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List of LGBT organisations in Singapore

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 183.90.49.106 (talk) at 12:04, 2 June 2020 (Improved upon the list of resources and added more updated information). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Active groups

Groups active both online and offline

  • Out in SG - Out in SG is a private Facebook Group set up in 2018 with almost 3000 current active LGBT members, mostly gay men. Members facilitate and lead a variety of events each month; active fitness events such as running, swimming, tennis and badminton, social events such as board games, karaoke, cooking and nature walks or cultural events such as historical tours, art class or pottery making.
  • People Like Us 3 (PLU3) The first and still the main gay-equality advocacy group in Singapore, started in 1993 by Joseph Lo and later joined by activists Alex Au and Dr. Russell Heng.
  • Pink Dot SG – Pink Dot SG is the most visible and well-known event of the LGBT movement in Singapore, and it has inspired similar movements around the world. A public event that brings together Singaporeans who support the freedom to love, it is attended by both straight and LGBT people and widely reported in local and international media. The first Pink Dot was held in 2009 and drew 2,500 people. 4,000 turned out the following year, and in 2011, the number more than doubled to 10,000. In 2012, over 15,000 people attended the first Pink Dot at night.
  • YouYou - a pagan LGBTQ+ mental health support group that is mainly based around evening meetings with the leader of the group (this group is the result of the Free Community Church and it's shenanigans, I don't exaclty know how else to put it).
  • The Free Community Church - a LGBTQ+ affirming Christian church which has its share of controversy, but is a hub for the meeting of many parts of the local LGBTQ+ community
  • The Pelangi Pride Center - They physical area of this library is connected to the Free Community Church, though the Pelangi Pride center was mainly founded by Eileena Lee who has no part in FCC (the church).
  • Prout - This is both located as a resource online and offline and was created on 6 May 2018. It is a free platform for LGBTQ+ people to find their local community, receive relevant events and group recommendations and to be proud and out through safe spaces, meetups, resources, experts and helplines.
  • Queer Book and Movie Club - founded by Aaron Ho in 2011, it is a monthly book club (3rd Thursday of every month) for everyone in Singapore focusing on queer literature. The group also meets for LGBT movies every 2 months and is all-inclusive and non-discriminatory.
  • Gay Geeks Singapore - a meetup that happens about every month focused on board games and/or just socializing together and bonding over geeky stuff.
  • Aces Going Places - a meetup that happens about every month for people on the asexual spectrum (which includes demisexuality, grey-asexuality, asexuality, aromantism, among many others) in Singapore to make friends and share their experiences so that they do not have to feel isolated in an overly sexualised world where people like themselves lack visibility.
  • The Greenhouse - a center for LGBTQ+ folks dealing with substance addiction issues, which also includes a chat group online and social events (though am not sure what exactly there is)
  • Brave Spaces - officially launched on 10 March 2018, it is a Singapore-based non-profit organisation that develops programmes, provides social services, organises events, and conducts research and advocacy to empower queer women in Singapore (also has a hotline).
  • The G Spot: Yale-NUS Gender and Sexuality Alliance - a collection of students from Yale NUS College who promote diversity and inclusivity. They seek to raise awareness on gender, sexuality and feminist issues, as well as provide a safe space for support, education and activism. They are concerned with issues intersecting gender, gender identity, sexuality, sexual orientation, asexuality, race, class, and disability - hence the G "Spot", literally a point of intersection, and one deeply connected with the body. They can be reached via e-mail at: reach@the-gspot.org
  • NTU Kaleidoscope - formed by a group of students in 2013 to raise awareness of the many faces of discrimination pertaining to sexual orientation, gender, race and class. All aspects of their advocacy stem from their belief in equality. They believe that these complex issues should be discussed sensibly and with an open mind for the betterment of community as a whole. They organise both literary and social events that aim to promote dialogue between people with different perspectives. These events have the overarching goal of allowing people to better understand the many faces of discrimination.
  • The Gender Collective - a student interest group set up by students from the University Scholars Program (USP) at the National University of Singapore. It seeks to draw together people of all genders and sexual identities for discussion in a safe space.
  • Project X - an advocacy group for transgender people working in the sex industry. Project X believes that sex work is a legitimate form of work and that sex workers should not be criminalised alongside murderers and thieves. As such, sex workers’ rights are also human rights.
  • The T Project - was set up in June 2014 by two transgender siblings, June Chua and Alicia Chua, committed towards empowering the transgender community in Singapore to lead a more fulfilling and meaningful life and to help and nurture the transgender community so as to bring about a positive and direct impact on the quality of their life as transgender people. It is also a place for the public to engage, learn and get firsthand knowledge about the latest development in the transgender community and to dispel myths. Under the leadership of June Chua, it set up two physical spaces to administer to the welfare of the transgender community - the T-Project Transgender Shelter and Alicia Community Centre.
  • Trans Befrienders - a resource based offline and online, it provides informational sessions and emotional support. However, it is not made of professional counselors and is only able to provide peer-to-peer guidance.
==Groups active online only===
  • My Queer Story SG - a platform (on Instagram and Facebook) for LGBTQ+ people to share their stories of discrimination in Singapore, founded in response to the Ready4Repeal movement in 2018.
  • Queer Singapore - a Discord server for LGBTQ+ folks to gain support and build a community of friends.
  • Nonbinary Singapore - a telegram and Discord group (link for such found in the telegram group) for nonbinary folks in Singapore.
  • The Heartweavers - mainly based online, and an organization on facebook and instagram, founded in July 2019. The Heartweavers seeks to inspire and guide LGBTQ+ people in Singapore to live full and free lives regardless of their circumstances and challenges through LGBTQ+ focused workshops, talks and dialogues.
  • The Healing Circle - a safe space mainly located online for queer Muslims created on 30 April 2017 to question, reconcile and embrace their spirituality
  • Break the Binary - a privately supported informative resource with a focus on enhancing the lives of transgender men in Singapore.
  • The Bi+ Collective Singapore - occasionally hosting events offline, the Bi+ Collective was founded in March 2018. Its mission is to counter bi+invisibility and biphobia/discrimination which are real issues in Singapore. The group is for anyone living in Singapore who identifies as bi/pansexual, bi/panromantic, bi/pancurious or any other identity under the bi+ umbrella. Allies are also free to join.

There is also a map of LGBTQ+ organizations and events in Singapore, created by Olivia Paramour (https://linktr.ee/OliviaParamour).

Disbanded/inactive groups=

Groups formerly active both online and offline

  • Yagga Yagga support group – the third, but most well known, of the initial support groups for gay men ever to be organised in Singapore. It had two sessions, Yagga Yagga 1 and Yagga Yagga 2, separated by several months. The previous groups were named Northern (something) and Forbidden Fruit. All were started by activist Alex Au. The same format would be carried into future support groups such as the current and immensely popular Oogachaga. Yagga Yagga was targeted at men who embraced their sexuality late in life. Operational for 12 months, its last session ended in June 1999. Read Yawning Bread's round-up of the group's experiences:
  • Friends Like Us (F.L.US, pronounced "flas")- an LGBT social enterprise which aspires to be the nexus between business, innovation and community work. They are committed to reaching out to diverse members of LGBT society with the primary objective to better lives through entrepreneurial and other community projects. Net proceeds from their ad hoc activities and events including Dragon Boat racing, inline skating, kayaking, movie outings, a dating club, gatherings and trips, are used to fund community service initiatives including their Caresports, Careout and Carefund programmes.
  • Young Out Here Singapore's first and only queer community group catered towards queer youths, unbiased against the lesbian youth community. Their main programme is a support group for queer youths, with a repertoire of several events organised also catering towards queer youths.

References