02.25.07
Posted in Minority, Relationships at 6:36 pm by pleinelune
In the second part of this series, the author explores the flip side of Rules of Attraction. Read the first part here.
Exotification
Exotification is the rough opposite of sexual racism, but still has its roots in the totem pole. It is generally exhibited by, for the lack of a better term, “superior” races, in whichever pairing it is. Caucasians with an Asian or Black fetish, or in a local context, maybe Chinese who have a thing for Malay/Indian/mixed people, tend to those who exotify others. Exotification, which often goes hand-in-hand with the colonial mentality, such an extent that it becomes a sub-culture, as with the potato-queen-rice-queen phenomenon in Asian countries. Or with the SPG culture.
Read the rest of this entry »
- About: Pleinelune does not look for trophy partners: her ego is so big she considers herself a trophy for anyone.
- Forum discussion: Minority
- technorati: queer, lesbian, bisexual, gay, interracial, relationship, dating, attraction, racism
Permalink
02.22.07
Posted in Minority, Relationships at 3:17 pm by pleinelune
This begins a tri-part column on the racial politics of dating. The author, a bisexual Indian female, speaks from her own experience and all her viewpoints are representative of herself, not the organisation. This article addresses audience of both genders.
Images from fotosearch.com
Rules of Attraction
I am by no means a Casanova, nor a dating guru. Quite the reverse, in fact. But that does not mean I’ve not had enough experience in the matters of inter-racial attraction [both ways], because almost my entire history is taken up by this phenomenon.
I would also like to say that I am speaking of general trends, and what I say may not apply to everyone. Read the rest of this entry »
- About: Pleinelune loves women of all races, even aliens.
- Forum discussion: Minority
- technorati: queer, lesbian, bisexual, interracial, relationships, attraction, sexual racism
Permalink
Posted in Events at 12:32 pm by pleinelune
| Ladies, ladies and ladies… it has been one year since Sayoni was born. Time passes by so fast when we are having fun, doesn’t it?
To celebrate our first birthday, Sayoni is having an Anniversary Party and yes, you are invited. We have reserved a cosy living room and rooftop for a barbecue, music and photo slideshow. It will be a night of fun, music, dance and mingling.
Date: Saturday, 3 March 2007
Tickets at the door: $ 18, includes a simple bbq and mineral water bottle
Dress code: Smart casual
Guests: Queer Women
The highlight of the party will be a Lost Talent Night, where you are invited to showcase your secret talents, such as singing, dancing, playing the guitar or contortionism. There will be PRIZES.
DJ pleinelune will be spinning the tracks and taking dedications too.
This is a private party, so please RSVP to admin@sayoni.com with your nick name, real name, contact number and names of accompanying friends. We will be sending out the final details by email.
If you are interested in participating in the Lost Talent Night, please respond to Jean, jean@sayoni.com. |
|
Permalink
02.14.07
Posted in Relationships at 7:16 pm by AnJ
Not too long ago, i attended a forum held by the only inclusive church in Singapore. This forum, which focused on lesbian relationships, sparked off a series of thoughts in me.
Are lesbian relationships fundamentally different from heterosexual relationships. If so, in what ways? Essentially there were two schools of thoughts- yes and no. [Sounds deep, doesn't it?] Lesbian relationships are no different from heterosexual relationships. At its core, we have two persons loving each other and making their connection work. The elements are the same: open communication, honesty, a fantastic sense of humour etc. Yet, lesbian relationships MAY also be besieged by identity-conflict (in one partner or both), possible pressure from family/colleagues, and different degrees of out-ness between partners.
And then i had a revelation… Sort of. Read the rest of this entry »
- About: Anj believes in empowering the lesbian community with unskewed presentations.
- Forum discussion: Feminism
- technorati: gay, queer, lesbian, love, lesbian relationships, singapore
Permalink
02.10.07
Posted in Feminism at 7:56 pm by pleinelune
I am waging a war. And I am losing, badly. My defences are being torn down by the battering ram of a heaving cleavage, tightly wrapped in a V-neck blouse. I can’t take my eyes off, and I don’t quite want to either. A fighter cannot be distracted. Yet distraction walks in the form of a pair of sexy, tanned legs in a short skirt and high heels. My guard is down, and I pay for the lapse in attention badly, when a beautiful face leads a cavalry charge against me.
I surrender, but not before artillery in the form of a smoky glance in my direction sends me running for cover.
Read the rest of this entry »
tags:
bisexual,
feminists,
gay,
lesbian,
lgbt,
objectifying women,
pornography,
queer,
sex,
sexism,
glbt
- About: Pleinelune loves women as much as Papi, but does not have her luck.
- Forum discussion: Feminism
- technorati: glbt, queer, lesbian, bisexual, gay, lgbt, feminists, sexism, objectifying women, pornography, sex
Permalink
02.06.07
Posted in General at 2:06 am by jin
Part I
My sister got married in October last year. It was an event which caused me many mixed emotions, and I haven’t even finished ‘processing’ the whole episode with my counsellor. But perhaps for Part 1 of this narrative I should start with the funny trivial incidents, and leave the serious emo stuff to later posts.
My sister wanted the colour theme to be Blue&Silver. She decided that her bridesmaid, and other key people, be dressed in some shade of light blue. So, it was off to find a proper dress for myself. I wasn’t the bridesmaid (thankfully) but nonetheless had to get something halfway decent, as would no doubt be appearing in a dozen or so photos.
The words “jin” and “dress” rarely appear in the same sentence, so I enlisted the help of a colleague and went shopping one Saturday afternoon. Thank goodness for straight colleagues blessed with a sense of fashion.
So off we went to a shopping mall, and located a shop specialising in pretty gowns and party frocks. Shiny, satiny, flowy, sexy… and that was just the gowns in the store window. I was visibly nervous at having to step into the shop. I spent a good few minutes inspecting the window display, the miniature pool of water with its plastic flowers swirling at the mannequins’ feet. And all this while stalling for time making inane conversation with my tolerant colleague. Though it turned out to be a good thing eventually, because I stumbled upon the subject of footwear. She quickly informed me that “you have to wear strappy heels with the gown. If you wear closed shoes, you will look like an auntie”. But but but they do not make girly strappy heels in size 41 … “No, you will not look nice at all” …Oh great now I have to embark on a mission to find shoes as well….
So I finally mustered up courage to step into the shop. I do like looking at elegant gowns and all that, but to picture myself in one of them took all the strength of my imagination. My philosophy is COMFORT. My favourite material is cotton. My shoes are all sensible. There is a shop I buy many of my clothes from; the lady working there thinks I am a teacher. (Well, close enough: I work in healthcare. No one would fault you for dressing for practicality.)
Anyway, back to my fashion escapade. I finally found a dress that I didn’t mind trying on. It was a pale shimmery blue, bias-cut ankle-length thing, with a strap / sash over one shoulder so it looked like a Roman toga. Inside the fitting room, I wiggled and struggled into it, paranoid that I would rip some stitches. (Unlike t-shirts, it would not have stretched. Of course.) Managed to jiggle myself into it eventually. But horror of horrors, I could not breathe. Well, OK, I could only take small shallow breaths. I was struck with the thought of 18th Century ladies with their corsets, and the men armed with smelling salts to revive them when they fainted. Serious conflict with dyke image…
“Hey, it suits you!” my colleague said, when I drew back the curtain. “Yes, but I can’t breathe” I whispered. “Ah, yes breathing is important,” she agreed “your sister will say, I told you to get a blue dress, not turn blue yourself!” So we abandoned the shop, and continued to search elsewhere.
Dozens of shops later, we drifted to yet another mall. I finally managed to find an outfit which a) was my size, b) didn’t make me look fat, and c) allowed me to breathe. I immediately decided to buy it, and was very relieved that my quest was completed. And in the end, when I wore it at the wedding, people did tell me I looked nice.
Morals of the story:
1) Be adventurous! It is safe to try new things, provided you have adequate supervision.
2) An outsider’s point of view is often very valuable
3) Persevere and you will find what you want
4) Fashionable female straight friends are very useful!
- About: Jin
- Forum discussion: Sayoni Forum
- technorati: glbt, lgbt, queer, lesbian, women, sister's wedding, gay, singapore, survived
Permalink
