March: "Sex in my City – How prudish are we? How much do you dare?"
“Sex in my City – How prudish are we? How much do you dare?”How do people of my age meet, court or otherwise get ‘engaged’? What are the rules of the game? Which role do they play? And what does the family, religion and tradition say? What role do my city’s media play here?
Let us first take a look at Malaysia. Faz Kamaruddin describes a relaxed gathering of friends talking about sex and their love-life in a seemingly casual way. However, the conversation soon takes a twist: One of the young women is worried that she might be reported to the religious department for having an affair. Consequently, Faz reports about a recent incident in which the media broadcasted warnings against "immoral acts" on Valentine's Day, followed by a religious crackdown that saw nearly 100 Muslims arrested for "being alone with someone of the opposite sex other than their spouses". Faz concludes her piece calling for "better ways than religious crackdowns to advocate 'sin-free lifestyle'". Her call does not go unnoticed: The entry triggers a thread of comments, and it results in Faz and Thian Leong Lim talking in detail about sexuality and the CityScapes project on local radio station BMF 89.9. The full radio interview can be downloaded here.
Saigon-based To Van Nga tackles the theme in a very different way. Since the beginning of the project in January 2011, Nga has been known as the poet blogger of the CityScapes team. In March, she covers not only sexuality but also touches on issues such as migration and identity in a globalised world. This is particularly interesting as Nga writes her poems in English, which is not her mother tongue. Using the second language adds a self-referential dimension to her "Mixed Couples" poem. She opens with "Century of Asia / People flock here with ambitious or lonely hearts / To places they call home", develops her line of thought through a range of characters and attributes, before closing with "Mixed couples / Ambitious hearts and minds / Reaching for a beautiful life / And the place you never been to". In Nga's poems, there is certainly beauty and individuality, but also "mystery filled in the clumpsy (sic) language". 
Agan Harahap takes us straight into Jakarta's red light district, Taman Lawang. Pointing out that this part of the city is known for its high crime rate, his series of black-and-white photographs invite the viewer to take a glimpse into the eyes of local transvestites offering sexual satisfaction for money. Despite the dark setting and the rough nature of their surroundings, the prostitutes' eyes show not only tragedy, but also pride. While there seem to be hints of sadness and insecurity, one also sees a healthy dose of spite and self-confidence. The images were shown at Goethe Haus Jakarta as part of an exhibition looking at the photographers' perception of the (female) body and its reflection of social relations in society.
Bangkok-based Liam Morgan takes us away from the street and onto the screen, reporting on the culture of online flirting and hook-ups among Thai youth. Liam was given access to dating websites using a friend's account, so he had the opportunity to explore what he calls the "online love options" of a 24-year-old Thai woman. In a series of screen shots, he lets the viewer take part in these options. What seems funny at first quickly leaves an impression of an impersonal, synthetic, and ultimately "fake" online identify.
Skye Tan from Singapore presents a video based on interviews with people on the street and a group of students. He asks them to describe in one word what sex means to Singaporeans. While some of the participants use positive terms such as mind-blowing, fun, and awesome, others opt for conservative, boring, secret, and taboo. Interestingly, only relatively few participants say Singaporeans associate sex with the word love. In a second part of the video, Skye asks "Do you buy the idea of a one-night stand?", cutting and editing the answers into highly amusing "yes-versus-no" sections. As much as the clip is entertaining, it does provide a deep insight in the multi-faceted views of sexuality in this particular city.
As Jennifer Lush states in a comment on fellow Sydney blogger Jens Schröder's entry, it was "no easy task to find people willing to open up about their sex lives or even talk about the topic in general". Her audio piece is like a testimony to this challenge: Actual information about the Australian interviewees' sex lives is buried in a sea of giggles, laughs and jokes. A male commentator states flatly that "sex and drugs are awesome", while a female voice explains that a so-called "starfish in bed" is someone who "does not show any enthusiasm at all, just goes with the current". It is interesting to see just how easily the conversation drifts off from private into more general – and therefore presumably safer – territory. As the background music courtesy of Edvard Grieg launches into its own climax, the male voice states: "The conclusion is, we live in a city of prudes", with the female voice agreeing in a typical Australian way: "More or less, yeah". STATEMENT
Please note that these six examples may serve to give you a rough idea of what is to be found in the CityScapes Blog, but bear in mind that all other entries are just as great, so definitely go and explore the blog as a whole!
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