Thoughts on the Bakla, the Filipino gays
Posted by lauren | Under Filipino Culture, Opinions of Sorts with 314 views Thursday Sep 22, 2005A few days ago, I borrowed a Filipino graphic novel called Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah by Carl Vergara. It’s basically your garden-variety superhero comic book about battling garden-variety alien invaders–except that our “superhero”, Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, is really a parlor gay who becomes a transsexual upon swallowing a magic stone (like Darna, the most famous female Filipino comic book superhero). Since I have done quite a bit of research on Filipino gay culture for a group paper on homosexuality for a Theology class, I was able to read Zsa Zsa with some background on local gay culture. And I will make my comments on the graphic novel with this knowledge in mind. (Let me make a disclaimer though, that all I know of Filipino gay culture is based on observation and information from a book called Philippine Gay Culture: The Last 30 Years by Neil Garcia (from UP Press).)
Homosexuals in the Philippines are referred to as bakla or bading. The bakla is basically your loud, effeminate, parlor gays (think the gay guys from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy except noiser) or transsexuals. In Filipno culture, bakla and homosexuality necessarily connote each other. During the sixties, which was the birth of Filipino gay culture, it was popularly believed that a bakla is a male whose sexually desires another male, but by virtue of this choice, loses his masculinity and begins to turn female. But this transformation to another gender is never fully accomplished because what the bakla can only do is become a “fake woman”.
With time, Filipino gays gained a favorable reputation through the field of arts and entertainment–theater, fashion design, show business. But alhtough it seemed that the although it seemed that bakla were celebrated and welcomed by the predominantly heterosexual Filipino society, people came to the impression that bakla will always remain aberrations because they cannot partake in the experience of bearing children. Since they are handicapped in this sense, the bakla has less chance for happiness than others.
In other words, homosexuality in the Philippines boils down to a reversal of gender roles. They dress up as females or act effeminately and have creative jobs like interior design–jobs that are usually designated to women. It is also the average bakla’s dream to be loved, accepted, and enter into a relationship with “real man”. Like women, baklas treat each other like sisters and thus, do not date each other because this would be something like incest. Ironically, Filipino gays, while marginalized by the heterosexuals, practice a form of discrimmination of their own. Silahis is a Tagalog word that roughly translates to “bisexual”. But for the bakla, who assert a feminine identity, a silahis is a male who looks and acts like a “real man” but who, deep inside, wishes to become effeminate. Because the silahis is not effeminate, he is misconstrued by the gay culture as behaving in a masculine manner to avoid the stigma on effeminate identity. It was also the opinion of the gays that the silahis were merely fence-sitters waiting out the war against homophobia. Thus, the silahis were considered to be traitors to their cause.
So what does all this have to do with Zsa Zsa? In the graphic novel, Ada–the bakla who eventually becomes Zsa Zsa–is in love with a guy named Dodong, and the story ends with Dodong falling in love with him. If what I just said about Filipino homosexuality is still holds true today (and I actually wouldn’t know since I don’t have any gay friends), then I just don’t see this happening. Look at it this way. Baklas want to be in a relationship with a “real man” but the fact of the matter is, heterosexual guys would do anything to avoid being seen in the company of a bakla, usually because they find the gender role reversal disgusting and unnatural, and because they fear that other people might think they are bakla as well. And if the bakla think that the silahis (the manly gay man) is some sort of a traitor to kabaklaan, then I think they’ve reached a dead end. But again, let me clarify that my conclusion is not fact; just the result of a little research and personal observation.
As for what I think about the whole gender role reversal of Filipino gays, I admit that sometimes I find it disturbing and slightly annoying. I don’t understand why they feel that they are “women trapped in men’s bodies”. I find it annoying how they tend to screech too loudly, and scary how they can be bitchier than the bitchiest women. And yes, it’s gross how some gays act like the most goddamn arrogant queens but just don’t have the looks to pull it off. I realize that this isn’t a very fair evaluation of them and but the reason why I feel this way towards them is because I don’t have any gay friends. Not because I don’t want to, but simply because I’ve never had the opportunity to know any Filipino gay people. I’ve been told that they have a great sense of humor and are as loyal a friend as another woman but since I don’t know any gays I haven’t seen this side of them yet. Perhaps someday I will. But if the bakla can be as trecherous as the average woman (see this entry), then perhaps I can’t have a lasting friendship with one.
(This is probably asking for it, but I’m leaving the comments open.)
I just thought you might be interested in reading Serena Nanda’s “Neither Man Nor Woman,” an ethnography of the Hijra culture. Also, I got good laughs from the movie “To Wong Foo, thanks for everything, Julie Newmar.”
Im silahis, probably you can try being friend with me. Most of your observation is true.
got to read the graphic novel just recently and it’s very entertaining. your blog is very insightful i’d like to comment tho that the beauty behind the fiction is that no one is exempted in finding true love. never was it stated that dodong is straight (and may had been gay or “silahis” from the very start). and i don’t see anything impossible with him falling in love with ada after discovering ada- the person. let’s be careful in discriminating stereotypes that they can never be capable of such happiness. yes ma’am, i’d suggest you do more reading and research reading about the very interesting development and transformations of the filipino homosexual thru the years. it has evolved far fr your description and perception you have pointed out in your blog.
Thoughts on the Bakla, the Filipino gays
Homosexuals in the Philippines are referred to as bakla or bading. The bakla is basically your loud, effeminate, parlor gays (think the gay guys from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy except noiser) or transsexuals. In Filipno culture, bakla and homosexua…
I just wanted to say that gay culture in the Philippines is a little different from gay culture in the U.S. I am a half filipino half African American mix. I am also gay but i am not effeminate or what you would call “bakla”. In fact I am very masculine. On the other hand I have a half brother that lives in the Philippines who is also gay but he identifies himself as “bakla”. He has even told me that he is a woman trapped in side a mans body. He is very attracted to “masculine” gay men or “silahis”. But its funny to me how in the Philippines gay couple match up in a way where one man is effeminate and the other is masculine. its not always like that here in the U.S. Especially among the Black community. In fact i have noticed that for most gay men (masculine or effeminate) femenine characteristics are turn-offs because gay men are attracted to other man and do not want to be with somebody that acts like a women. this is funny to me because even here in the U.S. a lot of effeminate gay men are trying to get with the masculine gay men. they very rarely succeed. the only times they actually succeed is because the masculine gay man they are trying to get with is a little uncomfortable about his sexuality and wants to get with a effeminate gay man because he wants to create the illusion that he is dating a woman even though he is very much attracted to men. but most masculine gay men will turn down effeminate gay men because they are simply not attracted to them. some effeminate gay men will accept this and move on while others will get very angry and say that the only reason why he wont date them is because he has internalized homophobia and he doesnt want anybody discovering his sexuality. this is defenitely not true because the masculine gay man just like the effeminate gay man is only attracted to other masculine gay men. this has nothing to do with internalized homophobia it has to with preference. yes there are gay couples in the u.S. where one partner is more masculine then the other this is because the partner that is more feminine doesn’t have “strong” effeminate characteristics. they may have some but its not to the point where they would be considered highly effeminate. i havent really done substantial research about homosexuality in the Philippines but i wouldnt be surprised if a lot of the silahis only dated each other and werent attracted to baklas. I also want to say that when a gay man is masculine its not because he is trying to hide that fact that he is gay its just because it happened naturally. I myself am not trying to hide the fact that im gay im just naturally masculine and im attracted to other masculine gay men. There are also a lot of effeminate gay men that know that masculine gay men are attracted to other masculine gay men so they try there hardest to act masculine. this almost never works because you can tell that they are really effeminate. my point is that most gay men in the U.S. are attracted to masculine gay men regardless of wether they themselves are masculine or effeminete.
hmm..here’s the fact.. u cant change the culture of gay people here in the philippines, so you can never compare it to the U.S. Gays here in the Philippines have rules and norms, there are even levels on being gay..form the masculine str8 acting to the effeminate drag queens types..and thats what makes this Gay culture real co0l…aside fr0m the fact that Gays here in the Philippines are more creative and intelligent, an eye for the arts and the brains for the sciences…hehehe.. oh and by the way.. it is in the Philippines that Gays have there own Language for speaking…(creative huh?)
Could it be possible that people are ever attracted to what is on the inside of a person? And is it also not true that each person is made up of many traits or characteristics? I really believe each person is attracted to another for different reasons. There are so many good, kind people in the world, and in my opinion they cannot be categorized, stereotyped, or put in groups, because each person is a unique individual. Probably the best book on gay culture, straight culture or any culture has not yet been written. All I know is the most important aspect of friendship is to be a good person who is loyal. All people are trying to find their place on this world, the meaning of life, and love…
I wanted to add just one more thing, which is we have more things in common as human beings than differences, regardless where we are from, how we look on the outside, what religion we belong to, the color of our skin, our sexual orientation, etc. We should learn to love each other the way God does, first and foremost.
If you do a little research, the role reversal of gay culture has it’s roots in the Spanish culture of the Philippines, because if you look at Latin culture, the norms are the same due to the machismo culture that the Philippines ended up with after España. It wasn’t like that before Spain arrived in the Philippines, I read from the same author you read, Neil Garcia, the bakla were seen differently, and then Spain arrived with all their macho-machismo concepts and transformed the Philippines.
Gay couples in Latin America always end up taking male-female roles, and the thing is, just like in Philippines, the penetrator is not usually seen as gay even though he has sex with men, only the one getting penetrated is the gay, but the man penetrating another man is seen as a macho in Latin culture, which is ironic and illogical, but hey, that’s our culture.
But there are great strides in Latin culture as far as homosexuality, I’m a fan of telenovelas, and currently there are four Latin telenovelas that feature gay couples:
Tierra de Pasiones
La Tormenta
America
Barrera de Amor
i am a married woman but i prefer to be called the babaeng bakla and i am comfortable about it..are there any articles about babaeng bakla?
bakla or not bakla,it’s a personal lifetime decision…but believe me,what matters most is that the person inside that loves unselfishly counts..your concepts enlightened me …i will comment soon
yea, gay men here in the philippines are way different than in the US. I dont discriminate gays, in fact, i found them funny. Im actually a YAOI fan, a japanese term,and which is usually about sexually attractive guys. A pair usually consists of a manly/cute guy and effeminate guy, no crossdressers. I like it very much, it’s very attractive, seeing two cute boys in-love with each other. And what’s more, it’s a guy with a face of a girl, a girly guy.
i have a slew of gay friends, and i love (most of) them to bits, but they *can* be overly dramatic and emotional. they *can* be treacherous too. learned this the hard way when i was “burned” by one too many. they can be funny and endearingly sweet, but when they choose to bring out their claws, watch out! it’s the worst of both worlds!
I am a paralegal in the states and am working for a lawyer defending a gay Filipino client that touch the pizza boy during a pizza delivery near the groin area - Is there any cultural issues in the homosexual community that could possibly be used as a defense in this case. I appreciate any help that you can provide.
Some men treat the “bakla” as women, so they don’t think that being with them makes them gay as well. They merely overlook their physical structures.
And don’t generalize every bakla as a screeching type. Those are mostly the ones in the movies, and you do not use a movie as reference.
I would like to point out that it is not of the attraction of the sexes that matters as an individual. it is per person’s choice on how he handles everything in his life. Just for instance, you can see everyday in the news about men doing crimes that most of us cant think a person could do, and that goes true to women. you can also see around you alot of people, men and women, doing wonderful things to one another. With this, i dont see any wrong of being a gay for everyone has choices and with these choices is accompanied by great responsibilities that need to think over.
I hope i gave some points to pounder on.