In 1967, Singapore experienced one of the most unusual episodes in its modern history. Hundreds of Chinese Singaporean men became convinced that their genitals were shrinking into their abdomens and would cause death if they disappeared entirely — a psychosomatic phenomenon known as ‘koro’. The mass hysteria was sparked by rumours in late October 1967 that eating pork from pigs vaccinated against swine fever caused genital shrinkage. Doctors found no physical ailments, but many patients suffered severe trauma from trying to anchor or clamp their genitals with clothes pegs, chopsticks, clamps, and string. The panic lasted about 10 days. At its peak, the Singapore General Hospital saw as many as 97 male patients in a single day, all seeking emergency medical intervention.

‘A Mild Case Of Mass Hysteria’, an upcoming graphic novel written by Singaporean author and poet Felix Cheong, and illustrated by Indian visual artists and storytellers Ritwick Roy and Riddhi Trivedi, draws on this bizarre historical event to transform a moment of public panic into an examination of masculinity, nationhood, and social anxiety in a newly independent Singapore.

At the centre of the graphic novel are three young men whose lives unravel against the backdrop of the epidemic. Cheong uses Su Tang, a small-time gangster navigating Chinatown’s underworld, to explore desire, power, and the limits of male entitlement. His pursuit of Yin, a sex worker affiliated with the all-women gang ‘Ang Hor Tiap’, subverts traditional gender hierarchies and challenges assumptions about who holds power in relationships. The character of Wee Tiong, a young doctor, introduces another dimension of masculinity: the burden of conformity. Educated abroad but unable to openly acknowledge his sexuality, Tiong embodies the tension between personal identity and social expectation as he struggles to live up to his mother’s wishes for him to find a nice girl to settle down with before her death. His struggle reflects broader questions about how societies regulate gender and sexuality through family obligations, cultural norms, and the promise of respectability. And the young recruit James Yang’s experience of compulsory military service reveals how state institutions participate in the construction and perpetuation of traditional forms of masculinity. The discipline, camaraderie, and machismo he encounters in the military suggest that nation-building projects often rely on specific visions of masculine citizenship, strength, and sacrifice.

The graphic novel uses the koro epidemic as a metaphor for collective masculine insecurity. As men feared the literal disappearance of their male genitalia — a symbol of their manhood — Cheong suggests that the episode was a result of Singapore grappling with itself as a young nation confronting fears about its survival, legitimacy, and identity. As our world becomes increasingly shaped by online disinformation, moral panic over reproductive rights, immigration, and culture wars, ‘A Mild Case Of Mass Hysteria’ is a timely exploration of fear’s contagious nature, reminding readers that societies are often governed as much by perception as reality. Beneath its humour and absurdity, the graphic novel offers a much-needed commentary on the fragile foundations of masculinity, the pressures of social conformity, and the anxieties that accompany the making of a nation.

‘A Mild Case Of Mass Hysteria’ is scheduled for release in India in September 2026.

If you enjoyed reading this, here’s more from Homegrown:

The Legacy Of Naxalbari Lives On In Sumit Kumar’s Dark, Satirical Graphic Novel

Meet The Homegrown Graphic Novel Artist Who Won The Coveted Eisner Award In 2021

Perumal Murugan & Appupen’s Vaadivaasal Is A Graphic Reimagining Of A Tamil Classic