Our concerns regarding ‘Beauty and the Beast’

13 March 2017 by
Beauty and the Beast text

Beauty and the Beast text taken from commons.wikimedia.org

The society’s current President, Mr Tan Tatt Si, wrote to key figures regarding the negative reactions to the film ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

The Humanist Society (Singapore) expresses concerns over calls by some segments of the public to censor the upcoming film, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, over the depiction of a gay character in the film.

Our Society is a non-profit organisation gazetted in 2010. We are a community of humanists, atheists, agnostics, and other like-minded people in Singapore. Over the past 7 years, we have organised many public talks reaching hundreds of people, partnered with universities and public agencies for several projects, taken part in more than 10 interfaith dialogues, and worked with VWOs to engage in community service. We have also written to the press to contribute to public debates over key national issues.

Our Society recognises that many people in Singapore are still uncomfortable with the LGBT community and a delicate balance has to be achieved between those who want change, and those preferring the status quo. Our national laws and media regulations take into account these existing sensitivities. We understand that the mainstream media, such as national TV programmes, newspapers, and radio channels play an important role in nation-building and maintaining our social fabric. While the portrayals of LGBT individuals on visual mediums such as television programmes are carefully calibrated, a ‘light touch’ has been adopted for online content, and LGBT communities have found some space for expression on blogs and YouTube. LGBT communities also celebrate the annual Pink Dot event.

That said, the Humanist Society urges the government to allow our media regulations to evolve further with changing mindsets. An increasing number of younger Singaporeans are becoming more accepting and understanding of the LGBT community. Scores of global professionals, investors, as well as academics who live, work, and play in our city also look forward to contributing to a nation that is accommodating of different viewpoints. This includes highly-skilled human capital crucial for our ongoing economic restructuring.

We hope that the IMDA will not censor or rate ‘Beauty and the Beast’ excessively, over the depiction of one gay character in the film. Educating the public about inclusiveness towards sexual minorities and raising awareness about the discrimination they face will facilitate the maturing of views regarding the LGBT community. Censoring or banning the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ also deprives the chance for the majority of families who have no issues with the depiction of homosexual characters to appreciate the movie in the theatres as the filmmakers intended. This includes many humanists and freethinkers, many of whom have no issues with the LGBT community.

Best regards,

Mr Tan Tatt Si
President

On behalf of the Executive Committee
Humanist Society (Singapore)

Blog, Featured Articles/Letters, Press Tags:

Our Darwin Day 2017: In the Footsteps of Wallace

26 February 2017 by

The Wallace Trail at Bukit Timah is named in honour of Alfred Russel Wallace, the British naturalist who independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection. He visited Singapore many times from 1854 – 1862 as part of his eight-year stay in the Malay archipelago. To get closer to the remaining primary forests, Wallace stayed with a French Roman Catholic missionary at St Joseph’s in Bukit Timah district. During his time in Singapore, Wallace trekked daily into the hilltops and collected thousands of insects and birds.

[Read more…]
Blog, Featured Articles/Letters

Humans of HumanistSG

5 February 2017 by

DSC_0279

Who is behind the Humanist Society? What kind of people are they?  What are their respective roles in keeping the humanist movement alive? Our executive committee members share some of their thoughts here!

If you are inspired to contribute to the HumanistSG like we did, you can easily do so! Membership is free for students and retirees gets 50% discount! Join us today!

If you are already a member, you should nominate an existing member for office before the Annual General Meeting, which happens every year around March.

 

 

Announcements, Blog

Annual General Meeting 2017

30 January 2017 by

The Humanist Society (Singapore) invites all our members to our Annual General Meeting (AGM).
If you want to find out more about HSS and our activities, our past events in 2016 and our future plans for 2016 and beyond, do join us on 4 March 2017.
We will also be electing several key appointment holders for 2017 (see below) and we would certainly appreciate your support.

Date
04/03/2017

Time
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Location
OnePeople.sg
381 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh S319758
Singapore

AGENDA
  1.  Introduction by President
  2. Events and Activities in 2016/17
  3. Press and media coverage in 2016/17
  4. Auditor and Treasurer’s report
  5. Constitutional ammendments
  6. Election of New committee members
    1. Vice-President
    2. Secretary
    3. Committee Member

To attend the AGM, you must be a member of HumanistSG. You can sign up https://humanist.org.sg/membership-faq/membership/ on the day of the AGM or renew your membership to attend the AGM.

For members who wish to vote for committee members, but are unable to attend the AGM, please e-mail secretary@humanist.org.sg to request to vote by proxy. We will forward details concerning the nominees and further information about proxy voting to you by further e-mail.

Announcements

Strategic offense-takers and their threat to Singapore

20 January 2017 by

In multi-religious, multiracial Singapore, many Singaporeans will not hesitate to stand up on behalf of countrymen at the receiving end of racist jokes, insults and discrimination. From young, Singaporeans have been taught the importance of respecting different religions and cultural practices. Where public education is insufficient, the government has an array of legal tools to tackle instigators of religious and racial conflict. [Read more…]

Blog, Featured Articles/Letters

Nomination for Executive Committee 2017/2018

7 January 2017 by

Dear members,

We are calling for our Annual General Meeting for 2017. We would like to invite our members to be a part of the Executive Committee.
The positions in the Executive Committee for the year 2017 are as follows.

1) Vice-President: Open to members of the society for a minimum of 1 year and must be a Singaporean citizen / permanent resident

2) Secretary: Open to members of the society for a minimum of 1 year and must be a Singaporean citizen / permanent resident

3) Committee Member: Open to members of the society for a minimum of 6 months

The length of term for all offices is 2 years.

For a description of the roles and responsibilities of the above roles are outlined in The Society’s Constitution, which can be accessed at https://humanist.org.sg/about/our-constitution/

Members are free to nominate themselves or another member of the society.
Nominations must be seconded by another member of the society.
Please submit the following details for the nominee, the member recommending the nominee, if not the same individual , and the member seconding the nomination

Title: Nomination for HumanistSG Exco 2017/18

1) Full Name
2) IC number (for Singaporean citizens / permanent resident)
3) E-mail
4) Contact number

Please submit the details to secretary@humanist.org.sg by the 30th of January 2017. Any submissions after 2359hrs on said date will not be applicable.

Please feel free to contact us at secretary@humanist.org if you have any further queries concerning the nomination process.

Announcements

Tatt Si’s speech at the EU Delegation to Singapore

10 December 2016 by

lreuhrd_1204

Our President Tan Tatt Si delivered this speech at a dialogue regarding the ‘Freedom of religion or belief in Singapore and ASEAN’, organised by the EU Delegation to Singapore on Dec 9, 2016, at Raffles Hotel. Photos courtesy of European Union Delegation to Singapore. [Read more…]

Blog, Featured Articles/Letters

Jerry Coyne at Yale-NUS College

9 December 2016 by

Written by Nic Das, photos and video by Tatt Si

Professor Jerry Coyne took part in a dialogue regarding evolution, science and faith at Yale-NUS college. Dr Philip Johns from Yale-NUS moderated the dialogue, held on the evening of November 1, 2016. During the dialogue, Dr Coyne argued that the scientific method and religions are incompatible means of understanding the world. It is also difficult to separate science and religion into two neat categories answering different life questions because religious makes scientific statements. Dr Coyne also addressed several questions during the QnA segment.

[Read more…]

Blog, Featured Articles/Letters

Acceptance of evolution is weak, even in the first-world: Dr Jerry Coyne

3 November 2016 by

LKC-NHM from ThatMoment.sg on Vimeo

While not all religious people oppose evolution, religion remains the obstacle towards public acceptance of evolution in “large swathes” across the world today, said evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne. (Watch the full lecture above)

Speaking at a public lecture at National University of Singapore (NUS) on Oct 31, Dr Coyne lamented that despite the overwhelming empirical evidence in favor of evolution, public acceptance of the theory remains weak even in many first-world countries. [Read more…]

Blog, Featured Articles/Letters

Young Humanists SG meetup #2

18 October 2016 by

Young Humanists SG held a second meeting at Humanist Cafe on November 10, 2016, building on discussions conducted at our first meeting. About 8-10 students and alumni were present at the meeting. Key points: [Read more…]

Announcements, Blog
« Previous Page
Next Page »