In this episode of Semua Kita we follow Maitreya's journey, from discovering that he was different at university, to exploring places like Fort Road, to visiting the Substation where he found community in People Like Us, to meeting others at Forbidden Fruit, to falling in love for the first time in Raffles Place.

He also talks about the Sunday night clubs and the occasional police raids they were subject to, and how to avoid them. Maitreya worked alongside Max Lim, bringing customers to Studebakers and managing the bar at Spartacus. His story tracks the development of the gay entertainment scene in Singapore in the 90s and early 2000s.

We apologise for the echo audible in this recording, Maitreya's stories are well worth the slight distraction

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Semua Kita continues our conversation with Christopher by exploring how the LGBTQ community has changed with time. What groups were available then and what groups are available now? Organizing quite a disparate group of people is challenging. What is the role of Pink Dot in this space, and does the focus which existed previously still exist in a changing world and a changing Singapore?

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In this episode of Semua Kita we hear about Christopher's experience of coming out as a trans man in the public realm. He describes "Some Reassembly Required" the unfinished film project which started that process, and some of the repercussions of being unprepared for that visibility. He also reflects on his advocacy journey, from personal causes to joining the organizing team of Pink Dot. But first, Christopher tells us about the importance of his experience at university in shaping himself.

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In the next series of episodes of Semua Kita we speak to Christopher Khor, arguably one of Singapore's most prominent trans activists. In this episode he tells us about his childhood and, in particular, how the court challenges to Section 377A in the mid 2010s opened up a public conversation on the LGBTQ community which had not happened before. In turn, this put Christopher on the course to self-discovery: finding the right words to describe who he knew himself to be allowed him to navigate school, family and religious belief.Other subscription, listening and following options here ⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/m/semuakita⁠ ⁠⁠#queer #LGBTQ #oralhistory #Singapore

Benni continues his thoughts on discrimination in Singapore, and whether terms like that are even useful. He advocates holding space for forgiveness and understanding because he feels that conflict is often driven by ignorance rather than malice and that differences can be bridged with pacifism and empathy.

In this episode of Semua Kita, Benni also considers what the greatest changes have been to the LGBTQ community in Singapore and asks what direction civil society is heading in? What does he feel should be the main focus now and how can this be achieved? He also talks about Pink Dot and the effect that the barriers have on participation and interaction between communities.

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In this episode of Semua Kita, Benni discusses the value of familial acceptance and, importantly, how it is expressed. The language used is significant and concepts which are well elaborated in Western thought may not have direct analogues in Tamil for instance. At the same time, different generations will adapt words in a way which makes sense to them.

In the second half of this episode, Benni reflects on how his upbringing in a multicultural society has made him intolerant of all forms of discrimination, not just that directed at the LGBTQ community. He talks about how he has not experienced much personal racial discrimination himself, but is aware of systemic examples.

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In this episode of Semua Kita Benni explains how an openly gay Indian Singaporean without a degree managed to build a career in a society obsessed with qualifications and a workplace lacking protections. He talks to us about his life after Action for AIDS, initially being in public relations, and then subsequently working for foreign representatives in Singapore, including the British High Commission, American Chamber of Commerce and the New Zealand High Commission. Was it just luck?

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One immutable part of many Singaporean men's lives is National Service. For Benni this was a mixed experience, starting with an episode of trauma. In this episode he tells us more.

After NS came the challenges of finding a job while also becoming more aware of his same sex attraction without actually acting on it or even knowing what being gay was, let alone whether it applied to him. Who could Benni ask in the early 90s?

Eventually Benni got involved with Action for AIDS. He describes what it was like being a volunteer and working with patients in the early days and how he eventually became AfA's administrator in the late 1990s, helping to run many of its programmes.

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In the next series of episodes of Semua Kita, we speak to Benedict Thambiah as he talks through his very varied experiences of being Singaporean. We start with aconversation of being born in the late 60s, growing up in Singapore in a kampung, and then moving to an HDB estate as a child.

First, however, Benni talks about the important relationships in his life: family, his partner, work and close friends are important to him and give everything context. He reflects on how this changes with time.

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In the previous episodes of Semua Kita, Dominic and Nigel spoke of how they took their duties as guardians of the web portal for the LGBTQ community very seriously. Here, they elaborate their experience of on-line websites being centres of community building, and observe what the effect of the mainstreaming of the LGBTQ culture in Singapore has had. Trevvy was a self-professed side hustle, albeit one which was important, how did it eventually fade away? With such a storied history, what are Nigel and Dominic's fondest memories of running Sgboy and Trevvy? From the perspective of people who have been there, what challenges does the LGBTQ community in Singapore face today? And where do Nigel and Dominic think the future lies?

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