Alex Au
Encyclopedia
Alex Au Waipang, also known by his Internet
nom de plume as Yawning Bread, is part of the Singapore gay equality movement.
He is the author of a website
, where he provides analyses of Singaporean
politics, culture, gay
issues and miscellaneous subjects.
descent, was born in Singapore in 1952. He attended the Anglo-Chinese School
for his primary and secondary education and obtained his tertiary degree from the National University of Singapore
.
After graduation, he worked in a managerial position at a British
multinational corporation before branching out on his own as the proprietor of several business catering to the gay community, as well as freelance writing.
He was one of the founding members, along with Joseph Lo and Dr. Russell Heng, of Singapore's main gay equality lobby group People Like Us, and also the founder and list owner of the Singapore Gay News List (SiGNeL), the first discussion forum for Singapore's gay community.
He is also the co-author of two books, People Like Us: Sexual Minorities in Singapore and a French-language treatise on homophobia
entitled L'Homophobie.
In 2002, he was presented with the Utopia award for outstanding contributions towards the advancement of gay equality in Asia, the only Singaporean recipient thus far of the honour.
In July 2003, Au became the first Singaporean to be quoted by the now-defunct Channel i as a gay activist (watch the newsclip). His views were solicited in the wake of Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong
's recent announcement that the hiring of gays in the civil service would henceforth be liberalised.
In the run-up to the 2006 Singapore general election, Au provided extensive coverage of the opposition parties' rallies which was attended by overwhelming crowds (see photo and whole report) photographed by Au. It also gained Au's Yawning Bread website the distinction of being the mentioned as a "blog" by Channel News Asia (view newsclip) to provide citizen journalism
, a phenomenon not seen in previous general elections.
As the motivating force behind People Like Us
and leveraging on his connections with leading practitioners in the local gay arts scene, Au organised IndigNation, Singapore's first gay pride month in 2005 and Short Circuit, Singapore's first gay film festival in 2006.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
nom de plume as Yawning Bread, is part of the Singapore gay equality movement.
He is the author of a website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, where he provides analyses of Singaporean
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
politics, culture, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
issues and miscellaneous subjects.
Biography
Au, English-educated and of CantoneseCantonese people
The Cantonese people are Han people whose ancestral homes are in Guangdong, China. The term "Cantonese people" would then be synonymous with the Bun Dei sub-ethnic group, and is sometimes known as Gwong Fu Jan for this narrower definition...
descent, was born in Singapore in 1952. He attended the Anglo-Chinese School
Anglo-Chinese School
The Anglo-Chinese School ; is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore, and Indonesia.The name is usually abbreviated as "ACS", with the junior college as "ACJC", and its students and alumni referred to as "ACSians" , or "ACS boys" .ACS was the first school...
for his primary and secondary education and obtained his tertiary degree from the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
.
After graduation, he worked in a managerial position at a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
multinational corporation before branching out on his own as the proprietor of several business catering to the gay community, as well as freelance writing.
He was one of the founding members, along with Joseph Lo and Dr. Russell Heng, of Singapore's main gay equality lobby group People Like Us, and also the founder and list owner of the Singapore Gay News List (SiGNeL), the first discussion forum for Singapore's gay community.
He is also the co-author of two books, People Like Us: Sexual Minorities in Singapore and a French-language treatise on homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
entitled L'Homophobie.
In 2002, he was presented with the Utopia award for outstanding contributions towards the advancement of gay equality in Asia, the only Singaporean recipient thus far of the honour.
In July 2003, Au became the first Singaporean to be quoted by the now-defunct Channel i as a gay activist (watch the newsclip). His views were solicited in the wake of Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 28 November 1990 to 12 August 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime...
's recent announcement that the hiring of gays in the civil service would henceforth be liberalised.
In the run-up to the 2006 Singapore general election, Au provided extensive coverage of the opposition parties' rallies which was attended by overwhelming crowds (see photo and whole report) photographed by Au. It also gained Au's Yawning Bread website the distinction of being the mentioned as a "blog" by Channel News Asia (view newsclip) to provide citizen journalism
Citizen journalism
Citizen journalism is the concept of members of the public "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal 2003 report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information...
, a phenomenon not seen in previous general elections.
As the motivating force behind People Like Us
People Like Us
People Like Us is a British comedy programme, a spoof on-location documentary written by John Morton, and starring Chris Langham as Roy Mallard, an inept interviewer...
and leveraging on his connections with leading practitioners in the local gay arts scene, Au organised IndigNation, Singapore's first gay pride month in 2005 and Short Circuit, Singapore's first gay film festival in 2006.