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Multi-hyphenated local artist, Charmaine Poh, shares her thoughts on the importance of recognising the LGBTQIA+ community as a heterogeneous one and the imperative need for systemic changes.

see Charmaine’s photography, film, and performance works here.

share with us a little about yourself.

Hi, I'm Charmaine and I'm an artist – I work with photography, film, and performance.

how do you identify? what are your pronouns?

I identify as pansexual and my pronouns are she/her.

do you feel a sense of belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community?

I think the community is not a monolith, and I consider myself very lucky to have close friends who are part of the community and have become like family to me.

what are some stereotypes of the LGBTQIA+ community that you have come across?

Some stereotypes are that they often lead messy and unstable lives. And I just want to say that if you are in a system that doesn't make it easy for you, you're bound to try and find your own way to do things, and those might not always be so neat.

“I think the community is not a monolith, and I consider myself very lucky to have close friends who are part of the community – they’ve become like family to me."

what does love mean to you?

Love is understanding and listening.

what do you love most about yourself?

I love that I observe and listen well.

tell us about your first love.

My first love was when I was 16, and it was really intense. It’s the kind of euphoria that you don’t really have words for and we weren’t allowed to give it a name either, but it’s something that you don’t forget.

what do you wish to see in Singapore's LGBTQIA+ community in the next 10 years?

I would really like to see protections for the community that are set in place to allow them to lead flourishing lives.

Photography Darren Gabriel Leow Photography Assistant Eric Tan Styling Daryll Alexius Yeo Hair & Makeup Hongling & Benedict Choo Featuring Charmaine Poh Special Thanks Bessie Ye, Amelie Lim, Ariel Wang

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