It was obvious from the start that it was a case of deception. Even before it was revealed in court that Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton of the US Marines was under the impression that Jennifer Laude and friends were females.
I am not saying that what Pemberton did was right because taking someone’s life is never right. Nor am I homophobic or antigay. In fact, I like gays because I find them entertaining—a sentiment that is shared by most Filipinos. What some people don’t realize though is that other countries and cultures are not as gay-friendly as the Philippines.
With the increasing number of “super sireyna” nowadays, this kind of crime is bound to happen again and again and again, regardless of whether a Filipino or a foreigner would be behind it. To those who are not familiar with the term, “super sireyna” originated from the noontime TV show “Eat Bulaga.” It’s a beauty competition of gays and transgenders, most of whom have gone through cosmetic surgery, including sexual reassignment procedure.
Others take female hormones to look like women. A lot of these super sireynas are actually more beautiful and sexier than real women. Those who take female hormones would develop breasts, prominent cheeks, have softer skin and develop a more feminine figure.
Others would go even further by undergoing throat surgery in order to have a high-pitch, female-sounding voice. The physical transformation is amazing that at times it’s hard to distinguish the real women from those who are not.
A similar experience happened to my associates about 13 years ago. We were at a bar in Amsterdam when, at the end of the night, two of my Canadian associates decided to take home a very attractive Thai woman they met there.
My female friend, also our boss at the time, knew right there and then that the attractive lady wasn’t a real lady, but was actually a “she-man.” The giveaway: her/his Adam’s apple. A huge fact that my male associates failed to recognize as their judgments were already clouded with alcohol.
The following morning, my boss jokingly confronted my coworkers. They did not deny it and they were very embarrassed. Luckily, they were not violent people, so they just let that incident slide by with a shrug and with some amusement over a “spontaneous surge of manliness” fueled by alcohol one evening at a bar.
My point is, it is crucial that transgenders disclose their sexual orientation early on and not lead others to believe the person that they are not, especially if there’s an intent to be intimate with the other person because this is such a sensitive issue. You never know how others might react if they found out that they had been deceived, especially if under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
—SHERRY LEGISLADOR,
slegislador@hotmail.com