The Community

Hi RANTers!

How are you guys lately?

Me? Not so doing fine. I woke up this morning with a slight fever (37.8^oC to be exact.) so I may be doing a few articles for RANTday today (How many times have I said this already?).

Anyway, shall we get started?

Just last night, there was a bit of a fuss on the social media and that fuss was made by most of the members of the LGBT community; specifically the G-A-Y community (Well, I only have a few friends who are LBT on Facebook and on Twitter.).

What was that fuss all about, anyway?

It was the LGBT Episode of “Cheche Lazaro Presents” that was aired on ABS-CBN last night.

Almost all of the LGBT community in the social media was watching every single minute of it (Who wouldn’t? I know I would If I have the chance.).

The show showed everyone the struggles of the LGBT community here in the Philippines to be recognized and accepted as who we really are. The show showed that not every Filipino citizen is very accepting when it comes to our norms as a community.

Why, you may ask.

One word. P-R-E-J-U-D-I-C-E.

When one person would say that he’s G-A-Y or she’s an L-E-S-B-I-A-N, what comes to the mind of the Filipino citizens?

I know. They would think of someone who dresses as one that is of the opposite gender, someone who would act that is of the opposite gender, and someone who wants to be put on the operating table to be that of the opposite gender (So much stereotyping and prejudice, right?).

Photo owned by GAYSOME.

Photo owned by GAYSOME.

Then when one would say that he or she is a B-I-S-E-X-U-A-L, one would think that he or she is just one confused kid (Come on, people! Really?) and that he or she needs to sort out who he or she really wants to sleep with (You know what I mean by that.).

And then there are these issues of the TRANSGENDERS. When one would undergo that beautiful transformation (And I just thought of Sailor Moon herself.), he or she will not be recognized as who he or she really thinks he or she is. I mean, how would one react if he or she sees a transgender man or woman? Would they say “That’s a man/woman”? N-O! They would simply say, “Bakla/Tibo ‘yan.” (“He’s/She’s gay/lesbian”). Hell, even the Philippine government would say that “the gender that he or she is born with is what the constitution would recognize.” (See what I mean?).

But what am I really trying to say here?

Photo not owned by blogger.

Our community just wants E-Q-U-A-L-I-T-Y in everything. And by that I don’t mean to say just EQUALITY IN MARRIAGE but also on how the Filipino Society would see us without stereotyping and prejudice.

It is these homophobic people who drive each member of the LGBT community into hiding in the “closet” or in our nutshell. They bash us in every possible way that you can think of. Even to the point of being MURDERED just because we exist (Woah! It feels like I’ve said that before already.).

Photo not owned by blogger.

We just want to be accepted and loved for who we really are. As much as the heterosexuals love each other, we just want the same thing. No prejudice. No stereotyping. No H-A-T-R-E-D.

Again and again, throughout the history of the LGBT community, this is all what we wanted. As S-I-M-P-L-E as this.