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EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Giving Young Transsexuals Hope

Professor Conway hopes that the talk will also provide hope and encouragement to young transsexual teenagers who are facing gender transition. She says “If parents can just learn to see that their transsexual child is really a ‘girl with a physical problem’ rather than a ‘boy with a mental problem’, then that child’s future is especially hopeful.

With parental love and support, a young transsexual girl can now reach for her dreams, and go on to live a full and joyous life as a woman.”

About the talk

Ms Lo’s talk will open with an introduction to gender identity, transsexualism and standards of care as recommended by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (previously known as the Harry Benjamin Gender Dysphoria Association) . Ms Lo will touch on the challenges of transitioning and some of the issues that transsexual women face post-operatively as they strive to lead “normal” lives. Throughout the talk Ms Lo will draw on her personal experiences as a transsexual woman in Singapore. Ms Lo said, “The talk is the culmination of more than 15 years of observations on and experiences with the culture of shame that surrounds transsexuals in Singapore in school, at home, at the workplace, and in their day-to-day relationships with friends, family, colleagues and partners. It is also a response to the numerous requests from secondary school, junior college and university students researching into the topic. There is certainly a demand for such a talk even among non-transsexual youth.”

During the hour-long talk, Ms Lo will trace the evolution of shame among the transsexual community by examining the history of transsexualism in Singapore, from the heyday of Bugis Street through to the witch-hunt of the 80s when transgender prostitutes were linked to the spread of HIV/AIDS, the ground-breaking amendments to the Women’s Charter in 1996 and recent sensitive portrayals of transsexual success stories (Leona Lo story, Abigail Chay story). She will illustrate how public perception is shaped powerfully by the media and urban myths, and give examples of sensationalist news reporting versus fair and balanced news coverage.

The talk will be held at Glenn’s Studio @ Chateau d’Arts, #02-07, Stamford House, 39 Stamford Road, on Saturday, 17 March 2007, from 3 to 5pm. There is a registration fee of $15, payable at the door, inclusive of a buffet tea spread. Call 6425 1053 or email [leona @ wo-manly dot com ] to register.
Registration ends on 13 March 2007. We encourage members of the public to register early as limited seats are available.

At workplaces, throughout Asia and beyond Ms Lo plans to conduct the talk at various Singapore workplaces in order to raise awareness of transsexualism and gender transitioning in the workplace. These talks will be conducted for free on a monthly basis. She also plans to export the talk throughout Asia and beyond, especially in Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Malaysia, where The Star recently ran a story about her experiences in September 2006. She said, “Compared to others in the region, Singapore transsexual women are considered lucky in that we are granted legal recognition in our new gender, however, this is only the beginning of a journey that is fraught with difficulties because of the ‘culture of shame’ that still prevents many of us from moving ahead in life and fulfilling our dreams and ambitions.”

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About Leona Lo

Leona Lo graduated from the University of York, United Kingdom, with First Class Honours in English and Related Literature. She was awarded the York Trust Settlement Prize by the University of York English Department for outstanding contribution to departmental life, specifically, for her hour-long talk on “The Politics of Transgenderism in Singapore”, during which she “performed” transsexual angst. In 2000 she was given the Prospects Globe Award by the University of York Sociology Department to pursue a Masters in Qualitative Research Methods. She is the author of the pictorial book My Sisters, Their Stories by Viscom Editions Pte Ltd (2003). In December 2005 she started her own integrated communications consultancy Talk Sense to provide communications services to clients in the pharmaceutical and beauty industry.

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