Singaporeans want to know why the Science Centre’s ‘controversial’ discussion on gender was cancelled

SINGAPORE: Science Centre Singapore has cancelled a discussion session on the difference between s e x and gender, scheduled for later this month. Singaporeans would like to know why.

Science Centre Singapore announced the discussion on its website and Facebook page on Sunday (June 2) but announced its cancellation just a few hours later.

The session had been scheduled for 6:30 pm on June 14 at Golden Village X The Projector and was limited to individuals aged 18 and over.

The discussion was supposed to have been part of the Centre’s Science Café sessions. It aimed to tackle the societal impact of the differences between the two and invited guests to “dive into the dynamics” of each.

“From community insights to academic research, join us to explore the biological, psychological, and cultural influences that shape our understanding of these concepts,” the post announcing the session originally read.

However, the topic proved to be polarizing, and by Sunday, the Science Centre thanked the individuals who had provided feedback, adding, “The Science Centre team would like to take the opportunity to review our approach to this session.”

It added that the people who bought tickets would receive a full refund and apologised for “any inconvenience caused.”

The line-up of speakers was also removed from the post.

The Facebook post announcing and then canceling the discussion drew a lot of attention from netizens, many of whom wanted to know the reason for the cancellation.

Some showed a lot of interest in the discussion, calling it relevant, appropriate, and timely. Others hoped that the discussion could still take place in the future.

“There are many of us who hope this event will be restaged in the near future….it’s an excellent opportunity for learning!” one wrote.

Some expressed dismay that it had been cancelled. “Says a lot when we can’t even have discourse on such issues,” one commented.

There were others, however, who did not hesitate to express that they did not agree that such talks should be held at all:

“I am appalled and deeply disappointed that a well-respected public institution as Science Centre Singapore (is) allowing such contentious, confusing and controversial issues to be introduced to young minds,” one wrote.

The cancellation of the discussion was also discussed on Reddit, where many also weighed in.

“Kudos to the team who attempted to organise this and hope they don’t get penalised or punished by their higher-ups. Though I think it’s disappointing that as a first world country we are not ready to have such conversations,” one wrote.

“Pretty telling and sad that such an uncontroversial topic of discussion also proves too “sensitive” to certain demographics,” another chimed in.

The Independent Singapore has reached out to Science Centre Singapore for further comment. /TISG

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