#14 - Winnie the Gay Pooh (He's happy, all right..)

How many of us have been enthralled by Winnie the Pooh’s adorable appearance, with the fitted red tee and protruding tummy? What about his gentle, optimistic and cheerful character that captivated the hearts of so many children? Most importantly, his beautiful name ‘Winnie’ that simply endears him to us! But why is he called Winnie?

Winnie the Pooh is given a male voice-over all along in the cartoon shows. He is constantly portrayed as a male bear that people refer to as a ‘he’. Winnie is intended to be a male persona, yet he bears the female name ‘Winnie’.

‘Winnie’ is a shorter version of the female name ‘Winifred’, an Anglicized form of ‘Gwenfrewi’. The latter is derived from the Welsh elements gwen, which means "white, fair and blessed", and frewi referring to "reconciliation and peace". This was originally the name of a 7th-century Welsh saint and martyr, who happened to be a woman. Therefore, ‘Winnie’ is indeed a female name unbefitting of a male bear like Pooh.

Could Pooh bear be caught amidst gender indiscrimination and an identity-crisis? Will his gender confusion have adverse effects on children who adore 'Winnie' the Pooh? Is it right that such a popular cartoon character that is targeted at children of tender ages should appear to cultivate a gender-hybrid image?

Perhaps, the ever cheerful Winnie is gay, in definitely more ways than one.

#13 - Love In Ancient Greece

Love is a highly complex word which can hardly be defined accurately, for it has far and deep connotations spread across various cultures. Throughout time in history, philosophers and writers, scholars and celebrities have attempted to define and categorize love within different contexts. Stumbling upon fascinating facts on ancient Greece and their interpretation of life, I was very much intrigued by their understanding of Love.

The Greeks of ancient civilization recognized and distinguished several versions of love. They strongly believed in love’s existence in many dimensions amongst all kinds of inter-personal relationships. Ancient Greeks coined the terms Xenia, Philia, Storge, Eros and Agape to represent different kinds of love one feels for another.

Foremost, Xenia was the basic concept of love that was of great importance to the Greeks who valued friendship between a host and his guest, both of whom may be complete strangers beforehand. Greeks emphasized on gracious sharing for hosts toward the guests and demanded an almost ritualized friendship between the two. Hence, Xenia is the basic arm of extension to practically everybody and anybody one may encounter in life. Homer’s Odyssey is an excellent example of how Xenia is integrated into the Greek culture.

Philia was a theory developed by Greek philosopher, Aristotle. It refers to a dispassionate virtuous love shared by friends, family, and community. Philia requires loyalty, virtue, equality and familiarity in order to be functional as it is a mutual emotion between two people who are on close terms. Differing from Philia is Storge, which is a natural affection specifically, shared between family members or relatives with blood ties. For instance, parents naturally feel for their children and these emotions are classified as Storge.

Charged with passion, sensual desire and longing, Eros is defined by Plato to be the initial affections felt for a person romantically (usually of the opposite sex). He then refined his concept by adding that the initial affections become an appreciation of the beauty within that person, and slowly evolves into the appreciation of beauty itself. Eros is a tool in seeking the true meaning of beauty and learning how to appreciate the beauty of a fellow human.

Lastly, Agape is selfless altruistic love. It often appears in descriptions of the love God has for mankind in the Bible and absolutely unconditional. Apparently the greatest and noblest kind of love as defined by the Ancient Greeks, Agape is cherished above all others.

So many dimensions within just the Greek culture, yet love continue to mystify most of us. There are many more interpretations of love and how one defines this abstraction will have to be left up to one’s own discretion.

#12 - "SingapoLians!"

An unusual phenomenon that is uniquely Singapore: girls clad in pink from head to toe, preferably with plenty of glitter and cute, flashy accessories. They sport fair complexions with heavy foundation, handphones with miniature disco lights, and are effectively bilingual in two languages – Singlish and Hokkien. These are our very own SingapoLians (pronounced as SING-AH-POR-LEE-ANS).

SingapoLians are very fond of the colour pink. Pink tops, pink jeans, pink shoes, pink bags, pink shades, pink earrings, pink belts, pink handphone covers, pink bracelets – you name the accessory, they’re bound to own it in pink. Every shade of the feminine colour appeals to them, but they especially adore hot pink that screams louder than a banshee.

Their motto reads “got cash, must flash!” Therefore, SingapoLians hanker after branded goods with humongous logos and obvious designs, such as Louis Vuitton and Fendi. Style and design do not matter to them, so long as the style equates into sure signs of the cost for the branded possessions they acquired – the bigger the logo, the more popular it is with SingapoLians.

Their excellent grasp of local colloquialisms, as demonstrated in the fluent Hokkien and perfect Singlish they speak, is the most important attribute because it makes them so much a part of the Singapore culture. Even though many may cringe at the sound of their language, the myriad of ‘lah!’, ‘meh?’ and ‘lor!’ thrown in actually endears these girls to the heartlanders’ way of life.

SingapoLians are a special group of girls representing Singapore in a different light, in a different local setting. Some Singaporeans may feel embarrassed by their mannerisms and fashion style, but I personally beg to differ.

I am not ashamed of them, but are you?

#11 - Dandyism

Metrosexuality is an increasingly popular phenomenon in the modern society. Men with an apparent narcissistic edge can be found preening themselves meticulously and taking great pains to look well-groomed. Oscar Wilde, the author of The Importance of Being Earnest and one of my all-time favourite writers, was a metrosexual (he was a homosexual as well, but I digress). In fact, he was more than just a metrosexual - he was a full-fledged dandy.

According to Merriam-Webster online, Dandyism is a literary and artistic style of the latter part of the 19th century, marked by artificiality and excessive refinement. The dandy, a man under the influence of Dandyism, is simply a pioneering metrosexual from the yore. The word dandy is of unknown origin, only recognized to be a vogue word during the Napoleonic Wars. George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (1778-1840), an associate of the Prince Regent was the earliest dandy. He always appeared immaculately bathed and shaved, dressed in a plain dark blue coat that was perfectly brushed and of perfect fit. An early celebrity from the mid-1790s, he was widely known for his laconic wit.

The poet Charles Baudelaire wrote that an aspiring dandy must have "no profession other than elegance... no other status but that of cultivating the idea of beauty in their own persons.... The dandy must aspire to be sublime without interruption; he must live and sleep before a mirror." A dandy gives exaggerated attention to personal appearance, and delights in elegance and accessories such as white gloves, etc. Many of the dandies in the 19th century even wore girdles to achieve slim waists akin to that of the Victorian women.

In addition to physical appearance, a dandy takes to the refinement of his language and cultivation of leisurely hobbies. Their lifestyles were imitations of the noble blood of the royals, although they themselves usually had little or no connection to the aristocracy. Dandies developed refined speech and haughty manners to reinforce their outward aristocratic appearance; they picked up leisure activities like playing billiards, writing poetry, fine wining and dining, etc.

Dandyism plagues men who have inherited enormous wealth, therefore enabling a lifestyle of lavish refinement yet facing unemployment at the same time. Very often, their decadent ways eventually ended up in bankruptcy as they squander their initial wealth away through sky-high expenditures on clothes and fine dining while having zilch income. Many renowned dandies were reduced to running away from creditors or in asylums as they could not tear themselves apart from the artificial world they had been living in.

Oscar Wilde is always remembered as the satirist playwright with long hair, who carries a lily around town, and is always immaculately dressed. He was a successful dandy who failed to escape the fate of poverty too. Nevertheless, he proved dandies (and homosexuals) to be of intellectual substance and although dandyism has passed out of vogue, the legacy ensues in metrosexuality today.

Oscar Wilde would be glad to hear that.

#10 - Say It With Colours

We often use the phrases "green with envy" and "seeing red". The English language connotes colours with emotions intensified so vividly, that we never doubt the use of such connotations. An intriguing array of colours lay in wait for our uncovering of their origins and accuracy of use.

Green, the colour of nature and life, was oddly enough to be connoted with ill-health in the past, hence the saying of "pale as a green grape." It then gradually became predominantly associated with envy, one of the seven deadly sins, with its debut in Shakespeare's Othello. Iago allegedly warned Othello, "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock..." Shakespeare personified the feelings of envy and jealousy into a monster with alleged green eyes, and the connotation stuck ever since.

Red is a synonym of love, romantic or carnal, as demonstrated by the phrases "red valentine" and "red-light district". It is also frequently seen associated with feelings of rage and anger, in which the phrase "seeing red" happens to be an excellent example. Such connotations probably attribute to the primitive association of the colour with blood, and since blood rushes to your head when you are screaming in rage, one's face turns rather red in tides if anger, indeed.

Blue loosely refers to melancholy and despondency since the sixteenth century. It is derived from 'blue devils', imaginary demons popularly thought to have caused depression and sadness back then. "Feeling blue" and the more infamous "Monday blues" are adaptations of this colour connotation. Even the musical genre blues got its name from having mournful lyrics and haunting melodies that resembled the colour connotations.

White is closely related to fear, with reasons akin to that of red and rage. The phrase "went white with fear" came about because fear apparently causes your blood to drain from your face. Another metaphorical saying, "raise the white flag" is used to describe surrendering in fear.

Colours play an important in linguistics and in our everyday lives. Who says we cannot be artists of our own fashion?

#9 - Penniless Art

“Lousy”
They say
Sheepishly I scamper away
Snide glances piercing me
As my portfolio most conspicuously sway

Deluge of remorse rain down
Pearls of grief course into my heart
In their raging torrents, I drown
Self-reproach arrive as a thousand darts
Why didn’t I make a sound
To counter them and do my part?

***

I deviated from the ‘orthodox’ path
To pledge allegiance to my true desire
To find myself incurring society’s wrath
Just because I chose to fuel the arts fire
In terms of status, I took a bath
Ending up ensnared in a mire

“No future
No prospects…”
They sounded so sure
(for it’s a fact!)
Isn’t there anyone to reassure?
Or, for my sake, cease the throbbing impacts?

I began to ruminate
If society had been right
Whether their words were accurate
That up ahead, there would be no light
Could there be a twist of Fate
To deliver me from this wretched plight?

Yet it had been my very own choice
To abandon conventions and pursue my like
No matter what objections many may voice
I would hold fast, persevering in my artistic hike
Why couldn’t there, in society, be a poise
And give me my fair chance to hold the mike?

***

When will society correct their myopic stands?
When will they realise that it’s okay to take a bend?
When will someone actually raise a hand
To silence the crowd and oppose the trend?
When will this revelation descend upon this land?
When will the tirade ever, ever end?

The realisation dawned upon me when I was speaking to Harie who commented on the foregone probability of us awaiting for our A level results upon completing two gruelling years of college - my passion for the Arts diminished under the immense pressure from society, friends and most importantly, family. I fell prey to the Singaporean societal standards of Artistry myopia.

My 'obsession' with the Arts began in secondary education. I was seen as an adaptation of Don Quixote since I abandoned my triple Science combination in secondary school, Dunman High School, which compelled all students to take double Math and at least double Sciences. I took the high risk and swung into the draining act of juggling eleven subjects, including triple Sciences, double Math and Art. Many thought me to be mad in taking a pure Science combination yet pursuing Art academically. I never enjoyed Science, save for Biology which intrigued me very much, and I totally abhored Mathmatics. However, what really kept me going back to school, day after day, was Art. I strongly believed Fine Arts was going to be my lifelong direction, then.

I continued the pursuit in St' Andrews Junior College with a pure Arts course consisting of Art, Divinity, English Literature and Higher Chinese. It was a dream come true for me to expel mathematics from my education under the Ministry of Education and divert all attention unto the subjects I love, despite family objection and friendly cajoling. The possibilities in my future were seemingly endless then - I aspired to be a writer, a sculptor or artist, even a theologian! I was willing to travel all the way from Bedok to Harbourfront every single day simply because that was the only college that could offer me such a flexible Arts course, and I thought I could hold out despite objections and snide comments which attacked by the dozens. Alas, no matter how hard I tried to excel academically, the fact I was an Arts student disqualified me from society's elite.

Science faculties are always esteemed over the Arts, for reasons based on stereotypes and social myopia. People in the Arts industry are perpetually portrayed and thought of as idealistic people with lofty ambitions who end up struggling to make ends meet. For instance, In Singaporean context, to pursue the Arts equals to taking the dirt road to poverty - artists are seen as street painters, musicians are just little better than roadside baskers and performance artistes like dramatists and dancers are just academically inept. Circumstances turned sour as the future suddenly turned bleak with the revelation that I can never make Art my life without leaving the country, my roots, my identity and my family. A constant struggle with school, family and myself left me physically and mentally jaded, culminating in my leaving of the college for 'greener pastures' in the form of Mass Communications in Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

I allowed myself to be swept away by societal currents. Still, Mass Comm was not a favourable course according to my parents initially, as comapared to Accountancy or BioScience. It was after much arguments on my part and deliberation on theirs that I could happily enroll. After all, Mass Comm is the closest course to Arts that I can find in polytechnics - perhaps in ten years' time, I can even influence the media to cast Arts in a better light. I lie if I were to say I had absolutely no regrets in heeding the majority's advice. Sometimes, the majority should not win because they are not always right.