BEDA #5: Marriage advertisements are annoying. Part 1.

Hi guys.

I guess my BEDA posts are going to be like: “I think THIS of THIS” and not like “My day was awesome/ crappy.”

So y’all have to stay around and listen to ME on my soapbox :D

so. Relationships. This post is inspired by EveryoneIsGay.com: http://everyoneisgay.com/post/4339060926/how-do-you-know-when-its-time-to-let-a-relationship

It’s undoubtedly a personal issue, but I see no problem discussing it on the internet with the barrier of screens and keyboards and quasi-anonymity!

This issue has been bugging me of late. Bombarding me from all fronts, if you like. There are reminders everywhere: facebook statuses, friend’s partners, friends’ relationship woes. Even local radio stations don’t stop talking about LOVE and Marriage Convention 2011. (Which is a real thing actually, and there are all these het couples in the newspaper advertisements. I am sick of reading the local news and sick of listening to local radio not just because of the advertisements, but of the quality of broadcasts... but that’s for another blogpost.)

And to provide context, the Marriage Convention isn’t a “no to same-sex partnerships” thing, it’s organised by the singapore government as a “have more babies” thing.

The idea of same-sex civil unions hasn’t even fully entered the public consciousness yet; Section 377A of the penal code is still in place, which criminalizes sexual relations between two men.

I think it’s just demeaning that our society/ or government has decended to a point where our personal romantic relationships become the GOVERNMENT’S business. While the declining birth rate is an issue, it isn’t the *only* issue that political leaders have to deal with right now, nor is it the most pressing, in my opinion. At least, I don’t think it’s pressing to the extent that the government has to create its own dating agency.

Case in point: “The vision of the new SDN (Social Development Network) is to facilitate marriages and nurture a culture where singles view marriage as a top life goal.” Excuse me? MARRIAGE as a top life goal? I can’t even.

It’s not a big enough issue to feature in the upcoming elections, but it just irks me personally, and I’m not quite sure why. I did make a video about this 2 years ago, and it probably is a crappy one, but you can watch it! I have no idea what I said in it. It is also probably very ranty, because its duration is 6:39. I did do some editing though, and I look stupid, but. Enjoy:

Yeah, watch that, or not watch that, while I figure out why I get so annoyed. To be continued tomorrow!

In the meantime, you should check out Sanne’s BEDA :D http://booksandquills.blogspot.com/