In the United States, parents of a seven-year-old “transgender,” a boy who identifies him/herself as a girl, are suing the child’s old school after the administration stopped the child from using the girls’ toilet and directed the child to a “gender-neutral” restroom instead. The reason officials gave for this change of policy was fear of [...]
There’s a crib in the office of Penny Wong. It’s the first thing one sees upon entering her office in this city’s Parliament Building, and it seems incongruous with her sober demeanor, dressed as she is in a pinstripe suit with a pale pink shirt under the blazer.
I got very, very angry this morning. To be specific, I got angry, frustrated, disappointed and sad. My head is throbbing and I feel like screaming. I want to cry because I just can’t take bigotry and discrimination, especially toward the people who are very close to my heart, the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender (LGBT) community.
I came out to a friend today via text message. After about an hour of what seemed like an eternity, he replied: “No worries, your secret is safe with me.” I was glad that he was supportive of me, but I don’t intend to keep it a secret for long. Not for another 29 years of my life.
I’m writing this on July 4, the Independence Day of the United States of America. We used to celebrate our own independence as a nation on this same date, until we decided that we owed it to ourselves to mark our full emancipation as a people by going back to June 12, 1898, when our [...]
I have an older cousin who in our younger years took up smoking. This was no big deal—if my cousin had been a boy. But she was a girl—a young woman by that time, a professional at that—but still the older generation frowned on her smoking, as did her boyfriend then.
Heart Dinos election as the first transgender chair of the University of the Philippines Diliman Student Council last March 1 excites many political observers who view it as a portent of greater participation among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Filipinos in the political arena. They have every reason to be excited. Today, anecdotal evidence suggests that the Philippines will be electing more LGBTs to public offices, including Congress, in the 2013 elections. But are we ready for a transgender president?
This is in reaction to Pompeyo Pedroche’s letter. (Inquirer, 7/9/11) He said there is no more need for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Filipinos to fight for equal treatment because they have the likes of Boy Abunda, Ricky Reyes and even lawmakers as successful role models. This is the same line used by the [...]
“Hindi na ako papayag (I won’t allow it to happen),” declares TV personality Boy Abunda. He’s referring to the loss in last year’s elections of the party-list Ang Ladlad, which sought to represent the LGBT or lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community. Most observers ascribe Ang Ladlad’s loss to the mere three weeks it was [...]
