HOMOSEXUAL or "GAY"

Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same sex; "it also refers to an individual's sense of personal and social identity based on those attractions, behaviors expressing them, and membership in a community of others who share them."

     Evolution is evident in the Philippines. Charles Darwin would have jizzed in his pants were he alive today. A man is commonly calledFilipino and a woman is called Filipina. The past few years have seen the emergence of a new race - the half-Filipino, half-Filipina - or in local language, the ''Bakla''. Scientists are baffled about how this new breed propagates, as there is no evidence that they ever get pregnant.

When visitors to the Philippines

remark that Filipinos openly tolerate and/or accept homosexuality, they

invariably have in mind effeminate,

cross dressing men (bakla) swishing

down streets and squealing on television

programmes with flaming impunity.

This is sadly misinformed. To equate

Philippine society’s tolerance for public

displays of transvestism with wholesale

approval of homosexual behavior is

naive, if not downright foolish. 

While cross dressing exists in the Philippines, it is allowed only in certain social

classes and within certain acceptable contexts, among entertainers and parloristas

(beauticians) for instance, and during

carnivalesque celebrations and fiestas. In

fact, Filipinos have yet to see transvestism as legitimate in ‘serious’ professions – male senators filibustering from

the podium wrapped in elegant, twotoned pashminas, or CEOs strutting

around open-air malls wearing power

skirts and designer leather pumps. Second, and more importantly, cross dressing is very different from homosexuality: the one does not necessarily entail the

other.

     When a Filipino residing in the Philippines is asked about musicals, chances are they would only mention Leah Salonga and her tribe of once-cast, once-exported Filipinos who are now back in the Philippines, unemployed yet still starry-eyed about their glory days of the past millennium.

     However, mention beauty pageants and Filipinos open up, resulting in a heated competition, debate and debacle of knowledge of beauty pageant history and trivia. There will be no stopping the Filipinos when it comes to beauty pageants.

      This is therefore the correct way of ascertaining if you are a married woman wondering if you are married to a bakla. Mention the phrase, "beauty pageant," followed by a seemingly ignorant or totally wrong comment, and see if your husband corrects you. Count the number of words or sentences your husband utters about the subject of beauty pageants, and if he surpasses 20 words, then you can be sure that your husband not only has the tendencies of a bakla, but is actually one. You will soon realize that your husband has something in common with the latest incarnation of SM Shoemart; both have well-maintained façades. At this point, look at him straight in the eye and ask him what his stage name is, what country he is representing this year, and what countries he represented over the recent 5 years. You can also mention "Sharon Cuneta". And if you have observed your husband fawn over Sharon Cuneta, you have just proven that your husband is totally bakla. Or if acting in a cutesy cutesy manner, he is abaklita. This is a totally understandable behaviour for Filipino husbands, which parallels the behavior closeted American men have for Madonna.

     It has been observed that some Filipino males glamorize their existence by speaking in a "burgis" manner. The ones from Manila would speak "Taglish," a mixture of Tagalog and English, and this has been matched by the Visayan "Ceblish," which is a mixture of Cebuano and English. Mix this with a winning discussion about love and adoration for Sharon Cuneta, and you will witness before you the unveiling of a closeted silahista or bakla. If this happens to be your husband, you might want to celebrate, having just proven a hunch you have been having for a while. Likewise, if you are a girl in school, and you have a male classmate who seems to have mastered Taglish or Ceblish, keep him close to you and realize that he is the one person who will make the most and the best of your school years. You can lose your virginity to him as his consolation prize, as your friend is in a state of curiosity which in later life will manifest towards homosexuality. Whether you get pregnant or not will not be an issue to this future-gay, as you will soon become a mere memory after graduation. 

     The Filipino gays find the backward economy a cramp to their style. Many of them are unable to leave home and even among those who can, many usually feel they have to support their extended families. In turn, parents who beat up their gay kids later on grudgingly tolerate the grown-up breadwinner who can pay the bills. It's a paradox with two realities, making it hard for observers to really pinpoint if Filipino society really accepts or still rejects having gays in the family. [1]

Bakla(gays) in the Philippines fall into two categories:

1. Effeminate gays or Effems- These include effeminate men, crossdressers and transsexuals, who may use make-up and dress in women's clothes. They tend to be concentrated in certain professions such as working in beauty parlors (thus the term parlorista) and in the fashion and showbiz industry as directors, writers, comedians and talk show hosts. Some work as entertainers, and a growing number work in Japan as female impersonators. Many of these gays tend to prefer heterosexual men as sexual partners. The motivation for some of these heterosexual men having relations with these gays is usually financial. Effeminate gays are referred to colloquially as "pa-girl", “malambot”, or "Boyet", which is a commonly used nickname for effeminate gays, while heterosexual men who are in relationship with gays are often referred to as "papa/fafa".

2. Straight-acting gays or Discreet - This population is found more in urban areas. These men are not effeminate and will not use make-up or cross-dress. They are found outside of the stereotyped gay professions. Sexual preferences vary with some willing to have sex with other Straight-acting gays while others will prefer straight men. Many also self-identify as bisexual, even if they only have sex with men, bisexual having been redefined locally to mean straight-acting. Straight-acting gays are called "paminta" in Manila and “maya” in Visayas and Mindanao.

     Swardspeak is a vernacular language derived from Englog and is used by gay Filipinos. It uses elements from Tagalog, English, and Spanish, giving them new meanings in the context of this unique language. A unique trait of swardspeak is that it immediately identifies the speaker as homosexual, making it easy for people of that orientation to signal to each other in a place where such tendencies are not easy to display (ie in the Philippines). This creates an exclusive world among its speakers and helps them to resist cultural assimilation.

By using swardspeak, Filipino gay men are able to resist the dominant culture of their area and create a space of their own. The language is constantly changing, with old phrases becoming obsolete and new phrases frequently entering everyday usage, reflecting changes in their culture and also maintaining exclusivity. The dynamic nature of the language refuses to cement itself in single culture and allows for more freedom in expression among its speakers. Words and phrases can be created out of reaction to popular trends and create alternatives to a strictly defined lifestyle. By these characteristics, swardspeak creates a dissident group without any ties to geographical, linguistic, or cultural restrictions, allowing its speakers to shape the language as appropriate to the times. In this way, the language is "mobile", and is simultaneously part of a larger community but also open to more specific or local meanings.

Prayer to my birthday

Thank you, God, for giving me another year of life.

Thank you for all the people who remembered me today

by sending cards, and letters, gifts and good wishes.

Thank you for all the experience of this past year;

for times of success which will always be happy memories,

for times of failure which reminded me of my own weakness and of my need for you,

for times of joy when the sun was shining,

for times of sadness which drove me to you.

Forgive me

for the hours I wasted,

for the chances I failed to take,

for the opportunities I missed this past year.

Help me in the days ahead to make this the best year yet,

and through it to bring good credit to myself,

happiness and pride to my loved ones,

and joy to you.

 Amen.