Love, Give Us A Chance

I know I have signed off, but before doing that, I have to relate my experience today. I won't go into too much details as the lady in question has agreed to write briefly about her life experiences. As I was walking along Orchard Road - a rare sight you may say - someone grabbed my arm and said she was glad to see me. She turned out to be a trans woman who had written to me some months ago to encourage me to press on. We stopped by the IndoChine cafe for drinks and we had a brief but in-depth discussion. I have never felt much of a connection to local trans women before - that said, I do not have many local trans women contacts - but her story and experiences really touched me, especially when she related how her father used to flog her until she bled, and her grandmother would drag her to a corner and try to soothe her pain away, while consoling, "It's ok to want to be a girl, just be a morally upright girl." That was the turning point for her and she stopped parading at Changi village. Every year, this lady would visit her grandma's grave in Malaysia, and each visit would be particularly poignant because when the latter passed away, this lady's mother refused to let her attend the funeral because of the "state she was in".

If you are a trans woman reading my blog, and if you need the strength to carry on, then think of the one person who was the kindest to you when you were down, and let this person's kindess give you the strength and belief to carry on.

You are good enough now.

You are strong enough now.

You are courageous enough now.

Carry on magnificently and beautifully.

Merry X'mas!

Leona

Break

Dear readers

I'm taking a short break from leonalo.com and the associations of being a transsexual woman to find myself again. I just want to be Leona in the month ahead. I will be back in the new year with glad tidings.

I wish you all a warm and happy Christmas
Leona

Beautiful or ugly?

If we want to see beauty in something, all we can see is beauty. If we want to see ugliness in something, all we can see is ugliness. The way we see and experience things boils down to personal choice. Would I make a good mother? I don't know. Because I can't be sure that I will always see the good in people, and the beauty in this world, I'm not sure I will make a good mother. I'm not sure I can pass the right "perspective" to my child. Because sometimes, sometimes I don't see my own beauty. I don't always stand up and walk away when people say shockingly appalling things, like when one of my closest friends said gay men shouldn't be allowed to adopt children because they may abuse the kids, and another joked about how the kid would address his fathers...their remarks were callous and spine-chilling, because, who knows what they may think about me, about my own "right" to adopt. And so the world is a confusing, vexing place, because your friends harbour prejudices too, and when these are exposed, do you still choose to see the beauty in them, or recognise ugliness for what it is and call it by its name? There are no easy answers in this world. Yet perhaps it is only in moments like this, that we are closest to God and our beating heart, and we remember that we too, are fallible, and others too, have chosen to see the beauty in us, at some crucial moment in our lives.

I love the diversity of our multi-coloured world - do you?

In Fanny Flagg's Welcome to the World, Baby Girl, the lead character Dena Nordstrom discovers in a shocking plot twist her Negro heritage, and finally realises why her mum mysteriously disappeared so many decades ago. In the
1940s-1960s, there were vast pockets of discrimination in America and Europe against individuals with even one-sixteenth of "Negro" in their blood. And once you had "Negro" stamped on your documents, doors were slammed shut in your face. Dena's young, prodigiously talented brother was "outed" by a black columnist and was thereafter shunned by the music community. He ended up desperate and destitute, with his life in tatters. In order to protect Dena, her mum fled Europe to America where she raised the girl in stealth, before being "outed" herself.

Like Dena's ancestors, transsexual women today have to choose between living in stealth and asserting their identities. Many doors have been shut in my face since I "outed" myself as a trans woman. But at least, I do not feel impotent and helpless when trans women are bullied. I can stand up for myself, ourselves - and even if my actions do not bear any fruit, at least our voices are heard. To be able to make a stand, to live and breathe in your own true skin, that's what being alive means. And we don't just stand up for ourselves. We stand up for other oppressed people too. So when yesterday, some close friends of mine said the most appalling things about gay couples - that they should not be allowed to adopt children because they will only abuse the kids - I chose to stand up and walk out on them.

Leona

Transphobia on the Big Screen

Henceforth, all transsexual women should be portrayed positively on the big screen - true or false? I would replace "positively" with "sensitively". By "sensitive", I mean in such a way as to reflect their difficult social circumstances, and to avoid entrenching already pervasive stereotypes of the trans community. The Tamil film industry's portrayal of trans women leaves much to be desired. Here's why

Reverse the Tide of Fetishisation

Shemales, Tranny, Ladyboys - these are invectives flung about by hate-filled individuals, mostly men, to flay and dehumanise transsexual women. It does not help that disproportionate numbers of trans women are in the sex and porn industry, compared to their non-trans counterparts. In Singapore, Orchard Towers and Changi Village are considered "rites of passage" for trans women. Our Road to Santiago? No way.

Make a stand today against the porn industry and the sex trade. In Singapore at least, there is no excuse for turning to prostitution. If you need me to write a letter to or contact a potential employer to clarify your situation, I will help you.

Ours is already a difficult journey - don't make it more difficult. The next time someone - and this could be your friend, relative or casual acquaintance - starts to make the trite association between trans women and the entertainment industry, do not sit there and just smile. Stand up for who you are - a wonderful being who lives her life with pride and dignity.

Love & Relationships Video - Refilming required

Greetings! The Love & Relationships video needs to be refilmed as it's grainy and there's lots of background noise. So please bear with us as we redo the video. I feel it's a very important and useful video so watch this space!

Love & Relationships

When I was transitioning I didn't have the benefit of someone sharing with me the pitfalls of love and relationships because people did not believe I had a right to "love" a man. Well, I've got news for you. You're perfect as you are and you deserve love and marital bliss like any other woman. The key is to keep an open mind, let go when you have to, and learn to recognise the different categories of men. Good luck! And thanks to E. for filming this!

Following your own heart

I am often asked, why I'm not wealthy, given my "intelligence" and why I'm not in a nice relationship.

And my answer to this question is: I'm not that intelligent, but I follow my own heart, which leads me to unexpected places. Sometimes I feel intensely alone and depressed, like today, but this is also when I call on God the loudest. And I know He is not far away, which gives me incredible strength and courage to go on following my own heart.

Sometimes I don't follow my own heart because I'm afraid that God will not deliver, and this is when I stumble, sometimes so terribly that I don't have the tears to define the pain, but I always find my way back with God's help.

And so, if you ask me, do I believe in God, do I have a religion, I will say yes, I believe in God, but I don't have a religion. I have a spiritual relationship with God.

New video - Love & Relationships

I will film a new motivational video tomorrow on "Love & Relationships" that I'm terribly excited about because it will coalesce my personal experience on the subject. The aim of the video is to motivate women in general to follow their "personal legend" and be true to themselves. Both transsexual and non-transsexual women can benefit from the video. It will also help men gain useful insights into the transsexual condition - and how their reactions to and treatment of trans women reflects their own characters, hang-ups (if any) and upbringing. Watch this space.

I would appreciate it if you could post your feedback regarding the videos on youtube. Your feedback will help me shape the new book I'm working on.

Thank you!

High Stakes Courtroom Drama Retraced at www.thepumproom.com

Alcohol, interior design and a tranny. The high-stakes courtroom drama involving the Pump Room and Poole Associates will be played out at the Supreme Court on Monday, 3 November 08. Log on to www.thepumproom.com for the details. Do not be surprised to see this "ladyboy's" appearance on the website.

Love

This blog is about social change and how we can bring about effective social change through peaceful means. "Love" somehow doesn't seem an appropriate topic for the blog, and yet "love" is truly that one great emotion that can stir me to action. Because of love, my restful sleep is disrupted. Because of love, I feel hopeful. Because of love, I can run 15 km without feeling exhausted. And yet in my chequered past, most of my relationships have been failures - what makes me continue to believe in "love"? Because there is no other way. Denying that I need and want to feel loved would turn me into a cold, bitter person. And I've seen how, through it all, I've grown as a person. I've accepted my physical and character flaws, and worked to refine the latter. I've also discovered that it's ok - and in fact better for everyone - to be who I am and to do what I love to do, than to compromise in the hope that love would run to me sooner. By this, I mean continue to embellish my website, continue to give motivational talks, continue to run long distances competitively, continue to grow my mosaic art box, continue to windsurf into the sunset. I don't have to change myself to fit into a box of the "picture perfect" woman. I think I'm more lovable like this. Although I will still try to remove my tummy fat...

Sex

Sex. For too long it has been a "taboo" subject for transsexual women. As a result, we have been subjected to either caricaturisation in the mainstream media or prurient debates on our body parts. Some of us have gone to the extreme of pandering to voyeuristic stereotypes of the tranny performer, playing to the hype of the transgender goddess, while others have fallen prey to tranny chasers who enjoy the secret thrill of having sex with a strikingly tall and attractive transsexual. Regardless of the approach - the end result is the same: we have been ruthlessly and relentless exploited to fulfil the warped sexual fantasies of men.

Sex. We too crave sexual fulfilment. And it's time for us to be fulfilled on our terms. I don't know who you are or where you are, but it's ok to have sexual desires. it's ok to want to look attractive. Sex is only "dirty" when they say you shouldn't enjoy it on your terms.

I Am - Pump Room Incident & Various Reflections

Fear is borne of ignorance. Anger merely fuels fear. Forgive and forget means exactly that - forgive and don't remember anymore. Forgiveness is something that I struggle with a lot. But it's this struggle that makes us so human. Don't let anyone tell you it's wrong to struggle with issues. And I continue to find it amazing that so many people in positions of power continue to try to dehumanise us, when we are the ones who struggle so much, against all odds, to be who we are. Sometimes, I just laugh it all off. Humour is a great remedy. Just laugh it all off when you can't take it anymore. If you can cry and laugh at the same time, you're very human indeed.

Scientists Find Gene for Transsexual Experience

This is interesting news indeed - nonetheless, even if there were no such genes, transsexuals don't have to justify their right to be to anyone.

Design your own website

I use Ewisoft to build my own web-site in one-two-three easy steps. I used to struggle with complicated programmes and software which made website designing a nightmare for a technologically challenged person like me!

Try Ewisoft here:

I Am - Life & Times

This is the first of two clips that most effectively summarise some of the angst of growing up as a transsexual in Singapore. This clip covers the social, emotional and professional aspects of my life,and I'm glad to say I'm nearly there in terms of finding my equilibrium and coming to terms with myself. Enjoy the clip!

leonalo.com is up again

There have been a number of problems with leonalo.com, but I'm pleased to say the website is up again. I will be adding many more pages to the website. Thank you for your support!

The Rosa Parks Story

As I explained during the talk, I have always drawn my inspiration from the Rosa Parks story, and I have always held feisty African American heroines like Rosa Parks and Sojourner Truth as shining examples of women who fought for their rights with great strength of character, courage and dignity. Women like them are rare today because our minds and spirits have been numbed by the crass commercialism that has swept through the world. How tragic that one's mettle only shines through when one loses money in investments underwritten by Lehmen brothers!

Let's celebrate the spirit of Rosa Parks and her black sisters with this clip!

Part II

I Am - Motivational Talk

Many thanks to Eileena from Pelangi Pride Centre for organising the talk, Yvonne for filming and Kelvin for the video camera. Special thanks to DYMK (Does Your Mother Know) for hosting the event. And to all who attended - thanks for being there. This is the first of a series of videos which will also be posted on youtube. I should remember to blink less, but what's important here is, a positive portrayal of a transsexual woman's voice in Singapore.

Trans-friendly psychiatrists

My memory is failing me - can my dear readers please recommend me some trans-friendly psychiatrists? Thank you!

Thank you

A big thank you to all who attended the talk yesterday. I was rambling on most of the time, but I hope you took away some new and important insights.

While I tend not to engage with individuals on a one-to-one basis post-event, I will make an exception for Nancy, the kind and wonderful lady who is grappling with her son's gender identity conflict.

There are also some individuals whom I feel need counselling at a deeper level than some psychiatrists here in Singapore are able to provide. I am definitely not qualified to "help" any of you who fit into this category. I would suggest the excellent Dr Pamela Chan from Camden Medical Centre for a start.

I wish all of you a wonderful, blessed future!

Best Regards
Leona

I Am - Motivational Talk

I will hold a motivational talk "I Am", hosted by the Pelangi Pride Centre, in October. Details are given below. I regret I will not be able to give private one-to-one advice via email or any other media for now, so the best thing to do is to mark your diary and come down for the talk.

Event: "I Am" by Leona Lo
Date: Saturday, 11th October 2008
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
For more information, please email -
pelangipridecentre@yahoo.com

Die alive

"There is a revolution that is slowly setting up, which the press doesn't seem to have detected yet. If I had to sum up the whole idea in only one expression, I’d say that the new political attitude for our era is to "die alive". In other words, being aware of and participating in things until the day we die - something that does not occur very often. People end up dying to the world on the day they renounce their dreams. After that, one departs on a journey as did Ulysses, accepting the challenges and knowing that sometimes one must fight alone, yet understanding he stands in for the entire human race." -- Paulo Coelho

My business life has been quite tumultuous of late. It seems whenever I'm close to achieving my vision of a financially successful business, something happens to bring it down, and then up again, and then down again. Change is the word that best characterises my business life currently. Yet I'm not prepared to renounce my dreams, not now, not ever.

May the universe conspire to bring me sincere,understanding and supportive clients. Together, we will transform Talk Sense into a name to be reckoned with.

Mustafa, my Ottoman prince

“I look up from my notes and catch him stealing a glance at me. I blush. He smiles. He waits for me at the school gate after our lesson is over. He looks into my eyes. I look away shyly. He asks if I would like to catch a movie with him. I nod in assent...After the movie, he brings me to an ice-cream parlour where we share an ice cream and chat about school. He takes my hand and leads me gently to the beach. We sit and listen to the symphony of the Aegean sea and gaze at the stars. He shares his dreams with me. He hopes to run a windsurfing centre one day and coach the future national champions of Turkey. He says he wants to have a beautiful wife and three children whom he will nurture to be windsurfing professionals. He holds my hands. I lean against him, my Ottoman prince, imagine I am a simple village girl and dream of having his babies...Of course, this is just my fantasy for he can't even speak English and I'm a good eight years older than him (even though I am beautiful)...but what the heck! A woman can dream, no?”

- Ottoman Dreams, Leona Lo

A Rose and A Thousand Soldiers

How often do you read world news, in particular, news about atrocities committed against minority groups? Do you actively seek out such news or does the daily dose of man's inhumanity towards man turn you off?

Here's a news story lifted from Amnesty International's website that touched me deeply today: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/good-news/major-step-forward-paraguays-investigations-sexual-slavery-girls-20080814

At 33, a rose is no longer a simple, sweet-smelling flower to me. She's the emblem of something beautiful forged by the fires of hell and human degredation.

Julia Ozorio Gamecho, the rose in question, is the first woman to come forward and talk to the Truth and Justice Commission about how she was subjected to sexual slavery by the military during the dictatorship of Stroessner in Paraguay.

Read her story. Share her broken dreams. Help her rebuild her future.

I'm Sorry

These are perhaps the hardest words to say, because it means taking responsibility for our lives and not playing the victim. It does not mean we will not have to bear the consequences of our actions, but it is only by taking responsibility that we can move confidently forward. Yes, I've made some bad judgment calls recently - in my professional life and in my relationships with men. It's up to me to own up to my role in the mess-ups - even if it's just a 1% role (but most of the time it's a glaring 50%), and face the music. I'm sleeping early tonight, so I can have a fresh start tomorrow. How about you?

Letter published in TNP

TNP published my letter today, which is nice of them.

Screening of Pecah Lobang in Johor Bahru

I'm pleased to inform you that Poh Si Teng's Pecah Lobang - a moving documentary on the plight of Malaysia's Muslim transsexual sex workers - will be screened at the Tropical Inn in Johor Bahru this Saturday, 13 Sep 08, at 8pm, followed by a short discussion session.

Please head over to JB for this and other exciting Malaysian documentaries screened as part of the Komas Freedom Film Fest.

Gender Confused Kids? Who's confused here?

I read with concern The New Paper's front-page article on MOE's ongoing efforts to train teachers to counsel gender-confused kids (TNP. 11 Sep 08). My question is - do the counselling sessions aim to help the child find his/her true gender identity or influence transgender youth to conform to social norms?

It has long been established internationally that one's gender identity is distinct from one's sex at birth. When the two do not match, the individual experiences the medical condition known as "transsexualism". While I recognise that a sex change operation is not a one-size-fits-all solution for all transsexuals, it is certainly a "natural" and valid recourse for the majority of transsexuals, contrary to the sentiments expressed by Professor Tsoi. And contrary to what Ms Sarah S, a counsellor from NuLife Care and Counselling Services says, male to female transgender children do not necessarily behave the way they do because they lack a masculine father figure in their lives. Has she done a nationwide survey to substantiate her claims? Or is she commenting based on two to three individuals she has counselled? A more important question in light of MOE's initiative - is she one of their trained counsellors?

I myself was a victim of the lack of support in my childhood years. There were lots of well-intentioned but misguided individuals - including a prominent leader of the religious group mentionned in your article - who tried to convince me that being transsexual was "wrong". This compounded my loneliness and sense of alienation, leading to a suicide attempt in my late teens. It was only when I fled to the United Kingdom for my studies in a more tolerant and welcoming environment that I flourished academically and socially.

I have remained in Singapore because I feel I still have lots to contribute to this beautiful society of ours - a society founded on secular, meritocratic principles and love and respect for racial and religious diversity. I hope MOE will adopt the same open-minded, enlightened approach when conducting its training sessions - and when selecting the service providers.

Yours Sincerely
Leona Lo
Author, From Leonard to Leona, A Singapore Transsexual's Journey to Womanhood

Negaraku (Versi Bahasa Melayu)

I'm not sure if you have seen this version of the Malaysian national anthem on youtube. Just do a search on youtube and you will find it. One of the award winning documentaries at the FFF in KL, Project X, showcased the aftermath of the video release - and the shockwaves it sent through the community. Malay Muslims were incensed. The Chinese agreed with the sentiments expressed by Namewee, the brash and obviously talented singer. As a Singaporean Chinese, I find the clip laugh-out-loud funny, although Namewee makes a quick reference to "ah kuas", but this is not a transgender issue, so let's not make it one.

What's interesting is his in-your-face parody of Malaysian community life became a catalyst for the FFF documentary, which focussed on music as a medium of socio-political expression, and sparked a scintillating debate between Islamic scholars and the educated elites on freedom of expression within the country. Certainly, Malaysia is divided on the issue along religious and ethnic lines - but if the divide did not exist in the first place, a mere video would not have exposed the faultlines.

Some may argue that the Chinese are oppressed in Malaysia, others feel the bumiputera policy merely protects the interests of the Malay Muslim community. Yet the most important takeaway for me, having watched the documentary and participated in the discussion thereafter, is that regardless of the deeply divided viewpoints, we must at least allow everyone to have his/her say on the matter.

And that is the beauty of Malaysian politics - that there is actually tremendous freedom of speech in the country. Apparently, Namewee returned to Malaysia to visit his family and he was not detained. And they have also asked him to be involved in some government propaganda, it seems.

What a colourful, vibrant, chaotic country! And what a pity the culture of creative expression does not translate into treating its transgender minority with the understanding and respect it deserves.

So this is a transgender issue after all.

Transsexuals need our compassionate understand, not armchair moralising

I am very luck, I am. And I'm not being sarcastic this time. Perhaps I've been too sarcastic in this lifetime.

I've just emerged from the Freedom Film Festival in KL. Only this morning I was debating whether to fly to KL, but here I am, full of thoughts and emotions.

I watched two documentaries. Both were very inspirational, but of course, the one that touched me the most was Pecah Lobang by Poh Si Teng. Pecah Lobang explores the lives of Muslim transsexual sex workers in KL. The 30-mins documentary features interview snippets with a few key transsexual women including the tireless activist Suhana from PTF.

One of the Muslim sex workers, Natasha, recounted how she was arrested one day for soliciting and imprisoned with two other transsexuals. Because she had augmentation mammoplasty, the prison officers made her expose her breasts to the other inmates.

The key character is a young transsexual woman who left her hometown to work as a prostitute in Kuala Lumpur because she could not earn a living back home, and her parents did not accept her status. The problem of clients not using a condom cropped up during the interview. She said by going without the condom, she could earn as much as RM 75 per session. What she yearns for is official recognition. The Islamic clerics issued a fatwa against Muslim transsexuals in 1982, forbidding them to go for a sex change. Since then, they have been trapped in a no man's land.

Transsexuals in Malaysia cannot look for decent jobs as women since they're not officially recognised as such, and prostitution puts them at the mercy of the police. Thus they are in a no man's land, living in daily dread of being arrested and humiliated.

I almost could not watch the documentary as I did not book the tickets beforehand. Suhana saved the day by passing me an extra ticket. A simple yet rich gesture. That's the grace and dignity with which these ladies live their lives, regardless of society and religion's inhumanity towards them.

Compared to them, I'm really very lucky. I've got my own business, my leisure pursuits, a man who truly cares for me (and who shares a ginger bread with me to cheer me up when I'm down), parents who love me deeply, a sister who is more like a soul mate, friends to share my joys and troubles with...

While I'm sipping on hot chocolate at Ritz Carlton, Natasha probably has to hit the streets soon and earn that 30 RM sleeping with a faceless, uncaring stranger.

The least I could do is share the story of these courageous, noble and beautiful women. The least I could do is continue to build my business so that some day, I can make a more significant financial contribution towards a cooperative that will help give these girls back their dignity and voices.

It doesn't matter if I can't be an NMP or a talk-show host anymore. I just hope you can pass this story on to as many people as you can, locally, internationally, wherever. You receive so many chain letters every day, all saying that if you pass the email on to 9 more people, you will receive love, money, joy, etc. I can't promise you will receive anything, except the light of truth and compassionate understanding.

I am crying. Because I cannot do more for these noble women. Because I cannot move God to do more. Ironically, these ladies are being punished in the name of God.

To find out more about the good work of the PTF Mak Nyah outreach, log on to http://www.ptfmalaysia.org/transex.htm

Thank you.

God bless
Leona
Kuala Lumpur

My own talk show?

So it was mentioned in the Straits Times today that I long to host my own Talk Show on Singapore television. This was brought up in the section which featured several Asian trans women in the mainstream.

I had lunch with my ex boss the other day and she said I was just too loud, just too brash and irascible etc. etc. etc. to fit into Singapore society, but the point is, Singapore needs chilli padis like us to add colour and spice to a cosmetic social landscape.

I have not chosen to flee my country and take my "fight" elsewhere. This is my country. This is where I belong. And I will contribute towards building a gracious, enlightened and humane society for as long as I can read, speak, write and...host my own talk show?

Oh! The unfairness of it all

I highly recommend this blog posting:

http://ngsb.blogspot.com/2008/09/isnt-this-sign-of-unfairness-and-double.html

The Law Society Refuses to Engage...

The Law Society refused to comment on my query regarding whether I can sue a person for calling me "ah qua, pondan, bapok, ladyboy, etc." under the Miscellaneous Public Offences Act. Instead, the society referred me to its Legal Aid department. Presumably, I have to make an appoint with one of their volunteer lawyers to discuss the matter. The reason cited for not responding was that I'm an individual member of the public. Does it mean the society will respond to an association, organisation or society? Regardless of the society's stance on the matter, common sense tells us it is of course an offence to call anyone "ah qua, pondan, bapok, ladyboy, etc." in public and with the intention of causing distress. Only in a lawless society will such invectives be allowed to be used on anyone with the intention of causing distress. Case closed.

Keep Lee Bee Wah in Parliament

Keep Lee Bee Wah in parliament. I was quite inspired by the rags to riches story of this parliamentary spitfire as recounted in Weekend Today. For a woman who came to Singapore with only 20RM in her pocket and worked her way up in the male-dominated field of engineering, she sure packs a punch in the political circle. But this is not the reason why I want her to stay on in parliament. What's more interesting is how she managed to pique my interest in Singapore politics with her domineering ways and shoot-from-the-hip (and mouth) antics. Exciting stuff. And for this reason alone, she should be kept in parliament. The same goes for Sylvia Lim and Lily Neo. Interesting how these women demonstrate you can be forceful in a myriad of ways.

Revamped: www.leonalo.com

I've revamped www.leonalo.com. Check it out! A new feature is the products page which will feature my fave beauty products and accessories. Watch this space for more details.

I Am - Motivational Talk

I will hold a motivational talk "I Am", hosted by the Pelangi Pride Centre, in October. Details are given below. I regret I will not be able to give private one-to-one advice via email or any other media for now, so the best thing to do is to mark your diary and come down for the talk.

Event: "I Am" by Leona Lo
Date: Saturday, 11th October 2008
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
For more information, please email -
pelangipridecentre@yahoo.com

Want advice? Please ask nicely

I've been receiving emails from the public regarding spouses, children, etc. who are gender confused. I welcome your emails, but please frame your questions nicely, and have the courtesy to begin your messages with a salutation, like "Dear Leona", and end them with "Yours Sincerely...". I can understand that this is a confusing period for you too, but there's no excuse for being rude. I am not responsible for the state that your spouses/cousin's children are in. Neither am I responsible for the appalling lack of care for transsexuals in Singapore.

That said, I welcome you to attend a talk I will give at the Pelangi Pride Centre in October 2008.

Watch this space for more details.

Leona Lo for Nominated Member of Parliament?

Why not? I've got the looks, brains and let's just say both sides of the experience that no one in parliament can currently boast of. I was from Catholic High school too - and you do know that's historically been an influential MP-fielding school, don't you? Serious.

Singapore's Next Top Model

Isis is ANTM's first transgendered contestant. Ok, not really the first person to audition for the facetious programme, but absolutely the first to be allowed to compete by virtue or her "entertainment" value. Come on, you don't seriously think Cover Girl's going to put her on the front cover, do you? And even if she does make it to the top 3, what's the chance of her catwalking in Milan post-ANTM? That aside, the only reason why no Singapore woman has managed to clinch the Ms Universe/World title is because transsexuals are not allowed to compete. Serious.

On the Verge of Change - for Transsexual Women Leaders too?

Knowledge@Wharton, the online business journal of Wharton College recently published an article On the Verge of Change: Giving Muslim Women the Confidence to Lead based on a leadership forum organised in the US. Like their Muslim counterparts, transsexuals from developing countries are grappling with social activism within their societies and the tricky question of effecting meaningful change in a climate of suspicion and even overt hostility. I believe we too need such a forum where we could discuss these issues constructively and also brainstorm effective initiatives to implement within our respective countries. Perhaps this could take place in Hong Kong chaired by Dr Sam Winter or even informally in Singapore. But at least we could come up with a framework of care, for example, or tactics to engage stakeholders. The first question I would ask is, "What are the issues at stake in each country?"

What are the issues at stake in your country?

Art Therapy

I promised my friend Glennery (Glen, in short) Besson that I would blog about her Art Therapy workshops based at 39 Stamford Road, #02-07 Stamford House, Singapore 178885.

Glen is enthusiastic about using art therapy to help individuals resolve their gender identity conflict or simply as a sounding board for repressed gender identity issues.

Being an amateur mosaic artist, I know from first-hand experience that art is a powerful means of resolving bottled-up emotional issues or helping one "get into the space", as Dr Wayne Dyer puts it. We need to get into the space as often as we can so as to creatively bring about what we most desire into our lives - or simply to recover our equilibrium, inner peace and joy.

Glen can be reached at 6338 7467 or glenn@glennstudio.com.sg

"Human Monsters" or just "Human"?

Sam Winter from Hong Kong University recently wrote to the Quasi Governmental Broadcast Authority in HK about a programme ATV ran a couple of weeks ago about Thai transwomen, "in which the Cantonese slang word 'yan yiu' ('human monster') was used consistently, and to the almost complete exclusion of any other word (for example 28 times in the space of just 11 minutes)."

"We wait hoping for a resounding rebuke of the TV station's behaviour in this regard," he says.

I recall that the local Chinese media used to label transsexuals "yan yiu" in the past, but that practice seems to have stopped. Today, they call transsexuals "bian xing ren", which, translated literally means "sex change person". That's as good as it gets, really.

Meanwhile, I await the AGC's reply to my email enquiry.

Singapore's Miscellaneous Offences Act

Below is the email I sent to the Attorney General's Chambers for clarifications regarding the Miscellaneous Offences Act. On 6 Jul 08, it was reported in Singapore's flagship English daily The Straits Times that employers who call their maids (or domestic helps) "idiots" risk being charged under the Miscellaneous Offences Act, which states that "a person who uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour may be liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $5,000 'should it cause another person harassment, alarm or distress'."

Using my own life example, I occasionally encounter groups of men who yell derogatory terms such as "bapok", "pondan", "ah qua" or "lady boy" when I pass them on the street, thus causing me no small amount of alarm and distress.

Today, I decided to clarify with the Attorney General's Chambers if these constitute chargeable offences under the Act.

The intention is to raise awareness that transgender women in Singapore are particularly vulnerable to verbal abuse, yet not many are aware that laws exist to protect them.

Leona

Dear Sir/Mdm

Under the Miscellaneous Offences Act, a person who uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour may be liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $5,000 "should it cause another person harassment, alarm or distress".

I would like to clarify if, as a woman who has undergone sexual reassignment surgery (medical definition: post-operative transsexual woman), I reserve the right to file a defamation suit against an individual who uses abusive, derogatory terms such as "bapok", "pondan", "ah qua" and "ladyboy" to publicly humiliate me, thus causing me "harassment, alarm or distress"? In short, are the expressions "bapok", "pondan", "ah qua" and "ladyboy" considered "threatening, abusive or insulting" as defined by the Act?

I would appreciate your clarification on the matter.

Best Regards
Leona Lo
Author, From Leonard to Leona, A Singapore Transsexual's Journey to Womanhood

A brand new blog, a brand new direction

Dear wo-manly blog readers

I apologise for my hiatus. The previous blog and its postings had outlived their usefulness. Henceforth, this blog will reflect the social issues that are close to my heart. Occasionally - please see the subsequent posting - I will push for social change. I believe this is the role of every writer and artist. Sometimes I will be successful, and sometimes not. Regardless of the outcome, I will be guided by the quest for truth and justice.

Thank you for your support
Leona