Section 377A was a colonial-era law that prohibited same-sex activities between consenting adult men. Its revocation was warmly welcomed by activists and queer people — marking the culmination of decades of campaigning. But the repeal came with an asterisk in the form of a constitutional amendment enshrining the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, effectively shutting the door on prospects for marriage equality.
In response, much of the activism and campaigning from Pink Dot shifted to expanding the concept of family in Singapore. While decriminalisation has helped with societal acceptance of queerness, many within Singapore’s queer community still struggle to envision a future in a city where public discourse and legal recognition of LGBTQ rights remains limited.
Living in Singapore as a queer person is a significant challenge, especially when the city-state’s social policies and restrictive media guidelines effectively shun queer Singaporeans from the mainstream. In a city where marriage secures access to public housing and next of kin rights to partners, the absence of marriage equality creates a significant gap between queer Singaporeans and their cisgender, heterosexual counterparts.
In search of more accepting spaces and better prospects for starting a family, many turn to the West to study or work. Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom are popular destinations owing to the legalisation of same-sex activities, marriage equality and English as the common language. For Singaporean–Chinese same-sex couples, Taiwan has also become an appealing destination as the only Asian country with marriage equality and adoption rights for same-sex couples.
These outbound migration flows come at a price for Singapore. In addition to driving away many of their own citizens, the city is a less attractive option for queer expats looking to relocate to Asia, particularly with neighbouring Thailand and Taiwan providing a much higher degree of acceptance for queer people — at a fraction of the living costs too.
The main argument against legal accommodations for LGBTQ people is the overall conservative position of Singaporean society, as argued by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his speech announcing the repeal of Section 377A. While this may be true to some extent, a closer look at societal attitudes shows there is more openness to social progress than Singapore’s leadership is willing to admit.
According to a worldwide 2023 survey conducted by Ipsos, 55 per cent of respondents in Singapore were in favour of same-sex couples getting some form of legal recognition and 32 per cent supported same-sex marriage. 57 per cent expressed their support for same-sex couples to obtain the right to legally adopt in Singapore and 59 per cent said they believed that same-sex couples are just as likely to successfully raise children as heterosexual parents.
Beyond societal acceptance, there are undeniable economic benefits to expanding queer rights. The power of the pink dollar — the purchasing preferences of the LGBTQ community — has long been harnessed by Western countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Companies are increasingly able to secure the purchasing power of LGBTQ people by supporting LGBTQ rights and activism. The pink dollar is an economic asset for a high-income country like Singapore, which is also home to a large population of expatriates.
The early 2000s saw the rise of Neil Road as a gay-friendly neighbourhood that garnered much attention in Western media, which praised Singapore as a haven for the pink dollar in Asia. But while neighbouring cities like Bangkok and Taipei have since pioneered LGBTQ rights and queer pride in Asia by providing long-term prospects for queer individuals to get married and start families, Singapore has remained stagnant.
Singapore’s unparalleled levels of human security as well as the dominance of the English language continues to attract international audiences. But to stay ahead, the city also needs to do more than simply maintaining a status quo where it is lawful to be queer, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships. The lack of next of kin rights afforded to same-sex partners, which excludes them from public housing, inheritance rights and other social and legal benefits, will only make it more difficult for Singapore to retain and attract talent.
The road to improved LGBTQ rights will be long and tedious. Marriage equality is way out of the foreseeable realm. Current media restrictions limit the exposure of queer people and issues to the general public. This makes societal acceptance of queerness more difficult and restricts the content and spaces accessible to queer Singaporeans, particularly those who are underage. Relaxing media guidelines would be a logical move following the decision to repeal Section 377A and would signal a shift towards accepting same-sex couples.
While the repeal was hailed as a major move towards greater equality in Southeast Asia, there is much that remains to be addressed to make it more than a mere symbolic gesture. Singapore cannot remain complacent about queer rights at a time when countries in the region are rolling out schemes to attract top talent and making significant advances on queer acceptance.
Robin Vochelet is a writer and independent journalist based in Singapore, covering queer issues, electoral politics, and underground culture across Southeast Asia.