Just for the youngsters.....and it was Bugis Street.
1950s-1980s
After World War II, hawkers gathered there to sell food and goods. There was initially also a small number of outdoor bars set up beside rat-infested drains.
When
transvestites began to rendezvous in the area in the 1950s, they attracted increasing numbers of Western tourists who came for the booze, the food, the
pasar malam shopping and the "girls". Business boomed and Bugis Street became an extremely lively and bustling area, forming the heart of
Xiao Po. It was one of
Singapore's most famous tourist
meccas from the 1950s to the 1980s, renowned internationally for its nightly parade of flamboyantly-dressed
transwomen and attracted hordes of
Caucasian gawkers who had never before witnessed Asian queens in full regalia.
The latter would tease, cajole and sit on visitors' laps or pose for photographs for a fee.
Others would sashay up and down the street looking to hook half-drunk sailors,
American GIs and other foreigners on
R&R, for an hour of profitable intimacy. Not only would these clients get the thrill of sex with an exotic oriental, there would be the added spice of transgressing gender boundaries in a seamy hovel.
There was an adage amongst Westerners that one could easily tell who was a real female and who was not - the
transvestites were drop-dead gorgeous, while the rest were real women. The amount of revenue that the
transwomen of Bugis Street raked in was considerable, providing a booster shot in the arm for the tourism industry. Some Americans referred to it as "
Boogie Street" in the wake of the 1970s
disco craze.
Veterans recall that the notorious drinking section began from
Victoria Street west to
Queen Street. Halfway between Victoria and Queen Streets, there was an intersecting lane parallel to the main roads, also lined with
al fresco bars. There was a well-patronised public toilet with a flat roof of which there are archival photos, complete with jubilant rooftop
transwomen.
One of the "hallowed traditions" bestowed upon the area by sojourning sailors (usually from Britain, Australia and New Zealand), was the ritualistic "Dance Of The Flaming Arseholes" on top of the infamous toilet's roof. Compatriots on the ground would chant the signature "Haul 'em down you Zulu Warrior" song whilst the matelots performed their act.
Over the years this became almost a mandatory exercise and although it may seem to many to be a gross act of indecency, it was generally well received by the sometimes up to hundreds of tourists and locals. The
Kai Tais or
Beanie Boys, as the
transwomen were referred to by
Anglophone white visitors, certainly did not mind either. By the mid-70s Singapore started a crackdown on this type of lewd behaviour and sailors were arrested at gunpoint by the local authorities for upholding the tradition. By this time those sailors brave enough to try it were dealt with severely and even shipped home in disgrace. Though many locals accepted this part of Singaporean culture, many conservative Singaporeans felt that it was a disgrace and it defaced Singapore's image.