Pride Day has been celebrated in the Philippines for several years now in ever-growing numbers, joining the many Pride events in other countries seeking the protection of rights of LGBTQI+ and allies who are also sometimes targeted for the support they provide.
It is easy to be filled with excitement when one joins the colorful, loud event filled with rainbows and unicorns, dancing queens and strong handsome women who do not seem to have a care in the world. For a day, there will be freedom to celebrate themselves or be their fantasy personas. If you hear someone say, “I live for this day!” believe it. Because for many of these colorful revelers, this is the one day in the year that they can express their individuality in a safe community.
The Philippines was the first country in Asia to hold a Pride March back in the 90s. This has often been cited to prove that there is “acceptance” of LGBTQI+ in the country. There is also the high visibility of media celebrities such as Boy Abunda, Vice Ganda, Ice Seguerra and Jake Zyrus who openly talk about their sexuality and relationships. Gay beauticians, designers comedians and film directors have been practicing their crafts for years, should be enough to lull us into believing that indeed, we have been accepting of our brothers, sisters and non-binary siblings.
However, this does not appear to be the case when we speak of the multitudes who experience discrimination and violence on the basis of their Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE). Discrimination and violence, in their various forms and degrees. The struggle is real.
Any LGBTQI+ can cite at least an experience of discrimination or harassment. The lesbian couple whose down payment to an apartment was returned when the landlady realized their relationship, the transboy who was wrapped with a curtain to look like a gown by the principal and ordered to parade in the school grounds during the morning assembly, the gay man who has to keep appearances for years to keep this job, and the femme who is constantly chided by male co-workers for not really being a lesbian for her feminine appearance. Things ‘regular’ people take for granted—getting a house, finding a job, finishing school, getting married, having children, are more difficult for LGBTQI+ to attain because of how they are perceived on the basis of their SOGIE.
Every year the theme for each march, focuses light on one surface of a prism as LGBTQI+ learn more and reflect on their evolving challenges. From asking for acceptance, to respect, to equal rights in specific realms of daily life, to questioning the core of these rights themselves. The concept of intersectionality, which simply means that the multiplicity of our social differences in terms of race, age, color, sex, form layers affect the way we are perceived that result in discrimination. This concept has also been used by feminists for decades to explain women’s oppression.
The Anti-Discrimination Bill has been filed several times but has yet to be finally passed because of the homophobic attitude of many legislators who fear the conservative backlash on their political careers to the detriment of the LGBTQI+s who need the state’s protection. There is real hope here since the House of Representatives has passed the bill on third and final reading. This is the farthest that the bill has reached. The Senate has time to approve its version.
Recently, social media was a-abuzz as the oral arguments for the same-sex marriage petition were heard by the Supreme Court. The Solicitor-General vigorously argued against the petition, citing tradition and the inability of two people of the same sex to procreate as reasons for not allowing the petition to prosper further.
The chances of winning this petition may be bleak for now, but some of the Justices have given us hope as well when they made pronouncements in favor of same sex marriage. Like each Pride March, every act is a step to question laws, or absence of laws, and ways of thinking that fail to reflect the reality of people’s needs and lives.
As a country, we are already divided on so many issues. Discrimination on the basis of SOGIE strikes at the core of each individual straight or LGBTQI+ because it affects their ability to attain their full potential. The rights that LGBTQI+s ask for are nothing special. These are just the same rights that straight people already enjoy and at times take for granted. Respecting and actualizing these rights will not take away from the rights straight people have. It is emancipation for people who have been kept silent and shackled by irrational fears.
This year, as you watch the Pride March on TV or social media, do not dismiss the exercise as merely another parade. It is an act of resistance. Despite the discrimination that LGBTQI+s experience, they are fighting for their right to live life fully. It is an act to express that despite differences and diversity, hope burns in each heart for a better, more just society where we can all live in harmony.
For those who want to experience the 2018 Pride March #RiseUpTogether, it will be held today at the Marikina Sports Center, from 12 nn-10 pm. For more information, check out @mmprideorg on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and www.mmpride.org
Keep that pride!
@bethangsioco on Twitter Elizabeth Angsioco on Facebook