Parliament passed the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code, Singapore’s colonial-era law criminalizing sexual acts between consenting adult males, last week. Understandably, in conservative Singaporean society, this was not an easy feat.
One Reddit user, upon hearing two aunties at a hawker centre discussing the issue, asked on Monday (Dec 5), “To those who support 377A, do you also accept it if your kids came out?”
The women’s conversation went like this:
A: woah 377A repeal now all can love leh
B: that one is the gay one is it?
A: yes the man to man now legal already. Good good I support this shows we are open and supportive
B: oh you support ah? A: ya eh good what why?
B: I not leh. if ah your son come home and say “mummy I have a boyfriend” how?
A: siao ah he only can date girl else how to give birth and have children
The netizen in question, AckermanFin, wrote that the conversation was confusing.
“Can you support something but be against it when it comes to your own children? Is it really supportive then? Or is it the whole I’m open to interracial relationships but when it comes to my daughter I’m against it kinda thing?”
In reply, one Reddit user wrote that in the case of Section 377A, a person can think there is “no good reason it should be illegal” but this does not mean they necessarily lend support.
Another wrote, “People can talk freely until it hits too close to home. There is even a survey that shows how many people claim to support compared to the number that actually support their loved ones.”
One gave the following example to make the point clearer, “Just like people who want more social welfare and universal healthcare but get upset with gst hikes and higher income tax.”
Some real-life examples got more personal, such as when parents really did embrace their children when they came out.
Others brought up the issue of having children, which is important to many parents.
/TISG
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