Transit

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Today, we celebrate Trans Day of Visibility and hold our heads high in the face of adversity. Being visibly trans in Singapore and around the world comes with its own set of challenges which interfere with our social lives, work, and as we have seen recently, education.

Trans youth should be allowed to transition and live as their full and authentic selves without fear of repercussion from their schools, without judgement and being called disruptive. Transit stands in solidarity with students who are struggling in the current education system and the teachers and peers that have stood up for them. We will stay committed in the fight for equality and recognition for trans youth.

Thank you for continuing to follow Transit through the past year. We are hoping to bring you something in the works, so stay tuned!

Last week, ***rzinefestsg organized a week-long pajama party on Instagram Live, featuring several q***r and trans/nonbinary hosts making art, music and good vibes all around.

If you didn't manage to catch it, fret not! There will be another round of pajama parties this week at 8.30pm every weekday. Stay tuned to their account for more updates!
***r ***rzinefest

Calling all non-cis folk to fill out a survey! TransgenderSG is conducting research on transgender experiences in Singapore.

Survey on Transgender Issues in Singapore Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

OPEN CALL!

We're seeking models for an upcoming photography project. If you're trans/nonbinary, over the age of 18 and attended a single-s*x school here in Singapore, we want you! If you're comfortable with your photos being exhibited in a gallery space, please visit the link below and leave your details so we can contact you. Please help to like and share this post as well!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VVNcca82smdBiTbwHmQAgnBIAfx2jkYQMjldFCJF2Go/viewform?edit_requested=true

Last but not least, we have Ilyas!

Ilyas Ahmad Lukman (formerly known as Atiq) has been part of the organizing team for Transit since the very beginning in 2016, and has also performed in each Transit since then. He is a spoken word poet, performer and freelance illustrator. Ilyas has also performed in other events, such as ContraDiction and the Pride editions of destination: INK. He has also performed and collaborated alongside fellow Transit team members Norah, Carissa, Drima and Averyn. In his downtime, he enjoys screaming lyrics off-key with friends at karaoke sessions, geeking out over cartoons, and building the commune of his dreams on Stardew Valley.

Up next, Carissa Cheow makes her apperance on the team!

When asked to introduce one interesting fact about herself, Carissa Cheow reveals how she has once plotted a caffeine-to-energy-level curve with a maximum sample size of 11. She does poetry, social commentary, political theory, and organizing, and uses her remaining free time to - wait, she has none! An incoming public policy student at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Carissa is shameless about her aspirations to dismantle capitalism entirely and is currently procrastinating on editing her first collection of poems to be read in very small spaces. She concurrently serves as the Co-Founder and President of Students for a Safer NUS and the incoming Executive Director of Q***rNUS (and yes, she'd like to find successors in both because as her name and an MCR lyric suggests, "we'll carry on!")

We now have Averyn on the team, also a past performer for Transit!

Averyn is a non-binary trans woman (yeah, no one else understands that either) who loves writing, art, spoken word, and making food for the people around them. They have popped up from time to time with a number of appearances in spoken word performances and photo projects and exhibitions, but are notoriously hard to find at Pink Dot because they've somehow managed to never attend one. You might have also known them from their writings on social media because they are remarkably incapable of keeping their mouth shut.

Now featuring Norah Lea, a recent addition to the Transit team and a past performer! (Photo witheld)

Norah Lea’s practice spans a variety of mediums including photography, film, video, performance, text and spoken word poetry. Rooted in self-portraiture, Norah engages with ideas of belonging and identity through frameworks such as gender performance, ethnographic portraits and the interweaving of transnational histories. She had her solo exhibition In Love at Coda Culture, Singapore (2018) and have also had her work shown at The Reference, Seoul, Korea (2019); Kawanishi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2019) and Image Forum Festival, Tokyo, Japan (2019) among others. She has also exhibited in group exhibitions such as Waning, Waxing, ION Art Gallery, Deciphering Clothes: The Troublemakers’ Wardrobe, Hatch Art Project; and MAT, Objectifs (Singapore, 2018-2019)

Next up on the list, we have Coen!

Coen Teo, new addition to Transit, dabbled in the JRock scene in the early 2010s playing guitar and backup vocals. He was also involved in several LGBTQ+ activism projects like the FTM workshop, Transbefrienders and a vlog documenting his transitioning journey. He currently sits on the committee of Bissu and Pink Dot. With Transit, Coen hopes to marry his love for music making with his activism work.
Fun fact: He can play all types of brass and string instruments.

On this TDoV, we'd like to introduce to you the faces behind the Transit team. Here's !

Drima is an English Literature graduate who masquerades as a PR professional during the day, transforming into a performance artist and poet at night. They are the communications manager for the LGBT group Bissu. Drima's writings have been published in anthologies such as Singapore Poetry Writing Month 2015, Anima Methodi: The Poetics of Mirroring, and journals such as Inside The Bell Jar. They dabble in noise with the experimental group Interdimensional Clown Collective. On all levels, including physical, they are a cat.

Today’s Trans Day of Visibility has a sombre feel as we continue on in the wake of the dismissed constitutional challenges to Section 377A. The failure to repeal the law - the criminalization of s*x between two consenting men - has a ripple effect on the laws, and therefore the attitudes of society that affect the LGBTQ+ community in Singapore.

We will not stop the fight for our rights. In the meantime, we will continue to live and love, hold space for our communities, make art, grieve and heal together. Let today be a day where we stand proud as who we are.

Transit stands in solidarity with the brave men who took on the court challenge. Let us push forward to the appeals, with bated breath.
***r ***rhistory

And WE'RE LIVE! Follow this Instagram account for updates on future events and open calls we will be having in due time!

Kudos to Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报 for celebrating the lives of three amazing trans women this past . Much of the fight for human rights has been spearheaded by trans women throughout history, till today. It is always heartening to see a local publication feature our community's strengths. Thanks to Pink Dot SG for providing a translation!

Transit updated their website address.

Transit updated their business hours.

We stand in solidarity on this day with Malaysia for the departed in our community. The fight for our rights continues across the causeway, at home, in the region and throughout the world.

Rest in power. You will be remembered.

Hear Malaysian Trans People Speak Up On Transgender Day of Remembrance 2019 | Q***r Lapis Article compiled by Rania Hashim In conjunction with Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), we commemorate the lives that have been lost to violence and hate crimes. This year, transgender rights ...