SPEQ:TRUM podcast

Do you wish you knew more about sex before you had your first sexual experience?

How often should you get tested if you’re sexually active?

Should Singapore schools expand their sex education curriculum to make it more inclusive and comprehensive?

In honour of World AIDS Day on 1 December, we spoke to two individuals to address the above more in the hopes of educating and empowering youth on safe sex:

Adrian Tyler, programme coordinator for Pink Carpet Youth at Action for AIDS Singapore, which plans outreach programmes for the GBQ youth community. Adrian is also the fourth Singaporean to ever come out publicly as a person living with HIV;

Dillon Galistan, a 25-year-old gay man who will be sharing some of his personal experiences as well as offer insights on safe sex from the perspective of a young, Singaporean adult.

Host: Jamie Nonis

Why can't boys be soft, gentle, funny and kind?

Why does the masculine identity always have to be associated with strength, power and aggression?

In this episode, we discuss gender roles and stereotypes with award-winning multimedia artist Brian Gothong Tan, director of the upcoming hybrid play + exhibition, The Swimming Pool Library, by T:>Works, inspired by Alan Hollinghurst’s bestselling seminal novel of the same name.

The play + exhibitions explores these themes and we also chat with Brian about toxic masculinity and its antidote, ‘alternate masculinity’, as well as the portrayal of masculinity in mainstream media.

During this interview, Brian also opens up on his own coming of age journey, which will be further showcased in the transdisciplinary play + exhibition through a series of paper sketches, paintings, 3D printed sculptures and more.

Tickets are available at theswimmingpoollibrary.peatix.com

Host: Jamie Nonis

Follow SPEQ:TRUM podcast on Instagram: @speqtrumpodcast

Would you risk getting arrested for a cause you believe in so deeply?

Elijah Tay, Founder of MyQueerStorySG did, and in this episode, they share their personal experience on what prompted them to participate in a protest for trans rights outside the Ministry of Education in Singapore, which resulted in their arrest on 26 January.

We invited Elijah onto the show so that you can hear directly from the 19-year-old -- rather than through third-person reporting in mainstream media -- on what actually happened and how everything went down leading up to their arrest and what happened after.

In this interview, we also talk about how Elijah first discovered they were trans, dealing with gender dysphoria and their personal experiences as a trans individual in Singapore.

Elijah is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.

Follow the movement: #FixSchoolsNotStudents

For more Singapore-based transgender resources, please visit:

Transgender SG (https://transgendersg.com) The T Project (www.thetprojectsg.org)

Host: Jamie Nonis

Follow SPEQ:TRUM podcast on Instagram: @speqtrumpodcast

What does it really mean to be intersex?

For Intersex Awareness Day today, we spoke with Aysha Bansal about their lived experiences as an intersex individual and how it impacts their relationships.

Aysha is a 24-year-old neuroscientist who moved to Singapore from London two years ago to pursue their PhD and currently works at a local hospital. Aysha also identifies as non-binary and uses ‘they/them’ pronouns.

cn: body mutilation, surgery, medical procedure

Host: Jamie Nonis

We're excited to kick off our first episode of Season 2 on International Pronouns Day today, 21st October.

We’ve got a bonus double episode with not one – but TWO – guests for you today who’ll be sharing more about the use of pronouns within the LGBTQ+ community and why it’s so important to us.

Our first guest is Shan Menon, a social worker who volunteers his time with The T Project, a social service group aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable transgender people. He also helped set up the Alicia Community Centre peer counselling programme run by The T Project.

We also have today Aysha Bansal, a 24-year-old PHD student who moved to Singapore from London two years ago. Aysha now works at a Singapore hospital, identifies as non-binary and uses “they/them” pronouns.

Host: Jamie Nonis

Come out, come out, wherever you are!

For National Coming Out Day, SPEQ:TRUM creator & host Jamie Nonis shares her own coming out stories and experiences from coming out at 15 in school, coming out to a relative at 25 and even coming out to a Catholic nun once, to her journey to finally being open and out in the workplace.

In this episode, filmmaker Charmaine Wong interviews Jamie in a poetic twist of events, as Jamie was one of the interviewees in Charmaine’s documentary called ‘Pink IC’ more than 15 years ago. In her documentary, Charmaine explored whether the LGBTQ+ community has a place within the larger Singaporean identity and her film was featured in Short Circuit, Singapore’s very first LGBTQ+ film festival in 2006.

Jamie speaks out openly about the hiring discrimination she faced early in her career, getting eyeballed top to toe in job interviews, and how she felt she had to conceal her gender identity in her first job. All of which she’s never shared publicly before.

She also shares some of the social experiments she used to do in my early 20s, just for the fun of it, where she would dress as a girlier girl versus dressing more tomboy, and observe the difference in the way she was treated by strangers in society.

Finally, Jamie also talks about the importance of seeing LGBTQ+ characters and representation in the media, and her hopes and dreams for the podcast.

In celebration of Bisexual Visibility Day on 23 September, we had a chat with an andro/masc presenting bisexual for this episode.

Lixia is a 22-year-old Singaporean female who’s attracted to both men and women, has dated men, and is currently in a relationship with a ‘gold star lesbian’.

We hope you enjoy this unfiltered conversation with Lixia where we tackled gender-conforming social constructs, myths and stereotypes people often have about bisexuals, and her own experiences and discrimination she has faced from both camps – the ‘gays’ and ‘straights’.

We also touch on the struggle of reconciling her faith and belief in Christianity with being true to herself.

And if you happen to be bi, HAPPY BI+ PRIDE to you! Know that you are seen, you matter, and you are worthy of love too :) 

Host: Jamie Nonis

Audio Editor: Natasha Pestana 

Content warning: Suicide

In this episode, we discuss the topic of suicide and suicide prevention to mark World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September.

As suicide disproportionately impacts the LGBTQ community and LGBTQ youth in particular, we wish to create awareness around this otherwise taboo topic in the hope we may help remove the stigma often associated with suicide and mental health issues that often prevent people from getting the help they really need.

We invited Leow Yangfa, Executive Director of Oogachaga, Singapore’s first and most established community-based counselling and support agency for the LGBTQ+ community, to share his valuable perspectives from having done this social justice work for almost two decades in a professional and volunteer capacity.

Yangfa is also an ambassador for this year's #HOWRU campaign with the Samaritans of Singapore and in this episode, he also debunks some of misconceptions about suicide, gives us insight into the some of the warning signs we should look out for, and how we can better support our loved ones who may be at risk.

This was a delicate but important conversation so please share this episode with those you love and care about – it could literally save a life.

Host: Jamie Nonis

Audio Editor: Natasha Pestana