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Saturday November 19, 2005

Singapore Sexpo not so hot

BY PHILIP GOLINGAI

SINGAPORE: Entering the Bedroom section of Sexpo Singapore 2005, visitors will see Angel Tan, with a devil’s head tattoo on her bare shoulders, pole dancing.

In this section which displays sex-related exhibits and adult toys strictly for visitors above 21, the 23-year-old exotic dancer was the main attraction at the booth of ViCon, a company that markets vibrator massager rings and condoms.

The morning crowd, consisting of mainly senior citizens – it’s a Friday after all – lapped up the “sexcitement”.

But that was about as sexy as it got at the Sexpo.

Yesterday, the staid island republic which has consistently ranked at the bottom in a global survey of sexually active nations hosted its first sex exhibition.

POLES APART: Dancer Elise Cheong pole-dancing watched by a group of senior citizens who made up the bulk of the crowd at the opening day of Sexpo Singapore 2005 Friday.
And it was a tame affair. Banned from the Sexpo were penis rings, genital ticklers, abnormally huge vibrators and blow-ups of female torsos.

The Singapore government deemed those items “too hot”.

Sex education, insists Sexpo organiser Kenny Goh, was the focus of the exhibition.

“We wanted to establish a sexual health education platform to allow sex experts to talk to the public who have questions but don’t know the right channels to address them,” he said.

The Singapore Sexpo was not as “entertaining” as those organised in Australia which have autograph sessions with porn stars, strip shows and love making demonstrations, conceded Goh.

“I’m not sure whether Singapore is ready for the Australian kind of Sexpo.”

Among the exhibitors were Action for AIDS (an NGO devoted to the HIV/AIDS cause in Singapore), CCCRM (Christopher Chen Centre for Reproductive Medicine), Classic Travel (which specialises in romantic tour packages) and House of Condoms (which sells lifestyle products to spice up sexual enjoyment).

During the three-day exhibition, there will be about two dozen speakers conducting seminars with titles like Sexual Intimacy and Karma Sutra, The Art of Love Making, Enhancing Sexual Gratification, The Feng Shui of Sex and Basic Facts on HIV & Status of HIV in Singapore.

The exhibition also features 118 pieces from the collection of the Chinese Ancient Sex Culture Museum in Tongli, China.

Other than the usual – vibrators (not huge ones but less than 22.8cm or 9in), 50,000 free condoms and lingerie – also on display was sex-friendly furniture. For sale from S$1,300 (RM2,860) was an ordinary-looking British-made sofa that could be manoeuvred into different shapes to facilitate a range of lovemaking positions.

And the verdict from Singaporeans?

“Not as exciting as what I’ve seen in Paris and New York as those cities are more liberal,” said 58-year-old businessman Rodney Tan, whose curiosity prompted him to pay S$15 (RM33) to visit the exhibition.

“There the images are more explicit.”

What did he find exciting?

“The new kind of condom. The one which comes with a vibrator,” Tan said, referring to the award-winning vibrating massager intimacy ring, which promised “enhanced pleasure and endurance”.

Big brother was also clearly present at the Sexpo, which will be a yearly event. The Singapore police was there to make sure the organiser does not promote objectionable sexual behaviour or lifestyles such as sado-masochism, bestiality, homosexuality, paedophilia and promiscuity.

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