When people refer someone as the “other”, he pertains to a person whom is different from what is ought to be or expected of a man in a natural state of being. More often than not, these people are regarded as the marginalized sector in the society, which are those who are not treated and represented equally. With this premise, I have thought of having the gay and lesbian community in the Philippines as an essential example and topic of my concern.
For years, the gay and lesbian community has been fighting for their rights of equality relentlessly. But it has not been an easy road for them. The conservative, primarily the Catholic Church, an institution built with the values that recognize and advocate strict sexual and gender orientation, defies the said community. For them, straying away from what is accepted by the teaching of the church and the society is immoral and does not promote good values. The Philippine society adds up to the burden of the gay and lesbian community by undermining their importance in the society. Most of the time, people treat them without respect, negatively objectifying them by: making fun of them because of how they dress up and present themselves, regarding them as uneducated, assuming they are less capable of doing the right and proper things and lastly, coming up with the assumption that they are living a pointless life.
In its present stand point, the gay and lesbian communities of not only in the Philippines but also in the whole world have received tons of defamation from people. Nevertheless, they continue to fight for what they believe in; all human are equal, regardless of our sexual and gender preferences. Unfortunately, only a few would recognize this very idea because majority of us sees the negative stereotypes we have made of them and none of what good they could have been.
Given an example, most of the gays are in the entertainment industry: showbiz, comedy bars, gay pageant, contests and alike; people make fun of them, maybe because it is part of what they do for a living. Which sometimes is leading to a negative stereotype instilled in our minds that we thought of whenever we see them. It never crossed our mind that they entertain us for the money they can get to sustain the lives of their family or cash to put up their own small business so they do not need to make themselves look stupid to earn a living, or invest on education to have a degree they could be proud of and in a way open opportunity for better jobs and life. In fact, some gays are harder worker and dedicated to the jobs they have than some of us. That is why there are gays like, Boy Abunda, John Lapuz, Allan K, Vice Ganda, Fanny Serrano, Mother Ricky who strived hard and earned respectable status in showbiz industry. There were also gays whom have taken a seat in local government such as Ogie Diaz and Teri Aunor, whom both are councilors. There are also gays in respectable fields: science and medicine, academics, corporate world and politics; who have proven that their gender is not of a hindrance for them.
Lesbians on the other hand do not share the same limelight entertainment industry as the gays; rather they live a more quiet life. We can see them in a typical men outfit, resembling men trapped in women’s body because they act and sometimes look vey much of a man rather than a woman. Usually, their jobs are more likely unisexual work; not something very physical because of their strength capacity, nor too girly for it will ironically counter their machismo personality. The often-said stereotype about them is when they develop relationship with another girl. People depict the personality of a lesbian as too aspiring of becoming a man. Usually, this idea comes from men themselves because they get the feeling of “nasasapawan”, for they believe that men can provide better for the girl than another girl. But for the lesbians, they feel they also have the right to fall in love with another person regardless of his/her own gender preference, provided the fact that they can prove they are worthy of it; which means they can provide the life and the love that their partner will be expecting from them. Relative to the gays, lesbians nowadays have been recognized in various fields.
In my opinion, gays and lesbians are as much the same with all of us, but with the ruthless and judgmental society that we have, they shall prove themselves rightful for the recognition of the people around them. Their road to success is a long and tough one. It could be impossible for them to reach their goal of equality, realistically speaking. But when people widen their thoughts about their perspective in life and try to look upon the point of what these people have shouted out long before, then there could be a chance for them to achieve their goal. There are more to them that we do not see, for we have not given them the chance to uplift themselves up and prove that they are actually, part of the society.
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