Hello Philippines, and Hello World! It’s the weekend, and as usual on a lazy Sunday afternoon I like to read. Here’s an article I happen to find in the internet, and would like to share with you. It’s a good perspective about how we gay men here in Manila, despite everything, still has it better. I invite you, read on.
Is It Better to be Gay in the Philippines?
A Youth Commentary by Nelson Everett Toriano, Pacific News Service
Americans often think the U.S. is the world’s most accepting places for gay, lesbian and transgender people. But a young gay American man finds out differently in the mostly Catholic, socially conservative Philippines.
Mar 26, 2004 – During my trip to the Philippines, my cousin introduced me to people in her high school ROTC program. Carrying paper fans, her male friends skipped toward me from the back of their exercise lines. They called me guapo, or “handsome” in Tagalog.
I blushed, having never been approached before by flamers in fatigues.
I was surprised to find that in the mostly Catholic society of my homeland, gay culture is more tolerated than in America. From nightlife to the media, baklas (Tagalog for gays) are the norm. The strangest part of the entire experience was realizing that although I’m a gay male, as an American I was uncomfortable with such tolerance.
While the recent court ban on gay marriages in San Francisco — as well as President Bush’s proposed constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage — attacks me personally, my visit to the Philippines taught me the only way to counteract fear of the unknown is to try to understand it. During my trip, I did just that.
Though a fairly conservative country, the Philippines oozes sex, especially in its gay club scene. I paid five dollars to get into BED, one of Manila’s hottest gay clubs. Inside, I was immediately struck by the club’s musky heat. I never made it to the bar in the back because the club was too crowded. Sweaty men were standing so close together that no one could move their arms to dance.
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While the world is rejoicing with the victory of Barack Obama, the first US President of African-American descent, I was silently monitoring the gay-related Ballot Measures. In Arizona, Proposition 102 (Ban on Gay Marriage) was being decided on. The measure would amend the state constitution so that only a union between one man and one woman would be valid or recognized as a marriage in the state. In California, a similar measure was also being decided on, called Proposition 8. In Florida too, there was something similar, Amendment 2. All these states were voting Yes or No to Ban Gay Marriage. In all these three states, as of writing, the Yes’s are winning. In Arkansas, people were voting Yes or No to another gay-related issue: Arkansas Initiative 1– Ban on Gay Couples Adopting Children. Again, the Yes’s are winning. (more…)
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