Mention Bugis Street to any local, and you will get them
thinking about things such as nightclubs, alternative and punk rock clothing
stall, street food, and much more. Bugis street is an important part of Singapore’s
heritage because of the transgendered activities by people in the past. Bugis
street started after World War II, when some hawkers came there to sell their
food and goods. The conditions there were not ideal, there were many
rat-infested drains near the stall, making the market very unhygienic.
Transvestites began to go and perform there starting from the 1950s, and thus
attracted increasing number of western tourists who would go there for the
alcohol, the “pasar malam” shopping, the street food, and the “girls” or
rather, transgenders. Its popularity skyrocketed, and it became an extremely
bustling area, and one of Singapore’s most famous tourist spots from the 1950s
to the 1980s. In fact, the area was known to Westerners as “Boogie Street”,
referencing the 1970s disco fever craze.
Bugis street in the 1970s
I set off the Bugis street with the aim of seeing the
culture there, what kind of shops/people are there, and whether there are still
signs of it’s past. (eg, tourist-aimed shops, clubs, sex shops), to see if there is a sense of community there (whether shopkeepers are interacting with each other, a common space where many people gather, and the whole atmosphere of the place - foreign and cold, or happy and open)
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