Ex-Paralympian Theresa Goh breaking barriers in Singapore

There are few openly gay athletes anywhere in the world and fewer still in Asia. Former bronze-medal winning Paralympic swimmer Theresa Goh is one, however, and she has seen how coming out even in her socially-conservative home country of Singapore was met with a more positive reaction than she expected.

Internationally, she has first-hand experience of the difficulties faced when competing in countries not known for being friendly to the LGBTQ community "I remember having a little bit of fear, being in Russia for the first time," she told DW.

"I had heard that you can be jailed for being gay and sometimes you just never know what to expect. So I was a little bit afraid but of course, in most competitions, your sexuality never made it to the forefront anyway. So it never came up. It was a small fear that was never realised but am I then supporting a country that does not support people like me? I think it is hard, really difficult."

Along the way though there have been regular reminders of how sport still has the power to break down barriers. "It is one step at a time again, even though I think sometimes human rights shouldn't have a timeline attached to it. But sometimes you've just got to give people a bit of time." 

Coming out

Breaking down barriers is what Goh has been doing in Singapore for a long time. When she started swimming as a young girl, she never imagined that she would become a symbol for something else. Now the 35-year-old is an unusual role model for the Southeast Asian country nicknamed the 'Little Red Dot' that may be a modern business, communications and travel hub, but is also socially conservative.

"I've never really thought of myself as being in the closet ever and have never actively hidden my sexuality," said Goh, who won bronze in the SB4 100m breaststroke event at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. "It was maybe more passively, like not mentioning it until people asked." 

There was something similar with her parents. "When I was 16 years old, we were at a petrol kiosk, my dad had gone out to pay for the petrol and my mom turned around to me and said, 'you know daddy and I just want you to find somebody who will love you and take care of you and it doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl'. And so that was how I knew and that was great."

Dealing with a wider audience was very different, however. "Even though I've never been in the closet, it was also not something that I ever thought that I would be discussing with the public or the national papers." It happened in 2017 with The Straits Times, the biggest newspaper in a country where the press is closely-monitored by the government.

"That was a bit more nerve-wracking for me. The national papers are well-known for being quite conservative and not using the word 'partner' but 'friend,'" Goh explained. The whole process, from initial contact to interview to publication, was a long one. "The first draft was very different from the final. There's a lot of things that were removed." Goh is proud of the result and the article is framed in her house.

At the time however, she still had concerns about how other people would react to seeing her sexuality discussed in the nation's biggest newspaper. "I was training at the swim school and surrounded by parents, and kids, and I wasn't sure what to expect — but I got a completely opposite reaction from what I was maybe thinking I would receive. There were two parents that came up to me and said, 'You know, what you did today was very brave' and also they were really 'proud of me'."

Forging a path

There are few sporting figures anywhere in the world who have come out and Goh always understood that fellow athletes would react in different ways. "They've always known, it was not new to them. I've never had a really in-depth conversation on what my actions have meant to them specifically. I know there are some of my friends who take a more conservative approach to these things," she said. 

There are other gay athletes in Singapore but few that have fully followed Goh's path. "We're not short on the number of LGBTQ athletes for sure but more so on the number that are willing to be so public about it. I respect everyone's decision in which way they choose to go about it and so I appreciate when they show me support in whatever way they can." 

Some show up for the annual Pink Dot, Singapore's annual Gay Pride event or express support on social media. "At least they are not completely silent about it though I do wish they did more," Goh told DW.

Singapore is a tiny part of Asia and Goh has been named as an ambassador for the 2022 Gay Games in Hong Kong. "I have to say that up to this point, I have not received negative feedback or criticism or anything that makes me feel like I regret my choices. But yeah, I don't think other people are so lucky."

Edited by: James Thorogood