The questions brought up and discussed in parliament are often overlooked. However, the question that one politician raised, caused quite a few netizens’ eyebrows to be raised. Er. Dr. Lee Bee Wah, a Member of Parliament (MP) for Nee Soon GRC, spoke out about RuPaul’s drag race show.
For those unaware, RuPaul’s Drag Race is an American reality competition television series where the contestants are usually males who dress in women’s clothing and often act with exaggerated femininity and in feminine gender roles.
Er. Dr. Lee Bee Wah asked if the show was safe for public audiences.
Her exact questions: “ To ask the Minister for Communications and
Information
(a) whether the Ministry has received objections to the performance of the RuPauls’ Drag Race show in Singapore;
(b) what are the criteria for approving such performances;
(c) how does the Ministry deal with approval and censorship of performances dealing with LGBT issues; and
(d) how is the age restriction for the audience determined for such shows”.
Lately, contestants from the show such as Bianca Del Rio and Sasha Velour came to Singapore to visit their fans. Next month, RuPaul’s Drag Race World Tour will debut on Singapore’s stage, featuring performances from the show’s season 10 queens.
Her question seemed to be rather surprising and out-of-place seeing has how there seems to be a move towards increasing acceptance of the LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual or allied) community here in Singapore.
This is not the first time MP Lee has received flak. She also allegedly refused to hear out a resident wanting to talk about Section 377A of the Penal Code, a legislation which criminalises sex between mutually consenting adult men. At Meet the People Session, she was reported to say, “I have other residents with real problems”.
https://theindependent.sg.sg/lee-bee-wah-allegedly-refused-to-hear-out-a-resident-at-meet-the-people-session-saying-i-have-other-residents-with-real-problems/
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obbana@theindependent.sg