Your Smile Is The Cause For JOY

The gleam of innocence, now long lost, shines in my 21 year old eyes. With Marg Gardner and Paul Terdich.

A year ago today I handed over community radio station JOY 94.9 to incoming General Manager Danae Gibson.

When I became the station’s acting General Manager I was the youngest and its longest serving staff member at the time. At the 2009 Annual General Meeting and I gave a speech that was the culmination of 5 years experience with the organisation I’d joined as a bright-eyed 21 year old; it was a special moment.

I recently came back from a conference, which asked “how do we build resilience into our communities?” Coming from a Vietnamese background I know that a common traumatic experience can bring people together to make them strong and enable them to survive against all odds. As a people we suffered several great wars.

While the gay and lesbian community hasn’t had a war per say, we’ve had plenty of battles. The ones I want to talk about today are the personal ones. I’m talking about our coming out experiences. That period of time when we struggle to build a life outside the norm and connect with our community for the first time. Each of us have had different ones, but we have faced this common trauma.

Growing up I was very aware of the power of radio to bind people together – hold entire communities and connect them. SBS Vietnamese radio was like a religion on my household, it was the thing the bound us to our lost home. I believe that JOY is the temple of our queer community. It binds all of us here, together.

As you know, this year has been a big one for JOY. There have been big changes. We’ve stepped up to the challenge and there have been clear results. New partnerships, new programs, new awards, new studios, new adventures ahead with our 16th birthday around the corner.

It’s not all been smooth sailing. There have been difficult times and hard decisions to make. But how we come together to tackle them is what proves our salt. Makes us strong. Makes us resilient. Makes us greater than the sum of all our parts.

We are on the cusp of more great change. As we turn 16, like a true teenager, have become aware of the power we possess and are now learning how to wield it. The launch of QNN indicates that we are national. At the same time we need to be aware and concerned about what happens rurally and regionally too. We will also always remain staunchly local.

Today, I want to share with you what makes me resilient. Stories are gifts and today I want to give back something in thanks for the great gift given to me 10 years ago, when I turned 16.

I was a young Catholic boy in suburbia from a Vietnamese background (patriarchal society, living for the family, having sons to carry on the name) – yet I had a crush on a boy in class. I hadn’t yet added this up to equal “being gay” and so anger, isolation, fear and suicide filled my every day thoughts. I wanted to be free of a torment I didn’t undestand.

Channel surfing on the wireless one day I found that freedom. Hearing another young man say on air that he too had a crush on a boy in class was an awakening. Freedom, euphoria, pure joy. JOY for me in that moment was life changing and life saving radio.

I believe in this organisation because of the amazing work we do. I believe that we give people a safe space for emotional self expression and exploration. For listeners struggling with their sexuality or in the process of coming out, JOY can give them a whole new lease on life. It certainly gave me mine.

Yet, my story is only one among thousands. Among millions to come. Thank you everyone for carrying the important message of JOY. We’ve done some great work and made 16 years of fabulous radio. Here’s to 16 more!

Now I leave you with a quote from reknowned Vietnamese Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh “JOY sometimes is the cause for your smile. Your smile is the cause for JOY.”

The Wright Touch

Reach for the sky! Still aiming for the Wright touch.

Liam Wright is a bit of a genius when it comes to photography.

I met him during a photoshoot for the Minus18 Same Sex Formal and we booked the front cover of MCV. Since then, we bonded over a mutual love for Grand Designs, Lady Gaga and the “golden shot”.

There’s a few distinctive things about Liam’s work that I like, including the colour mood, the inventive way people are captured and how he makes the mundane extraordinary. These last few days I’ve been wandering around Singapore thinking “what would Liam do?”.

He helped me pick out my camera which I’ve named Camii. It’s a sexy and sleek yet solid Canon Powershot G11 – it feels like it’s built to last. As a hybrid, Camii is an excellent digicam yet features more manual settings than the average. I figure if I learn to use all the manual settings, I’ll allow myself to upgrade to a DSLR – still, I have a lot to learn first.

My first few snaps, felt a bit contrived, like I was striving too hard to replicate images I’d seen before. After a bit of advice from Paul Terdich, I’ve eased up and my motto in “don’t think construction, feel the composition”. I’m doing my best to switch off the logical side of my brain and turn on the creative.

Soon I hope I’ll develop my own style, while still having the Wright touch.

A Paul Order

Paul Terdich and Bailey, the gentlest dog in all Singapore.

I’m currently travelling under the title of Foreign Correspondent for community station JOY 94.9 (Australia’s first and only gay and lesbian full time radio station).

Today I caught up with former radio boss and now Singapore resident Paul Terdich. He showed me the town and I must have lampooned him with a million questions.

How many people live here? Where are the gays? Are they out and proud? Is it illegal? Does the government do anything about it? How long is the compulsory military service? How does the average Singaporean feel about it? What about gays in the military? What about in theatre and entertainment? Is that guy I saw on TV gay? How do I get in touch with that (really cute) TV presenter?

It was a tall order, but he answered everything (in greater detail) but here’s the summary, respectively:

5 million; around; some; yes; they close one eye; 2 years; some feel it slows down men’s education and careers, some feel it improves Singapore society and some don’t know otherwise; of course; maybe; Googgle?

It turns out the man in question is Eddy Herbert, presenter of a naff travel program held together by the sheer power of his smile.  Is he gay? Like I’ve found with most Singaporeans, I just can’t tell. Regardless, I’m not the only one who’s taken a fancy though, he was voted ‘most likely to sizzle your screen’ (seriously) for Cleo Bachelor of the Year 2008. Looks like I have stiff competition.