For the first time, EVERYONE can participate in Pink Dot 2020! Tune in to livestream Pink Dot in Singapore from anywhere in the world on 27 June

Since 2009, Pink Dot SG has served as a safe space for the Singapore LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community with its annual bash in Hong Lim Park. It’s always a joyous day filled with performances, fun activities, and lots of pink that puts a Singapore spin on Pride celebrations around the world. While Pink Dot is traditionally limited to only Singaporeans and permanent residents due to government regulations around the use of Hong Lim Park, since this year’s event is going digital due to coronavirus concerns, everyone in Singapore (and beyond) can participate in Pink Dot.

To get in the spirit of Pink Dot 2020, we’re all invited to ​Light Up,​ ​Sign Up and ​Show Up! From fun pink fairy lights to a livestream concert, there are still plenty of tangible ways to celebrate Pink Dot in Singapore. Read on for all the deets!

Pink Dot 12 Theme: Love Lives Here

The theme for the 12th edition of Pink Dot, ​Love Lives Here, highlights the challenges faced by LGBTQ Singaporeans who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Local LBTQ organisation Sayoni reports that about 21% of those they surveyed expressed concerns about their identity being disclosed to families or said they were living in hostile family environments.

In support of this year’s theme, everyone in Singapore is invited to sign up and leave a virtual message of support. Be sure to mark your location on the map, then tune in on 27 June to see how the map lights up with all of our messages!

Pink Dot 2020 Light Up

Decorate your home with pink lights during the month of June to show support to those who might not be able to do so. Check out how this family DIY-ed their own (it’ll be a fun one to do with the kids!), or purchase pink fairy lights from the Pink Dot e-store for $20, with proceeds supporting Pink Dot 12 activities like producing the campaign video, organising the online concert, and social media outreach. [UPDATE: These have now sold out!] How much fun would it be to walk around Singapore spotting pink lights? Do note that while everyone is free to light up their own private spaces – including rooms and windows – you cannot light up common areas like corridors, the outside of HDB units, etc.

Show Up for the Pink Dot 2020 Livestream

Look forward to an exciting live stream on the Pink Dot website from 8pm to 9:30pm. An online concert will include performances by homegrown artistes Charlie Lim, Joanna Dong and Mathilda D’Silva, and shine a spotlight on up-and-coming musicians Apex Project, Chris Hong, Leon Markus and Qyo. You’ll also be the first to catch the premiere of several videos:

• A freshly commissioned music video featuring 35 local drag queens
• Animated short films based on the lived experiences of LGBTQ youths shared on @MyQueerStorySG
• A special Pink Dot episode of ‘Nobody Asked’ by local influencer and activist Preetipls
• A short documentary about a queer family forced to make difficult decisions due to the Covid-19 situation

How to Get Kids Involved in Pink Dot 2020

We love that Pink Dot in Singapore is such a family-friendly event – balloons traditionally figure prominently! – as it teaches kiddos about important topics like love, equality, inclusion and acceptance. Pride Month is about “being able to be fully who you are, no matter who you are,” as Eliza Byard of the non-profit advocacy network GLSEN told Mashable. “When you let your child experience you talking about that, it may give them permission to be who they are.”

Family participation is so crucial, as Pink Dot’s organisers point out, because [for so many LGBTQ individuals in Singapore] “familial relationships often get compromised due to a lack of understanding.” A big part of Pink Dot is getting people to think about the issues commonly faced by the LGBTQ community, both inside and outside of their families, with a goal of promoting understanding and unity amongst family and friends.

Read more: An SG Mama on Parenting & Supporting a Transgender Child

Even if no one in your family identifies as LGBTQ, explaining Pink Dot and its significance can help to reduce and eliminate anti-LGBT prejudice, and demonstrates to your kids the importance of being an ally (crucial here, as in the fight against racism). Just as it is important to talk to children about race from a very early age, so you can talk to your kids about LGBTQ+ identity. It needn’t be framed as a conversation about sexuality, but rather on being able to love whomever we choose, and to feel happy and confident in our own identity. For a wealth of resources presented in a local context (and four languages), be sure to check out Congregaytion.

Leow Yangfa, Executive Director of Singapore’s LGBTQ+ community organisation Oogachaga who is also a trained social worker and counsellor, recommends parents think about what concepts their kids are familiar with – such as love, family members, friends, fairness – and also consider what you would like your child to value. Identity? Respect? Diversity? Standing up against discrimination, racism, homophobia, and transphobia?

“Depending on the age of the child, parents can never go wrong when they stay with what’s factual and familiar for the child,” he says. “As we all know, most children like to feel safe and secure, and prefer to take cues from their parents or trusted adults.”

If you’re interested in finding age-appropriate books to help explain these topics to your kids, consider reaching out to Pelangi Pride Centre, which is run by local “lesbrarians” (lesbian +librarians) Eileena Lee and Charmaine Tan. You can find their entire catalogue online, including a dedicated children’s collection, and books are available for lending on Saturdays.

Additionally, here are a few highly recommended books geared towards children aged 3 and up:

• Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
• Daddy, Papa and Me by Leslea Newman
• The Family Book by Todd Parr
• Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero by Ellie Royce
• Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
• And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
• The Different Dragon by Jennifer Bryan
• The Rainbow Flag: Bright, Bold, and Beautiful by Michelle Millar Fisher

We’ll see you at Pink Dot 12 on June 27th, mamas!

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