Singapore lesbian organisations

=Historical=

SLANG

 * Singapore Lesbians and Naughty Girls (SLANG) - a social group for lesbians operating around 1996 to 1997. It was set up by a night spot manager who later went on to become a local entertainment icon. T-shirts and caps with the group's logo were printed for members.

Auntie Teck
Auntie Teck (also known as AuntieTeck.com) - a website connecting lesbian and bisexual women in Asia set up in 1997 by an elusive lesbian called "Auntie Teck". It closed down in the mid-2000s.

=Contemporary=

Sayoni

 * Sayoni - a Singapore-based platform for Asian queer women, comprising a blog, and a forum . Founded by a group of women from diverse backgrounds, age groups, economic status and ethnicity, it aims to empower queer women via a two-pronged approach to encourage dialogue within the community and to educate the general public. Both its media are open to public view.

Subsidiary websites of Sayoni:


 * COuCH (Couch.sg; Come Out, Come Home), - a national movement to encourage LGBTQ persons and allies who are ready to come out and feel at home in Singapore. It was launched during the opening event of IndigNation 2012.

When one is ready, coming out to the people around oneself has a major impact on changing society's perception of the LGBTQ community in Singapore. COuCH is a movement which will give LGBTQ persons considering coming out the encouragement to do so, thereby changing society's perception of the LGBTQ community. It is also about the people who love and support their LGBTQ family, friends and colleagues, enabling them to ʺCome Outʺ and show that there are accepting people out there. 

P•INC

 * P•INC - a springboard for gay businesswomen. Members can make connections to advance their business, learn more skills and gain knowledge from a safe circle of people like themselves. It set up its Facebook page on 10 January 2013.



Women's Nite

 * Women's Nite - Started by Charmaine Tan and Eileena Lee in 2002, Women's Nite provides a safe, neutral and alcohol-free space for lesbians and bisexual women in Singapore to gather and discuss the issues relevant to their lives. Talks and workshops are also held. It runs on the last Saturday of every month. Charmaine Tan, Eileena Lee, Tan Hui Yee, Amanda Lee, Gea Swee Jean and Sylvia Tan are currently the women working behind the scenes for Women's Nite.

AWARE
AWARE (Association of Women for Action and Research)

=Cyberspace=

RedQuEEn!

 * RedQuEEn! - initiated by former PLU3 president Eileena Lee in 1998, this e-mail list for queer womyn, provides a safe online discussion space. Having started from an initial group of 17 women, its membership currently numbers over 1000. With discussions ranging from the serious to the very humorous, the list provides online support as well as friendship and networking opportunities. RedQuEEn! initiated the monthly gatherings called Women's Nite at Pelangi Pride Centre for queer women living in Singapore (see above). Its postings have been archived in Yahoo! groups since 1998. On 17 August 2002, it held Singapore's first women's safe-sex workshop and potluck party.

SAMBAL

 * SAMBAL ,, the Singaporean And Malaysian Bisexual women And Lesbian international e-mail list, caters strictly to women only from Malaysia and Singapore. Members come together virtually to discuss Malaysian/Singaporean lesbian and bisexual women's cultural, social and political experiences/issues. SAMBAL was co-founded by Madeleine Lim, a Singapore-born lesbian based in San Francisco who was the first local lesbian personality to be featured in a Fridae article.

Lesbian SG Confessions

 * Lesbian SG Confessions - a more focused version of the above targeted mainly at queer women. It aims to encourage fellow LGBTQ communities to be unafraid of being open and honest about their sexual orientation, to be brave enough to stake their claim to happiness, to have the freedom to love and to contribute to society.

Beat Around The Bush

 * Beat Around The Bush, - an independent and non-profit online hub for gay women in Singapore with weekly updates of lesbian-friendly and non-discriminatory events, hangouts, arts and music. Started in January 2013, just wanting everyone to have a good time.

Herstory

 * Herstory - a website for grrrls which organises real-world events like the annual Butch Hunt,, and Femme Quest contests. It was started by Cary Tan in June 1999 and initially called Club Herstory. In December 2002, it rebranded itself as simply, "Herstory" with the launch of its new website and its new monthly parties held on the first Sunday of every month at Velvet Underground, a section of the Zouk disco complex. These migrated in 2005 to Gotham Penthouse, #03-01, Blk. 3A, River Valley Road, Clarke Quay. The host of the parties was singer Shirlyn Tan. Other social activities include Grrrls Night Out parties, various sports and dance classes.

=See also=


 * Singapore LGBT organisations

=References=

=Acknowledgements=

This article was written by Roy Tan.