01.30.07
Posted in Health, Women's Health at 6:05 pm by sayoni
… are you at higher risk of developing breast or cervical cancer?
Being lesbian or bisexual does not directly influence the frequency of these cancers. But there are certain risk factors that are particularly prevalent among women who love women. For that reason, it’s important to be informed.
Loving yourself as a lesbian or bisexual woman also means taking care of yourself and watching your health!
—————————————————————————-
Read the rest of this entry »
tags:
asia,
bisexual,
breast cancer,
cervical cancer,
ilga,
lesbian,
lgbt,
queer,
women,
women's health,
glbt
- About: Sayoni is a member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association. The worldwide dissemination of the present information is a service offered by ILGA and its Women's Secretariat RFSL the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights.
- Forum discussion: Sayoni Forum
- technorati: glbt, lgbt, lesbian, queer, women, asia, ilga, women's health, cervical cancer, breast cancer, bisexual
Permalink
01.22.07
Posted in Announcements, General, Psychology & Research, Queer News, Singapore Gay News at 10:17 am by sayoni
Sayoni proudly presents Sayoni Queer Women Survey 2006 Report, compiling the results of this year’s survey.
Abstract
Objectives:
1. To ameliorate the dire lack of information on queer women in Singapore. Currently, there is no proper understanding of how the women’s queer community functions, other than biased and disjoint personal views.
2. To gain some perspective on the actual needs of queer women, and what we can do about them
3. To provide free and accessible information to researchers, and act as a starting point for further research into the field
The survey is broken down into four main aspects. Questions in each category are streamlined and standardised for easy answering, by presenting most of the questions as rating questions where possible.
1. Introduction
General background.
2. Family, Friends and Work
Questions on how out the respondent is to various circles of people in their lives, how this group has reacted to the information, and the respondent’s intention to come out to that particular group.
3. Personal
Questions on the personal level relating to sexual orientation. Probes how the respondents come to realise their sexuality, different aspects of personal identity, and how their sexuality has affected them. Also includes information on relationships of respondents.
4. Financial
Questions to ascertain the financial status of queer women as a community - on salary, type of industry respondents choose to work in, housing and car ownership.
This survey was not carried out with a null hypothesis in mind, and much of the information contained in this report is processed descriptive statistics. Where possible, averages and trends have been pre-computed, presented along with a broad analysis of the data.
The statistics available are broken down across Age, Ethnicity and Religion, as it is believed that these three different aspects affect the average queer woman in her views and social situation with respect to her sexuality. Where either age, ethnicity or religion is perceived to have no bearing on the response, the data has been left out.
This report is available for free download for the public. However, a lot of effort and time has been put into conducting this survey and collating the results into this report. If you feel we have done a good job, please donate through the Paypal link below the Paypal button. All donations will only be used for the running of this organisation
Design of button by Buttonmaker
tags:
bisexual,
community,
financial,
lesbian,
personal,
queer,
queer studies,
research,
sayoni queer women survey 2006 report,
singapore,
social,
statistics,
survey,
women,
glbt
- Forum discussion: Sayoni Forum
- technorati: glbt, queer, lesbian, bisexual, survey, queer studies, research, women, sayoni queer women survey 2006 report, statistics, singapore, community, social, personal, financial
Permalink
01.16.07
Posted in General, Identity at 1:03 pm by sayoni
The Rainbow Flag made its first appearance in the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade in 1978. Its symbolism was borrowed from the hippie and black civil rights movements. Artist Gilbert Baker from San Francisco, created the flag as a symbol that could be used year after year.
Along with about 30 volunteers, two gigantic prototype of the flag were hand-stitched and hand-dyed. The original flag had eight stripes, with each color representing a particular component of the gay community: hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for nature, turquoise for the arts, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit.
Original 8 colour version
The following year, as a result of extraordinary demand for the flag, Baker contacted San Francisco Paramount Flag Company to inquire about the possibility of mass-producing his flag for use in the 1979 parade. He was surprised to learn that due to production issues and the fact that hot pink was not a readily available commercial color, his original eight colors could not be used. The fact is that he had hand-dyed the original colors. Hot pink was removed from the palette and the flag was reduced to seven stripes, with indigo being replaced by royal blue.
7 colour version
The second change to the flag came after the assassination of San Francisco’s openly-gay commissioner, Harvey Milk. To manifest the community’s solidarity in the aftermath of this tragedy, the San Francisco Pride Committee elected to use Baker’s flag in honor of the slain Milk. The turquoise stripe was eliminated so that the colors could be divided evenly on the parade route, three colors on one side of the street, and three colors on the other side.
Wishing to demonstrate the gay community’s solidarity in response to this tragedy, the 1979 Pride Parade Committee decided to use Baker’s flag in honor of Milk. The committee eliminated the turquoise stripe so they could divide the colors evenly as they walked the parade route, three colors on one side of the street and three on the other.
This updated six-color version of the rainbow flag quickly spread from San Francisco to other cities. Soon, it was universally known and accepted as a symbol of gay pride and diversity. And it is recognized officially by the International Congress of Flag Makers as such.
Current worldwide version
Red = Life
Orange = Healing
Yellow = Sun / Sunlight
Green = Nature
Blue = Harmony / Serenity
Violet = Spirit
- Forum discussion: Sayoni Forum
- technorati: glbt, queer, lesbian, gay, rainbow flag, queer pride, gay pride, peace
Permalink
01.10.07
Posted in Coming out, General, Identity at 10:45 pm by Guest Writers
The other day, while I was supposed to be praying in church, I started to reminisce about the last 30 years of my life. As I recalled, I went through the same things as everybody else while I was growing up, but only one particular event stood out amongst all of them.
6 years ago, during a long distance telephone call from my mum to me in a land pretty far away from Singapore, my mum asked me (for the second time) if I was gay. When I answered yes, my mum proceeded to bawl her eyes out. She kept on asking me where it was that she had gone wrong. “If only I had bought you those Barbie dolls when you were young.” she kept saying, amongst other things in her long list of regrets.
I guess, at the time, both my mother and I wanted the same thing – affirmation that I was gay. She wanted confirmation for her suspicions about my “wayward tendency”, and I wanted confirmation from her that she still accepted me as her daughter, regardless of my sexual orientation.
Till this day, I still wonder if I did the right thing by coming out to my mother 6 years ago. I wonder if I had waited a little longer, would her response have been any different? Or would she still have had that long list of regrets? Nothing is for certain in this life, but for me, at that point in my life, one thing was for certain – I finally decided that I had had enough of dodging familial bullets – especially after I had already been forced to come out to all and sundry 6 years before that.
What happened the first time, 12 years ago? At the tender age of 18, an argument broke out between me and a female classmate (to whom I had been writing love letters). The argument opened up a veritable can of worms for me, as the classmate decided it would be best to hand over all my love letters to the school principal. Parents were called in, and counselling was suggested to “cure” my “wayward tendency” towards people of the same sex. And I spent the rest of my A levels years being ostracised and gossiped about by both schoolmates and some of the female teachers. I even became fodder for a Charismatic Christian classmate who sought to “save my soul”.
My parents (although mostly it was my mother) fell into a state of self-denial about my sexual orientation. There was really no talking to them when it came to being queer. My mother built up a wall of responses to it, such as, “It’s just a phase.”, “You don’t really know what you want yet,”, etc. etc. So there was no turning to them for the support that I really needed at the time.
But as the saying goes, what doesn’t break you only makes you stronger.
I trudged through my A levels, strongly believing then that if I did well enough, that I would be one step closer to being who I am. One step closer to being accepted by my parents (which, to me, is very much more important than being accepted by peers). Later, my parents decided that it would be to my advantage to send me away to continue my tertiary education overseas. I don’t think they realised then that that would be another step in my coming out process. While overseas, I deliberately exposed myself to diversities in culture, religion, nationality and sexual orientation. I listened and learned by trial and error on some occasions, and upon advice and witnessing events on other occasions. I developed a social support group of friends, straight, gay, bisexual, queer and transgender. I taught them a thing or two about being queer, and they taught me many things about being human.
Towards the end of my studies overseas, a motley group of friends and I decided to participate in the then upcoming 2000 Pride Festival. We pooled our money together and rented a truck to turn into our very own float. On the night of the parade, while trying to maintain some balance between beating some rhythm out of my bongos as well holding my balance aboard the float, I realised that after all those years as a lost sheep dwelling in a concrete jungle of wolves and sheep shearers (and especially after my emotionally charged telephone conversation with my mother), I was celebrating something more than just queer pride. Something more important than love, relationships and money.
I was (finally) celebrating my self.
Happy 2007 everyone.
- About: A peace-loving anarchist at heart, Antoinette Yzelman believes in past life progressions and that at one time or other, she was a court jester.
- Forum discussion: Coming Out
- technorati: glbt, gay, lesbian, coming out, growing up, gay pride, pflag, acceptance, discrimination
Permalink
01.07.07
Posted in General at 11:10 am by sayoni
TLL, an online site made up of over 50 amazing blogs and authors from all around the world is hosting the first annual Lesbian Blog of the Year Award.
Quite unexpectedly, we have been nominated yet again. Thank you and we hope to continue to serve the community and demonstrate the good qualities you saw in us.
If you think / love / like / lust / craze / addicted / routine / read / this blog, please go here to vote for us!
Do check out TTL’s excellent site and the other nominees as well.
Permalink
01.04.07
Posted in Identity, Relationships, Singlehood at 1:00 pm by pleinelune
Taken from JupiterImages.com
No, this is not yet another thesis on the colonial-mentality-induced potato-queen-rice-queen culture, or the lack thereof. This is in fact, a rant musing on the proliferation of couples who are as bad, or worse than sticky rice grains.
I know what you are thinking: there goes the veteran single again, who has grapes sour enough to make wine. Get a life, pleinelune… and maybe you will finally stop complaining about couples and being single.
Well, yes, I am single, but no, I do not have sour grapes… how can I, when I have decided apples are better than grapes? [leaves her readers’ minds to run wild on the sexual innuendos surrounding the last statement] But as an apple-eater, I have observed the grapes from afar, and have made a few observations.
Read the rest of this entry »
- About: Pleinelune is wearing riot gear in order to protect herself from bashers
- Forum discussion: Same-sex dynamics
- technorati: queer, lesbian, gay, clingy, couples, relationships, singlehood, friendship, personality
Permalink
