These Six Singapore LGBTQ+ Organisations are Beating COVID-19 with Online Events and Safe Spaces

Despite the recent circuit breaker causing physical safe spaces and events for the queer community to shut down in Singapore, some LGBTQ+ organisations have risen above the pandemic to offer safe spaces online for group activities, talks and support groups.

These efforts, highlighted biweekly on Prout’s queer news and events Telegram broadcast, are proof that there are still safe spaces for the queer community to gather and hangout despite the pandemic.

Here are five organisations that are putting up such events:

1. Out in SG

What started out as a group for fitness events within the queer community has ballooned into a social group that has more than 3,000 members who are both attendees and event organisers, creating social and fitness events for the group.

During the circuit breaker, their events have turned from ‘out’ to ‘in’ as the group has turned their social and fitness events into Zoom calls. A sample of their events are as follows:

• HIIT Sundays
• Support meeting on Fridays
• Mid-week mindfulness sessions

You can find them on Facebook here.

2. Sayoni

This group for LBTQ+ women has turned their stable of talks into online webinars focusing on issues affecting the community due to the coronavirus, such as coping with hostile family environments and self-care.

It’s next event is:

• Solidarity Among the Solitary: Queer Singlehood for LBTQ+ Persons

You can find them on Facebook here.

3. Prout

Yes, we’re going to shamelessly promote ourselves here because we’ve taken our monthly Queer Trivia Night flagship event online!

The event happening on 28 May is full but we will be doing a massive virtual one during Pride Month on 17 June, hosted by none other than #wokeaf influencer Preetipls!

To subscribe to further updates on this huge event coming in June, you can subscribe to the event on Facebook here and be notified when new event details emerge closer to the date.

Follow Prout on Telegram for more queer event updates here.

4. Queer Zinefest SG

The group that organised an annual maker event to highlight queer zine culture in Singapore has gone online for daily “pajama parties” on the weekdays from 8.30–9.30pm.

The event is hosted on their Instagram page and features a rotating stable of makers and creators doing everything from poetry and animation to discussions on racism and self-care tools.

Follow them on Instagram here.

5. The Bi+ Collective Singapore

Taking a leaf out of the Queer Zinefest SG folks, this collective has just launched an Instagram Live series called (Bi+)esized featuring live Q&As and “talking bi+ shiz”.

They launched their first event on May 23 called “Let’s Be Lonely Together” which is the first of hopefully other Instagram Live sessions to come.

Follow them on Instagram here and follow the official collective on Instagram here.

6. Men Gone Running

If you’re spending your quarantine time running (physically and metaphorically away from life’s problems), then this group provides a virtual companion for your runs.

The group, which previously met weekly on the weekends, now does virtual runs where you are encouraged to upload selfies and screenshots of your running app. The group will then publish collages of these images regularly.

Follow them on their Facebook group here.

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Let us know in the comments if there are other groups organising online events!

Text: Kyle Malinda-White for Prout