A380 Flyer

Strictly speaking, homosexuality is illegal in Singapore, but what about tourists here on holiday for a few weeks, is it advisable to delete apps like Grindr from iPhone/iPads before arriving, just in case they get searched?

Or am I just overreacting?

glennaa11

Yes. You are over-reacting.

Lots of gay businesses and establishments in Singapore. (check out utopia-asia.com or travelgayasia.com) Plenty of people there using the various apps as well. No one is going to search your phone when you arrive. Some of the most beautiful people in the world in Singapore.

Have fun!

shuigao

Yes you are overreacting. At worst you'll get some occasional weird stares and odd looks when holding hands with your partner in public, nothing else. I don't think Singapore has ever prosecuted or convicted anyone for homosexuality.

Ryvyan

Nah, no worries. Basically what everyone above has said.

The local Pink Dot (LGBT+ movement) has been gaining support over the years. If you're here on 4 June, you might wish to join the carnival then! You can't participate per se as a non-citizen/resident, but everyone is welcome to have a picnic as it will be held in a park.

IAN-UK

... that the restriction is accepted as straightforward, understandable and unexceptional is a very Singapore reaction to a very Singapore prohibition

TOMFORD

You will be okay unless you have sex in public, in which case you would get arrested like you would anywhere else in the world. No need to clean your phone, this is not the UAE or southern USA.

Dieuwer

The bars can be fun and the locals very friendly. I had a good time at this place with a patio at the font (forgot the name).

Annalisa12

I always delete any inappropriate photos or anything off my phone and tell husband to do the same when going to Asian or Middle Eastern countries that are not so understanding about stuff like that.

I guess it's better to be safe than sorry sometimes.

Have fun in Singapore. I'm off there again soon too.

:D!

Strictly speaking, only men actually having sex with men is illegal.

IAN-UK

but this being Singapore, isn't there some sort of catch-all offending public decency offence, which might be applied to the social and physical foreplay leading to fornication ?

Ryvyan

I wouldn’t know, I don’t visit a country and observe citizens’ behaviour and put them into stereotyped boxes.

In this case, can't help being pragmatic. You have to understand the audience and detractors.

There is a Wear White movement organised by some religious groups which seeks to discredit Pink Dot. Background: Pink Dot is held in a public protest space. By law, only Singaporean citizens and PRs are allowed to participate in protests there. If a non-Singaporean is going to whinge and insists on participating (this year, it is simply to collect a placard for display…), then the Wear White people are going to jump on it.

Honestly, just be there as support. Peace, no hate; and stuff like that. The happy festive mood is beautiful, go have a picnic (legal for everyone; it’s a public park! loophole and everything)

Usually, I honestly don’t care if someone toes the line or challenges the laws; the only person who suffers is the perpetuator. But with regards to Pink Dot, any *perception* of it not following the rules just makes the entire movement lose credibility. That hurts the community.

Singapore is not really liberal, nor is it conservative.

Ryvyan

Technically speaking, only sodomy is illegal. Which applies to both men and women.

If you get caught, it's because you're in public (part of public indecency, regardless of gender and act you were caught performing).

The government has stated explicitly that they're not going to remove the law, but they're not going to enforce it. It's really exasperating, because they're just appeasing both liberal and conservative Singaporeans. If the police starts crashing people's parties, then I would think they have nothing better to do.

invisible

BTW, jokes aside but if you are naked in your own apartment/house/condo and someone can see, you might get fine for public indecency.

Yes, I do understand how it sounds, but on local expat FB group there was a story of one woman who was visited by police after report from a neighbour seen her walking naked around her apartment. Police gave her warning and told to use blinds/curtains.

Dean Swan

Is this year going to be the same ? With security people having the power to touch/molest anyone they choose (they disguise it as "random selected people for checks". And according to the head of security on site (2017 event), he told me they have the right to touch all parts of my body including inside the anus, the only part they are not allowed by law - the groin area. This is the experience I had for my first attempt to visit Pink Dot in 2017. I was shocked to have been molested by the female security who stroked both of my butt cheeks and press her fingers deep into my armpits, and stroke my legs from tights to ankle with both of her hands. The other security guards next to her used a metal detector to scan the person. When I wrote in to Pink Dot organisation to report this, the Pink Dot representative insisted the security was doing their job to protect the gay people, and that I am making something out from nothing. The fact that I was violated seems to the Pink Dot organisation as nothing. This Pink Dot organisation seems so similar in behavior as to the homophobic Singapore society, both are in denial.

SQTraveller

Not saying that this is right/wrong, but it's no different to multiple experiences with TSA (link)

Also, if the head of security said it, did you report this to police?