Victorious Victorious – Aware has work cut out

Photo by Yvonne Loh

Merlion Tonight Reports.

Tiki Madagascar: You were there yesterday at the EGM. How would you describe the atmosphere?

Leona: It was an electrifying performance filled with high tension and fireworks that even “Cats” the musical could not rival.  I half expected some woman to be man-handled, but then I thought, the security officers were probably too terrified of being scratched by the caterwauling middle-class women to lay hands on them! The calm and serene atmosphere when we were queuing to get our voting slips was stunningly deceptive!!!

Tiki: What were some of the highlights of the EGM?

Leona: Certainly, when Ms Lau and her team instructed NMP Siew Kum Hong to sit down and move to the associate members’ corner, that really set the stage for more theatrics to come. Sally-what’s-her-name’s strident “Shut up and sit down” rebuke to Margaret Thomas almost gave me a heart attack. And she’s a teacher too!!! Imagine what her students have to endure!!!   And what’s this fixation with getting people to sit down anyway?  I think we need to refer these women for psychiatric evaluation.   When the Feminist Mentor talked about being charmed by her appearance in page 73 of a “book”, we were all turning to each other in confusion and asking, “What book? What book is she referring to?” For a moment, I thought she was referring to the Old Testament!

Tiki Madagascar: Some say the Old Guards scored a pyrrhic victory. What are your thoughts?

Leona: Certainly if Josie Lau and her team had more PR savvy they could have swung national opinion to their side. But by making homosexuality their sole agenda, they aroused the ire of every Singaporean who embraces pluralism and diversity. In this sense, the Old Guards have won a moral victory. But they have their work cut out. Josie and her 700 team members will probably form a vocal chorus in the “new” Aware. So the new committee and their supporters will have to be vigilant and as their actions will be closely scrutinised from now on. But we can’t shut out Ms Lau and her team. We need to be patient and understand that they operate under the constraints of socially limiting beliefs. We must extend God’s loving kindness to them.

Photo by Genevieve Chua

Tiki: Someone suggested you should have used yesterday’s meeting as a platform to seek clarification on certain statements allegedly made by Ms Lau and her team that the Old Guard had reached out to “transvestites”. Why didn’t you do so?

Leona: It was a great suggestion but it wasn’t the time and place for me to do so. The Ah Kua Show would be a more appropriate platform.   I know I’m shamelessly plugging the show, but so what?  That’s my show and this is my blog.  It’s not like I hijack other people’s website to talk about the show right?  For the record, “transvestite” refers to a man, straight or homosexual, who dresses up as a woman to fulfil a fetish.  A transsexual, however, is someone who identifies with the socially “opposite” gender and who may or may not undergo gender reassignment surgery to align his/her body with the identified gender.  I am proud to identify as a transsexual woman.   

Tiki: Now that the Old Guard is back, do you have any plans to contribute to the association?

Leona: Someone did suggest that I should contribute to the Helpline to provide counselling to transgender women. It’s a great idea but again, I’m not sure that this is the right time to bring the subject up. I don’t wish to be the victim of the next wave of crusading. Right now my focus is the Ah Kua Show which will be staged in early August. And the programme booklet will be a revelation in itself.

Tiki: Ok, tell us more about the Ah Kua show – how’s it progressing?

Leona: We’ve had two rehearsals and our director Emeric Lau is really stretching us and he’s really the best man for the job. I feel like I’m being taken out of my comfort zone. I feel that I’m being forced to take a honest, hard look at my life. I have to reassess the role of my parents and certain key individuals in my life and the results are amazing. I find that I’ve been too harsh on my loved ones. Certainly it’s been an amazing experience for me. We will have to submit the script to MDA soon. I certainly hope all goes well!

Tiki: Thank you Leona for the candid interview. We wish you all the best for the show.

Leona: A pleasure.

Photo by Yvonne Loh

Leona and Kirsten. Photo by Ching Crackberry Sia

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