An image of two men kissing on a train in Singapore has gone viral after a fellow passenger snapped a photo and penned an opinion piece about the public display for All Singapore Stuff.
“I was kind enough to take the pic without a direct shot of the boy’s face. I respect everyone’s rights, but this is Simply Disgusting [sic] in a public space,” the local resident wrote.
“What if my children saw this and asked ‘Mummy, why are the two men kissing?'”
The author was concerned that she would have to tell her children that same-sex relationships are the same as “normal love”.
“The only difference is that one man opens his buttocks for the other man to put his private part inside but in the end, no babies come out. They only get AIDS,” she continues.
The piece, entitled Homosexuals Shd Be Grateful for Pinkdot, We Have Already Given Them A Lot Of Public Space!, has now been shared over 80,000 times on Facebook.
One half of the couple, Australian man Peter Eggenhuizen, told Star Observer that he felt mortified and violated to see the image and article go viral.
“To rub salt into the would, the author went on to attack my act of love and affection,” Eggenhuizen said.
“But I feel the need to rise above it and raise awareness that this is unacceptable.”
Homosexuality has not been decriminalised in Singapore, and there are still a number of obstacles for the LGBTIQ community to overcome.
Earlier this year, Singapore made it illegal for foreign companies to sponsor events aimed at LGBTIQ groups – striking a huge blow to the Pink Dot festival mentioned in the viral opinion piece.
In 2015, 28,000 people attended Pink Dot to light up Speaker’s Corner but this year only 5,000 attended the event – which saw a heightened police presence and intensified security measures.
Eggenhuizen says he believes most Singaporeans either support or tolerate LGBTI people, but Australians have a responsibility to educate themselves about how queer people are treated in other countries.
“In many countries homosexuality is still illegal and this could have real and dangerous consequences,” he said.
“By being openly gay in Australia the risk of homophobic attacks increases, whether that be verbal, physical or in our case online.”
OIP Staff
