Taglay na Kulay

Happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️💖

Together we celebrate the wonder, history, and diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community. We stand with the community’s continued fight for visibility and equal rights, not only on this month, but every day.

Let this be a time of love, compassion, acceptance, and equality for everybody!

October 11, 2011 marked the first time a public statement by a national psychological institution was issued affirming the existence of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Against the backdrop of differing sexual orientations and gender expressions being treated as psychological anomalies, the statement of PAP expressing that being LGBTQIA is normal served as a way to dispute these claims. The emphasis made on the connection between discrimination and mental health also served as an important step toward visibility.

References

[1] Philippines Psychological Association. (2011). Statement of the Psychological Association of the Philippines on non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. Philippine Journal of Psychology, 44, 229-230.

[2] Bostwick, W. B., Boyd, C. J., Hughes, T. L., West, B. T., & McCabe, S. E. (2014). Discrimination and mental health among le***an, gay, and bisexual adults in the United States. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(1), 35.

The very first pride march in the Philippines happened back on June 26, 1994 in Quezon City, Metro Manila. It was also considered as the first pride march in Asia. The protest was led by the Progressive Organization of G**s (PROGAYS) and the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots [1].

The 1969 Stonewall Riots that happened at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village was a protest against the discrimination of police towards the gay community, which eventually led to the emergence of more gay rights movements around the world.

Aside from the issues of the LGBTQIA+ community that were raised during the protest in QC, the members who were present also fought against the “pro-capitalist” and “anti-people” state policies which made the lives of Filipinos more miserable [1], including the call against the imposing of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the Philippines [2].

During the 1994 pride march event, Fr. Mickley said that not everyone before was ready, willing, and bold enough to expose themselves to the media [3]. A mass was also held during the pride march in QC and their goal was successfully achieved—to show to the people that the g**s and le***ans are real people and not freaks in the closet [4].

References:
[1] Palatino, M. (2021). Remembering Asia’s First Pride March in Manila. Global Voices. https://globalvoices.org/2021/06/11/remembering-asias-first-pride-march-in-manila/

[2] Domingo, K. (2020). Never Forget: PH’s First Pride March in 1994. Village Pipol: Your Guide to the Big City. https://villagepipol.com/never-forget-phs-first-pride-march-in-1994/

[3] Jaucian, D. (2020). A look into organizing Pride March in the Philippines (and why it’s still a protest). CNN Philippines. https://www.cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2020/6/26/pride-march-as-protest.html

[4] Pascual, P. K. (2018). The impetus for organizing LGBTQI Pride in the Phl. https://outragemag.com/the-evolution-of-lgbtqi-pride-in-the-phl/

The National Le***an Rights Conference (FNLRC) was first held back in 1996 in Silang, Cavite. The movement was organized in response to the persisting call for the community’s support and cooperation for the inclusivity of the members of the le***an community. [1]

True to its theme “Hearing Our Voices in Unity: Claiming Our Rights, Controlling Our Lives”, the conference took a step further in forwarding the collective goal of le***an visibility and the fulfillment of their basic rights. [2]

References:
[1] “Statement of the First National Le***an Rights Conference December 7-9, 1996, Silang, Cavite, Philippines.” Statement of the First National Le***an Rights Conference. https://cpcabrisbane.org/Kasama/1997/V11n1/Le***anRights.htm.

[2] Sharon, Tanya, Farar Elliott, and Cecile Latham. “THE NATIONAL LE***AN CONFERENCE: FOR, BY, AND ABOUT LE***ANS.” Off Our Backs 21, no. 6 (1991): 1–23.

The Le***an Collective, established in 1992, is the first formal le***an organization [1]. The organization was a response to the long-standing invisibility of the members of the le***an community in the Philippines, even within the Women’s Movement [1,2].

The formation of TLC paved the way for other organizations to take root in various provinces in the Philiipines outside Metro Manila, further improving le***an visibility in the country [1].

[1] Pineda, R. (2008). Bridging gaps, making a struggle: The history of Filipina le***an struggle in the Philippines. Kasarinlan Philippine Journal of Third World Studies, 131-162.

[2] Hega, M. D., Alporha, V. C., & Evangelista, M. S. (2017). Feminism and the Women's Movement in the Philippines. Friedrich Eberto Stiftung.

The Home for the Golden G**s was a non-profit organization founded in Pasay City by Justo C. Justo in 1975. Its goal was to provide shelter and care for elderly members of the LGBT community [1].

The organization no longer exists as a home today, but many members are still associated with the organization. Many of them continue to fund the organization through day jobs and drag performances [2].

References
[1]About. The Golden G**s. (2017, June 1). https://thegoldeng**s.wordpress.com/about/

[2]Heifetz, Justin (20 February 2019). "The Elderly Gay Filipinos Who Perform in Drag to Survive". Vice. Retrieved 10 May 2023.

The 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐚𝐧 was the earliest recount of gender-crossing in the Philippines. As influential figures in the community, the babaylan served as mediators between the spiritual world and the community [1].

The predominance of female babaylan did not hinder the gender-crossing male babayalan from taking on the appearance, behavior, and occupation of the female babaylan [2]. Like all other babaylan, they were respected priests/priestesses and healers to the members of their community.

References:
[1] Filipina Women’s Network. (2016). DID YOU KNOW? Pre-Colonial Philippines’ Longstanding Tradition of Women Leadership and Mysticism. https://filipinawomensnetwork.org/epahayagan/did-you-know-pre-colonial-philippines-longstanding-tradition-of-women-leadership-and-mysticism

[2] Garcia, J.N.C. (2008). Philippine gay culture: binabae to bakla, silahis to MSM (2nd ed.). The University of the Philippines Press.

𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨...

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐚 𝐊𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐲: 𝐀 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐆𝐁𝐓𝐐𝐈𝐀+ 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 🌈💖

Taglay na Kulay is an educational information drive dedicated to promoting visibility and delivering the colorful history of the LGBTQIA+ community in the Philippines!

Stay tuned for our upcoming releases starting THIS WEEK 💥

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