Sexual Minorities in the Philippines
Sexual Minorities in the PhilippinesIt is noontime, Philippine television features Pogay, a daily comedy show about gays. The show nominates the most handsome gay man for “Mr. World Philippines”. The woman beside me expresses her preferences and adds, “Sayang bayot sya” (What a waste that he’s gay).Since the Philippines – as the first country in Asia – held a pride march in 1994, it is known to be one of the most “gay friendly” countries in Asia. Thus, by taking a closer look, the image of homosexuality is just tolerated within strictly defined social roles. The roles of gay men reach from entertainment sector, to beauty parlors (or any kind of beauty related business) and carnivalesque celebrations while lesbians are associated with certain kinds of male occupations such as security guard. A popular belief teached by the Catholic Church says that gay sex is sinful. As Anne Lim, a LBT advocate, puts it: “It’s seen as a disease, it’s not illegal in the Philippines to be gay but the way it is written. Our family code aligns lesbianism and homosexuality with gambling, prostuting your own child, beating your wifes. It indicates that notion that it’s abnormal, that it’s a sickness, it’s pathologized. Maybe that’s also why some men think they are doing us a favor by raping us, they’re curing us of our homosexuality.” It might be less visible nevertheless sexual minorities in the Philippines have to deal with tangible injustices. After all, identifying as gay, lesbian, bi or queer is not just a matter of swapping a straight hat for a feather boa. It is a lifelong process of crafting bodies, relationships, and selves.The portrait series introduces characters from the lesbian, gay, bi and transsexual (LGBT) scene in the Philippines. The people vary in family background, religion, socio-economic situation, age, sexual orientation, gender identification and gender expression. Everyone adds a personal story which contributes to the bigger picture of sexual minorities in the Philippines.
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