News and Opinions

Sayoni Hot 20 List 2008: Results!

Written by sayoni on . Posted in Announcements

 

The wait is over! This entire process of nomination and voting has been really fun for all of us here (except the ones who has to count the votes). Much hair was torn by the voters in trying to decide the ranking, and much debate over the type of women we nominate. But for this year, this is it! Queer women have spoken their mind, and until next year, these women are our queens. And did we mention that some of the queens have given their much-surprised responses to the ranking?

Without further adieu… ranked first is….. [insert drumroll]

1. Rebecca Tan

It is not just that Rebecca is a complete girl-loving-girl, and unafraid to be out and about in the scene. With her Pan-Asian heritage and perfect features, there is not much of a question why we all like to keep looking at Rebecca Tan. In fact, we expect the traffic on this page to stop right at this photograph. All hail Rebecca!

Rest of the rankings can be found after the break:

2. Vernetta Lopez

 

Why do we love V Lo? It is not just that she’s got a cute dykey haircut that she pulls off better than most dykes, or her mixed-ethnicity beauty… she’s a great comedic actress, a DJ, an independent businesswoman with multiple successful ventures (including a wedding planner), and to top it all off, she appeared as a lesbian in The Leap Years. We all hope to have our wedding planned by her, someday.

3. Glenda Chong

Award-winning news presenter Glenda Chong is perhaps one of the few reasons queer women would want to watch the depressing news on TV. Her smile, combined with her somewhat dykey vibes, takes the edge off the news about tsunamis and rising prices.

4. Pamela Oei


Pam Oei’s sway over queer women is undefinable and impossible to express in words. The least we can come up with while drooling over her, is her amazing acting skills, her strong independent personality, her comedic genius, her beauty… oh just forget it and continue drooling already.

5. Denise Keller

Whether she is living it up with Dick Lee or breaking men’s hearts on TV, Denise Keller is definitely easy on the eyes, and more than charming.

6. Suzanne Jung Ki Eng

Suzanne, the lovely Korean beauty in Primetime Morning lights up our mornings in more than one way, with her lovely smile and demeanour. We are pretty sure half our readers want to take her home and serve her tea – and we just heard a “Ramen” to that.

7. Ovidia Yu

Ovidia Yu is the living breathing proof that older women can be sexy too, and what’s even sexier than that, is being an out lesbian playwright, her latest contribution to the community being Hitting (on) Women. Did we mention she does Yoga to get that sexy body too?

“Wow… I’m thrilled on behalf of all older women!”
— Ovidia

8. Tanya Chua

Singer. Acoustic Guitar. That outfit. Need we say more?

9. Jasmine Seah

A hot poet – what more can you ask for? When Jasmine burst on to the queer female consciousness at Contradiction (an Indignation 2007 event) with her sweet, romantic poetry, what was louder than the applause was the sounds of the collective lesbian heart melting to the ground.

“Anything to say? Uh…. Suddenly I feel the pressure to update my facebook profile pic?”

10. Janice Koh

Move over, Linda Liao… Janice Koh was the woman who caught the collective queer female eye when she played a (somewhat dykey looking) demanding Advertising Executive on Chase. And with her subsequent brilliant performance in Hitting on Women as the vulnerable lesbian recovering from an abusive relationship, cemented her status as a lesbian icon forever. Her toned arms (and legs, and abs and everything else) make us all want to sign up for Yoga classes too.

Wow, I’m flattered…I mean, flabbergasted!
I don’t have much to say really, except that I’m terribly honoured.
— Janice

11. Yeo Yann Yann

Besides being a leading actress in Singapore Theatre, and also with movies like Singapore Dreaming and 881 under her belt, Yann Yann is also a certified cunninglinguist(not that kind, you perv) – in addition to being flawless in English and Mandarin, she can speak several dialects and Malay.

12. Sylvia Lim

Oh, where do we start with Sylvia Lim, who is not only one of the few women in politics, but also one of the few opposition politicians. Sylvia mesmerises us all with her guts to stand up to the ruling party, as well as her powerful performance in parliament as a NCMP. Did we mention she used to be a policewoman?

13. Beatrice Chia

There are simply no words to describe the overpowering charm of Beatrice. She is a force of nature in her own right, a trail blazer for women directors and producers, and a most accomplished and trained actress. We love not just her beauty, but her free and daring attitude towards everything, especially sex and sexuality. Beatrice is indeed a woman’s woman.

14. Eleanor Wong

Eleanor takes a special spot in the collective lesbian heart, being an out lesbian playwright and writing kick-ass plays like the lesbian lawyer trilogy and The Campaign to Confer the Public Star on JBJ. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg… when she’s not being a brilliant lawyer, she is coaching students in the ways to become a brilliant lawyer., and making wearing black top and blue jeans every single day look sexy. Oh go ahead and swoon over the sizzling combination of looks and brains already.

“Please thank your readers. Considering that I’ve never been in the running for temperature-based rankings ever, #14 is literally a 1st for me :-) . Now to figure out how to work the thermostat….”
— Eleanor

15. Loretta Chen

If openly queer female playwrights are rare, even rarer are openly queer female directors. Not only does Loretta Chen pack a directorial punch, she is also a great actress, and to top it all off, is doing a PhD on lesbian theatre. Brains, talent and looks? Nom nom nom…

“Thank you for voting me – this is a huge surprise and it is an honour and a pleasure to be voted by members of our community. I hope to be able to do more to help increase lesbian visibility and above all, strive to be even “hotter” next year! And oh, please come and watch The Vagina Monologues playing at the Drama Centre Oct -12 – its girls galore, babes to look out for, and much girlie SEXY fun! Get ready, get set, get wet!”
— Loretta

16. Tan Pin Pin

Pin Pin is one of few female film-makers in the male-dominated industry, and of course, her handsome androgynous looks just endear themselves to queer female fans.

This is so great, I am extremely flattered. Thank you very much!
— Pin Pin

17. Michelle Chia

Michelle Chia is the hottest new thing on local TV, and just looking at her, there is not much doubt why she is the newest hot thing for us either. Smart, sexy, charming and a good actress to boot. What else can anyone ask for?

18. Jade Seah

Completely self-explanatory, really. Jade Seah simply rocks that somewhat dykey outfit, and makes us all want to head out to the beach for some sporty fun (preferably with her).

19. Catherine Lim


Dr Catherine Lim is perhaps one of the most awesome Singaporean women alive today. In addition to writing numerous provocative fiction books harshly illuminating the traditional Chinese culture, she is also one of the few people to go up against the Singapore government publicly and (metaphorically) live to tell the tale. We are pretty sure many of our readers want to be her Bondmaid forever.

"I’m both surprised and delighted to be among the 20 Sayoni Hot 20
list, and thank all those who voted for me. Continue to affirm your identity with confidence and pride!"
— Catherine

20. Stefanie Sun

Stefanie Sun is one of the few people who put Singapore on the map, with her success in the music industry. And of course, her androgynous, spunky look just endears her to queer female fans.

Indignation 2008: Tong bu Tong 2 – Another Tribe

Written by sayoni on . Posted in Non-English

MDA rating: M18

This year, we are bringing back a classic which explores gay issues in Singapore Chinese theatre. Performed in 1992, Another Tribe was written by Otto Fong and is the first local Chinese play to explore gay issues. The original cast, Jackie Liu and Kevin How will be reading for their own roles from over 10 years ago. Together with Otto Fong and the director Kok Heng Leun, they will be present to share with the audience their experiences and thoughts while embarking on such a taboo topic at that time. Renowned writer and playwright Quah Sy Ren will also be on the panel to comment on the play as critic and audience.

Performed in Mandarin.

Date: Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Time: 7:30 pm
Venue: 72-13

Read the interview with Otto and Jackie on this play, published by Lianhe Zaobao.

Indignation 2008!

Written by sayoni on . Posted in Events

 

Singapore�s 4th annual Pride Season is coming again – in August 2008

Rainbow bridgeThere are talks and forums, art and literature, and of course, fun social and outdoor events – for learning, celebrating and building bridges with those outside our communities. So please keep your evenings free in August and come to as many as you can.

All events are free of charge unless otherwise stated.

Sayoni will also be hosting our own events during Indignation. Please check out the full list of events HERE.

I’m A Believer

Written by Indu on . Posted in Relationships

Image Copyright of Sayoni

Love. Amour. Pyaar. Ai. No matter what language, what culture, the L word dominates our thinking, our lives, the media. Finding (and keeping) love, is the universal theme that connects humankind.

It might be partly the fault of media, that we have been absorbed into the myth of “love”. It begins with fairytales as a kid, when the Prince falls in love with the beautiful princess, and they live happily ever after. Then the movies, songs, which all seem to speak of this. Love has a powerful grip on the human imagination and consciousness, to the point where we almost seem obsessed with it.

Love has a special place in the queer culture, because it is the chief, if not only justification for our existence. If procreation was the only object of human existence, then we can’t exist. But humans are built for more than procreation, we are built to find affection and happiness. Love is the shield we use against religious fundamentalists – how can anyone question two people in love, or deny them the right to? Love is the reason we decide to live against societal norms.

Sexual gratification & Sexual attraction

Written by AnJ on . Posted in Relationships

“She just turned straight.”
“She was straight… but now she’s with so-and-so…”

I think it’s high time we differentiate sexual gratification from sexual attraction. With all the muddle over sexual orientation and its pervasive inaccurate conclusions, surely we need to know what we really mean when we use words like “gay” and “straight”?

In the “ideal” world, people get attached to those they find physically attracted to. In the “ideal” world, people are sexually satisfied/gratified with someone they find physically attractive. Very ideal… But it doesn’t always happen that way.

Sexual gratification… is just a fulfillment of your sex drive.
We have all heard of sex drives. Those who say they don’t have it are either asexual, occupied/distracted/physically unwell or in huge denial. Sometimes people “self-help” by masturbation. Sometimes people use toys in their sexual activities with themselves or others. Sometimes people just have sex with other people. And then they become sexually gratified.

No one has ever come up with a sexual orientation for those who have sex with toys. Like, “oh, you sleep with your toys? You are toy-sexual” or “touching yourself makes you narcissist-sexual”.

So why is it that a woman who slept with a man is labeled “straight” automatically?
Why do we brand women who slept with other women as “gay” immediately?

What if she’s just “using” him/her for sexual gratification?

I think lots of people just settle for sexual gratification.
Like folks who tell me that partners who look too good give them insecurity. [Well lady/dude, if you looking good doesn't give her/him insecurity, what does that tell you about you?]
Plenty of people say it’s more important to find someone you can “click” with than having a good-looking face. So there, emotional attraction is prized above physical attraction. Since sexual orientation is about physical attractiveness, i would hesitate to label a woman who receives sexual gratification from another woman she didn’t find physically attractive as “lesbian”.

Maybe that’s one of the reasons why people make love in the dark.

Maybe some people are not bi-curious or exploring their sexual orientation. Perhaps they are just interested in a wide array of sexual gratification methods/activities…

Sign up to receive announcements and updates