Best known for Rainbow Massacre, legendary Malaysian drag queen Shelah is playing her final show in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, Nov 23. Ng Yi-Sheng speaks to actor Edwin Sumun about showbiz, activism and how the reemergence of Shelah was in response to an ignorant local politician who said that pondans and mak nyahs should not be allowed to exist.
Fridae's Ng Yi-Sheng speaks with transgender writer, entertainer and activist Tiara Tiar Bahtiar, who had recently launched a book of anecdotes, poems and photographs of local transgender culture, about growing up and how the Bugis people traditionally believe that humans can be grouped into five different gender categories.
HIV expert and author Elizabeth Pisani has been on a mission for over a decade to get policymakers to understand how real-world behaviours influence HIV transmission and to overhaul antiquated, ineffective prevention strategies. She speaks to Fridae about her work in Indonesia, trends in gay Asia, and more.
From Aug 2-18, Toy Factory Productions presents Purple, a gritty drama based on the life of a Singaporean transgender woman. Fridae interviews the company director and playwright Goh Boon Teck.
Exclusive! Fridae's Hong Kong correspondent Nigel Collett and reporter Tony Ed Lo meet Booker Prize winner Alan Hollinghurst, author of the new novel The Stranger’s Child – his first since The Line Of Beauty won the Prize in 2004. His first four books, written over a span of almost 20 years, explores gay life in England, past and present but the latest takes a slight departure.
Audiences these days have come to expect "positive" gay-themed films from Thai filmmakers but Thai director-screenwriter Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, who recently screened his latest work P-047 at the Southeast Asian Film Festival in Singapore, says his country's filmmakers often aim for mainstream success by turning their gay and kathoey characters into targets for comedy.
The creators of the popular 2010 Asian Pacific Male Calendar has teamed up with Filipino-American director RD Alba to create a new reality show based on their behind-the-scenes experiences of creating the calendar that featured 12 sexy Asian American men to raise funds for charity and have just completed filming a reality TV pilot.
Just how far would you go to help out your community? Betu and Maya of Sangini, a Delhi-based lesbian support group, host an average of 20 "guests" – lesbian and bisexual women as well as transmen who find themselves disowned by their families or in danger after coming out – a year, in their South Delhi home and at times risk their own safety to do so.
Last year, the US Armed Forces finally ended Don't Ask Don't Tell, its anti-gay personnel policy. Former Army Lieutenant Dan Choi is one of the leading activists behind the change – but even though that battle's won, he hasn't stopped fighting. Choi speaks to Fridae in an exclusive interview.
Jennifer Chang and Lisa Dazols, a couple who are traveling the world in search of “Supergays” who are creating change for the LGBTQ community, speak with Xiangqi, the founder of Shanghai Nvai about setting up the city's only lesbian group for local Chinese, faux marriages where gay men and lesbian women marry one another, and lesbian life in China.
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