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Posts from the “Haiyoh” Category

Recent conversation with a lesbian activist*

Posted on December 24, 2012

We were in the company of women and a transman, talking about male pregnancy (as in: transmen getting pregnant). I noted that my uncle, though not remarkably liberal, identifies as such and had said that a pregnant man was “going too far”. I thought it was a curious line to draw, and was surprised to find that despite being in the company of many lesbians and gay-friendly liberals, everyone else felt the same way. Her: It’s just wrong. They’ve made a choice. Me: So transmen shouldn’t have babies because they made a choice? Her: Yes. Me: What is this choice? Her: They’ve taken hormones, surgery…It’s a choice they’ve made. Me: So because they’ve chosen to be men, they should not get pregnant? Her: Yes.…

Categories: Malaysiana

Dear Diary, Bersih 3.0 really sucked.

Posted on June 8, 2012

So it’s June and I think it’s finally safe to talk about Bersih 3.0. My reluctance to address my attendance of the (supposed sit-in) demonstration had much to do with: 1) the politicisation of Bersih, which I am very tired of and 2) the collective crazy of some participants. I went to Bersih 3.0 for work, as a photographer. I was also supposed to be live-tweeting, but for whatever reasons (network flooded/rumoured mobile jammers), that did not work out at all. If I weren’t there for work, I would have been following updates of the rally from the safety of my home. Wearing my boxers. Eating Cheezels. For Bersih 2.0, I had done my homework the night before. Gotten numbers of lawyers, bought my…

Categories: Malaysiana, Work

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Observations while driving in Kuala Lumpur

Posted on April 13, 2012

1. Driving with a “P” sticker makes people go easier on me (tried and tested). 2. Most of my road rage stems from people driving like idiots. I’ve recalibrated my view to expect idiots. I only get upset at road bullies now. 3. Road bullies, when confronted, mostly run away. 4. It sucks to be a motorcyclist on our highways. It’s worse to be a pedestrian. 5. Any accident or parked car will cause a traffic jam on the highway. Anything. If you want to do guerrila advertisments, turn on your hazard lights, and park by the Federal highway. And maybe put your competitor’s ad all over the car, so drivers will curse them. 6. This is what I was taught in driving school.…

Categories: Malaysiana

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I watched (and hated) Ombak Rindu. The End.

Posted on April 6, 2012

I recently watched Ombak Rindu. The title above is my entire review. To elaborate: I expected it to be a straight up tragic love triangle story. Was. Not. Prepared. For. The. Fuckery. It’s like watching an atrociously written rape fantasy*. If the film had a message, it was “Rape is okay if  he’s your husband. Wait for him to fall in love with you”. I wonder how many feminists were stressed out by this film? The best thing (or, the only good thing) about Ombak Rindu is that it provided ample material for the recent theatre production Projek Disko Baldi in Love. When I first watched Projek Disko Baldi in Love (a series of comedy skits)*, I thought “All these budak baik kan, their…

Categories: Haiyoh, Theatre

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#yoRais

Posted on April 5, 2012

I can’t be bothered with what Rais Yatim says. He lost credibility so quickly and so long ago, he can’t even inspire my incredulity anymore. Most recently, a Singapore Dance Theatre ballet performance was cancelled due to “indecent costumes”. Twitter explodes. All I want to say is, I used to take ballet (heh. heh. heh); I pranced about in my tutu, wore carelessly tied ballet slippers, and more shades of pink than I care to acknowledge. What I have from those days are: super flexible feet excelling at jump rope as a child — skills later evolved into jumping over a wall taller than my head, to ponteng class in Ipoh Parade (some idiots built a mall next to my school). memories of practising…

Categories: Malaysiana

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