almost 70% of people felt gay sex should be allowed. Although it is to be noted that having homosexuals around is pretty much different from approving gay sex to be the norm of the society, it is justifiable to assume that more than this 70% would find themselves ‘ok’ with homosexuals around. After all, we are not even broaching on the topic of sex which is still considered a social taboo.

And from an Attitude Survey 2000 found on PLU website conducted in Singapore to gauge attitude of general public to gay-related issues, a similar trend prevailed and most people think as Singapore is becoming more and more global, it should be a more tolerant society and all citizens should be treated with equality, irregardless of their beliefs, races and sexuality.

So why not consider repealing Section 377A of the Penal Code and remove this divisive curtain placed on the gay community and give them equal rights?

Also read "Nothing Wrong With Being Gay".

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know whether the Straits Times has its facts or surveys jacked up or not, because as far as I'm concerned, I think people are becoming more open and willing to accept the presence of gays in Singapore. 7 in 10 is quite a majority, I always thought it would be a balance, with the older, conservative crowd, and the younger generation. Tomorrow.SG or Straits Times????

PS: I also read the article, I showed it to some friends of mine. They think gays are perfectly OK.

James Chia said...

I have some gay friends around but they are perfectly fine people. Law-abiding, civic-minded, great friends! Certainly they deserve better treatment from the society, don't they?