TAGOLOAN Community College

Baluarte, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental

Tel.No. (08822)740-835/(088)5671-215

College of Arts and Sciences

GEC 10 Philippine Popular Culture
Semester of A.Y. 2020-2021

Module 11. LGBTQ and Pop Culture

History
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Gender crossing practices go back to the history of pre-colonial communities in the Philippines.
The babaylans are typically female spiritual leaders, akin to priests or shamans, in native communities,
whose position can also be taken by males who crossed genders, and were called asog, among many
names. Effeminate people, together with the weak, were handled gently during raids. According to J.
Neil C. Garcia, the feminized men were similar to women in almost all aspects, except for childbearing.
Movements to promote the acceptance of the gays in Philippine society include, but are not
limited to the establishment of the Home of the Golden Gays by Justo Justo, the 1980 Women’s
Movement which focused on the lesbian struggle of Filipinas, the formation of The Lesbian Collective
which was the first formal lesbian organization in the country, the organization of the first LGBT Pride
March in Asia and the Pacific on 26 June 1994 by Pro-Gay Philippines and Metropolitan Community
Church Manila. The 1994 Pride March was organized in connection to the 25th commemoration of
Stonewall Uprising in New York in 1969. Notable organizers were Murphy Red and Rev. Fr. Richard
Mickley, then an MCC clergy and now retired. There are however, other individuals and groups who
believes that the first pride march in the Philippines was in 1996. Beyond this, there have been
numerous efforts to spread awareness of the LGBT. The community has become generally accepted in
society, and have continued to initiate efforts that move for the greater acceptance, protection, and
empowerment of its members.

Nomenclature
Bakla and bading are Tagalog words for a man who has feminine mannerisms, or dresses or
identifies as a woman. Although the terms are not the equivalent of the English "gay", the bakla are the
most culturally visible subset of gay men in the Philippines. They are often considered a third gender,
embodying femininity (pagkababae) in a male body. Although bakla is sometimes used in a derogatory
sense, bakla people have largely embraced it. In addition to this, lesbians in the Filipino community are
called tibo or tibs, which are likewise often used as derogatory terms. However, lesbians too have
recently embraced this terms, and have used these terms jokingly to refer to each other. But despite
being used to refer to lesbians, the word tibo or tibs often refer to the more masculine lesbian,
otherwise known as the 'Butch'.
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 In the Philippines, the word "gay" is used to refer to any LGBT person. For Filipino gays the
Tagalog phrase  paglaladlad ng kapa ("unfurling the cape") or, more commonly, paglaladlad ("unfurling"
or "unveiling") refers to the coming-out process. Some lesbians (butch and femme) use the magic words
magic or shunggril to refer to themselves;  paminta describes masculine gay men. Neutral slang terms
for gay men include "billy boy", badette , "badaf" and bading. Although many of these terms are
considered derogatory, they are sometimes used casually or jokingly by the Filipino gay and lesbian
community.

Homosexuality in the Philippines

Homosexuality in the Philippines is not a new phenomenon. Before, homosexuality is a feature
of the pre-colonial era. According to Garcia (2004), homosexuals enjoyed a relatively high status in the
community as they are thought to exhibit magical functionaries. They have the same status as women,
with having rights to have their own family, and even have the right to divorce their own partners if
deemed unfit for their own liking. For men, even those who are tagged as soldiers in the community,
often wore the clothes of women and act as ladies as they believed that having doing such acts, the gods
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will bring prosperity to their community. During the Spanish Era, the fulfillment homosexuals have
during the precolonial era have drastically changed. Over the next 300 years, as the role of the women
in the society deteriorated, homosexuals are subjected various ridicule and scorn as they thought it is a
violation of the teachings of Catholicism. Nonetheless, despite the erosion of its status as the “destined”
during the pre-colonial era, Garcia (2004) emphasized that the scope of homosexuality during the
Spanish era has an effect up to this day. The rise of the American colonization saw the increased
awareness of the Filipinos in the notion of Gay Marriage and homosexuality, in general (Manalastas,
1996).
As the voice of the homosexuals in the country continues to evolve, their roles in the society
continue to evolve as well. Homosexual men in the Philippines seem to have a negative connotation in
the society. For example, the terms “bakla”, “parlorista”, “call boy” do not have a negative connotation
in the realm of the homosexual people. However, these terms connote a different definition that relates
to sexual acts when used by nonhomosexuals. It is perceived by many that when you are one of those,
you are probably connected to selling your sexuality as a means to obtain monetary funds, not for
“sexual enjoyment” (Nadal & Corpus, 2013).
In a similar vein, Tan (2001) mentioned that the “bakla” are normally associated with low
income members of the society and are generally depicted as entertainers. One way to address this
problem is through education. However, Human Rights Watch (2017) noted that “positive information
and resources are rare in secondary schools. When students learn about homosexuality, it is usually
negative. Regardless of the seemingly negative connotation that is attached to homosexuality in the
Philippines, they are still freely embraced by the society by way of Pride Events and civil societies
pushing for LGBT rights.
Homosexual Filipinos still struggle for equal rights and protection as they still experience
discrimination and inequality from different institutions of the society. In schools, “students who are
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) too often find that their schooling experience is marred
by bullying, discrimination, lack of access to LGBT-related information, and in some cases, physical or
sexual assault”. On the other hand, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (2011)
reported that: While Filipinos are generally comfortable with gay persons, this tolerance is conditioned
on LGBT individuals fitting certain stereotypes and behaving according to accepted, non-threatening
norms. Effeminate gay men are seen in places like theatres or beauty parlors, lesbians and masculine
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 women as security guards and transgender women as celebrity impersonators but not as doctors or
teachers (p.4). This kind of gender stereotyping may restrict life opportunities (Eisend, 2010) and
reinforce existing stereotypes (Lee, 2004) (as cited in Prieler & Centeno, 2013). Although there are some
groups that aimed to champion the rights of the gay community, these attempts normally fail as their
presence in both politics and the societal scene is not unified to establish equality that is aimed. For
example, the anti-discrimination bill (ADB) was introduced to protect the people from discrimination.
With the inclusion of homosexuals, it was passed out from the congress and never received second
reading. Despite this, cities such as Quezon City have passed ordinances that implement rules and
regulations that are closely related to the Anti-Discrimination Bill.
In the struggle of homosexuals for equal rights and opportunities, perhaps one of the most
debatable issue is about same-sex marriage. Aside from the explicit statement in the Philippine Family
Code that marriage is between a man and woman, the view of the Church and some fundamentalist
Christian groups of homosexual relations as something that is immoral and lessen the value of life and
the Filipino family along with divorce, euthanasia, abortion, and total contraception, has made it difficult
for same-sex marriage to progress into its legalization (Lim, 2011). This puts into question of what
human rights really mean. If marriage is a human right (United nations, 2015) and not a privilege, what
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makes same-sex marriage immoral and therefore unlawful in the context of the Philippine society?
Despite the efforts of the LGBT community to push forth equal rights, the resistance of the Catholic
church has been an immovable force that inhibits any movement from the group. Further, they sought
amendments that would prohibit same-sex marriages in the country. Moreover, they resisted the idea
of having sex education and teaching safer-sex in schools. The catholic church indeed has an influence in
the society as they continually shape the attitudes of Filipinos towards homosexuals, through catholic
teachings, and holy masses, that it is unnatural or immoral to be such (Conde, 2017).
Men and Women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the
right to marry and to have a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage,
and at its dissolution”. In the Philippines, 23% of Filipinos support the legal recognition of same-sex
marriages based on a Social Weather Station survey (Chamie & Mirkin, 2011). Although this statistic
would mean that there is still a majority that opposes it, this exemplifies the gradual progression of the
legalization of same-sex marriages and the continuing awareness of Filipinos into the possibility of its
legalization.

Homosexuality and Media

Media has an important role in promoting the homosexual’s rights and protection and
discussion of issues like same-sex marriage. According to UNDP and USAID (2014), “dialogue participants
see LGBT-run media as important and that Internet media have the strong potential to promote LGBT
rights”. Furthermore, “LGB experts feel that television has a key role to play in the portrayal of LGB
people, particularly in news and current affairs, drama series and factual programming”. This implies
that media has the capacity to affect its audience towards views like of those concerned about
homosexuality. Though media can be used to redirect one’s view on homosexuality and same-sex
marriage, it cannot be denied that it can also be used to perpetuate the dominant view about it. As
mentioned by Tagudina (2012): We see gay men on television, and once we see similarities of that
character in real life, we are quick to label that person as gay. Lesbian and transvestite characters in
films are often feared, or ridiculed, almost always negatively portrayed, and so at the instant we see a
person that much looks like that character, we label her without hesitation.

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 Furthermore, “mainstream media are criticized in the way that it stereotypes gay men and
limits representation of lesbians and transgender people; demonstrates transphobia and homophobia;
and sensationalizes coverage of LGBT-related events” This seems to imply that there is still prejudice and
bias against LGBTs even in terms of taking issues presented by the media. Despite the criticism to media
on how it depicts homosexuality, there is still a rise in the use and representation of homosexuals in
Philippine media. Examples of these are various Filipino films that portray gays during the last decades.
Such were the subjects of Payuyo (2012) who concluded “that despite the change in the portrayal of
gays, institutions that sponsor heteronormativity will continue to prevent homosexuality from being
seen as a naturally occurring form of sexuality” (p.291). He saw that the way media represent
homosexuality is positively changing towards LGBTs but he also viewed family, mass media, and the
Catholic Church as institutions whose dominant views would hinder homosexuality to flourish as a form
of sexuality.
The Philippine media and show business scene—encompassing film, radio, and television—
comprises a vital part of LGBT culture in terms of representation. Prominent celebrities including Vice
Ganda and Boy Abunda are all featured in major programs and are often tapped to endorse major
products and services.
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In 2004, the Republic of the Philippines Movie and Television Review and Classification
Board (MTRCB) had disseminated a memorandum calling homosexual relationships—particularly lesbian
relationships—an "abnormality of human nature", discouraging producers from broadcast any sort of
portrayals that promoted these relationships. While there are still several LGBT personalities in show
business as well as LGBT characters in films and television programs in the Philippines, notices such as
this have limited particular LGBT portrayals in media.
For the gay Filipino man, two main stereotypes have been revealed in studies to be dominantly
presented in media. There is the feminine gay who often cross-dresses, demonstrates stereotypically
feminine actions and speech and is attracted to stereotypically masculine men. The following films have
portrayals of the feminine gay:

 Markova: Comfort Gay

 Aishite Imasu: 1941: Mahal Kita
 Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros
 Petrang Kabayo
In contrast to this is the masculine gay portrayal, where the men still appear stereotypically
masculine but are attracted to the same sex. A cited example of this is the film In My Life.
Lesbianism in Philippine media has also been studied with two common stereotypes emerging:
the butch and the femme. The two are often seen in a butch-femme dichotomy, where in a lesbian
couple one assumes the traditional roles of the masculine-male and the feminine-female, respectively.
Femme-to-femme relationships, when depicted, have been shown more often as abused or ridiculed
couples in a more heteronormative society. The following teleseries are recent portrayals of femme-to-
femme lesbian relationships in the Philippines:

 The Rich Man's Daughter (2015)

 Baka Bukas (2016)
Die Beautiful, a 2016 comedy-drama narrating the life (and death) of a transgender beauty queen,
was entered into the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival and won two awards at the Tokyo International
Film Festival in 2016.
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 LGBT representation outside of television and films have been made through existence of gay
beauty pageants such as Miss Gay Philippines. It is in this competition that all manner of gays, men or
women, as well as transgender and bisexuals are eligible to enter, granted that they first meet the
qualifications/requirements of the pageant. However, the organization of these events have been met
with controversy in certain cases. For example, in 2013, at the 9th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent
Film Festival awarding, transgender woman Mimi Juareza was still considered under the "male" category
as Best Actor and referred to with the pronoun "he".

LGBT Culture in the Philippines

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in the Philippines have a
distinctive culture in society and also have limited legal rights. Gays and lesbians are generally tolerated
(if not accepted) in Filipino society. Despite recent events that have promoted the rights, general
acceptance, and empowerment of the Filipino LGBT community, discrimination remains. Homosexuals in
the Philippines are known as "bakla", though there exist other terms to describe them. Similarly, Filipino
lesbians are generally known as Alfa.
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According to the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Survey, 11 percent of sexually active Filipinos
between the ages of 15 and 24 have had sex with someone of the same sex. According to Filipino poet
and critic Lilia Quindoza Santiago, Filipino culture may have a more flexible concept of gender ; kasarian
(Tagalog for "gender") is defined in less binary terms than the English word; kasarian means "kind,
species, or genus".

LGBT rights in the Philippines

Although legislation supporting same-sex marriage in the Philippines has been proposed several
times in the Philippine legislature, none has been passed. ] The Philippine Commission on
Elections (COMELEC) disqualified the Filipino LGBT political party Ladlad from fronting a candidate in
the 2007 general election, concluding that the party did not have a nationwide membership. COMELEC
again refused Ladlad's petition to contest the 2010 elections on the grounds of "immorality". However,
on 8 April 2010, the Supreme Court of the Philippines overturned COMELEC's decision and allowed
Ladlad to participate in the May 2010 elections.
The Philippines has been ranked one of the most gay-friendly nations in the world and is the
most gay-friendly in Asia. In a survey of 39 countries (only 17 of which had a majority accepting
homosexuality), the Philippines were the 10th most gay-friendly. The survey, "The Global Divide on
Homosexuality" conducted by the US-based Pew Research Center, showed that 73 percent of adult
Filipinos agreed that "homosexuality should be accepted by society" (up from 64 percent in 2002).

LGBT Rights Bill (SOGIE Bill)

The House of Representatives approved on the LGBT Rights on 20 September 2017. The
lawmakers had voted 198-0 in the approval of House Bill 4982, otherwise known as the Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Equality (SOGIE) Bill. Those who violate this bill are
required to pay a penalty of ₱100,000 to ₱500,000 and imprisonment for one to six years. This bill
prohibits and penalizes any discriminatory acts against Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender
people.
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 The SOGIE Bill penalizes the following acts:

 Gender Profiling
 Denying or revoking a professional or other similar kind of license, clearance, except marriage
license, issued by the government
 Denying access to public service, including military service including SOGIE as criteria for human
resource action
 Refusing admission or expelling a person from any educational or training institution
 Denying a person access to public or private medical and other health services open to general
public

Language
In the Philippines, the word "gay" is used to refer to any LGBT person. For Filipino gays the
Tagalog phrase  paglaladlad ng kapa ("unfurling the cape") or, more commonly, paglaladlad ("unfurling"
or "unveiling") refers to the coming-out process. Some lesbians (butch and femme) use the magic words
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magic or shunggril to refer to themselves;  paminta describes masculine gay men. Neutral slang terms
for gay men include "billy boy", badette , "badaf" and bading. Although many of these terms are
considered derogatory, they are sometimes used casually or jokingly by the Filipino gay and lesbian
community.
Swardspeak, or "gay lingo", is cant or argot derived from Taglish (Tagalog-English pidgin) and is
used by the Filipino LGBT community. It uses elements of Tagalog, English, Spanish and Japanese,
celebrities' names and trademarked brands, giving them new meanings in different contexts. Words
derived from indigenous languages, including Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Bicolano and others, are also
used by LGBT communities.
A Swardspeak speaker could be identified as homosexual, making it easier for people in the
LGBT community to recognize each other. This created a group of speakers, helping the community
resist cultural assimilation and marginalization. Straight people have begun to use Swardspeak,
however, particularly in gay-dominated industries such as fashion and film.

Events
With the general tolerance of the country towards the LGBT community, its members have
organized a number of events in the past years to empower the Filipino community in creating a safe
space for the LGBT. Since the First Pride March in 1994, the LGBT community has continued to celebrate
this event on the month of June.
The more recent Pride Marches have become more visible to the public with its organizers' use
of social media to promote the advocacy, and the event.
More Recent Metro Manila Pride Marches:
1. 2015 - Fight For Love
The 21st Metro Manila Pride March in 2015, entitled Fight For Love, was held on 25 July. The turnout of
the event was an estimated number of 2,000 participants.

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 2. 2016 - Let Love In
The following Metro Manila Pride March was themed Let Love In. There was an uncertainty whether or
not the event would take place due to the Orlando Nightclub Shooting, but the event still pushed
through. The march began at Luneta Park on 25 June 2016. 2017 - #HereTogether
3. Pride March in 2017 was entitled #HereTogether. On 24 June that year, members and
supporters of the LGBT Community gathered at Plaza de los Alcaldes, Marikina to begin the 2017
Metro Manila Pride March.
4. 2018 - #RiseUpTogether
The 2018 Metro Manila Pride March, which took place on 30 June 2018 and began at Marikina Sports
Center, was themed #RiseUpTogether. Compared to the previous year with about 7,700 participants,
this year’s Pride March round up to 20,000 attendees.
5. 2019 - #ResistTogether
Held at the Marikina Sports Complex, the 2019 Pride was themed #ResistTogether, which fashioned the
march as a celebration of the country's diversity and a protest against homophobia, biphobia, and
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transphobia. The pride also focused on the passage and support for the SOGIE Equality Bill in Congress.
Attendance in the 2019 march peaked at 70,000 people, almost thrice the number from the 2018 march.

End of Module

Activity:
A. Define the following:
Homophobia
Biphobia
Transphobia
Hermaphrodite

B. Essay (150 words). Is Philippines the most gay-friendly country in Asia? If yes, why? If no, why?

Due date: November 23, 2020