This was coined by Bern Josep Persia.

(This video with subtitles can be found here.)

I actually found this in Facebook and got intrigued by this when an FB friend of mine shared the Bekimon Facebook page. Funny how the term Jejemon has now evolved into this new term that can also become an internet sensation and even transcend to popular culture sensation.

Kalurkey. Nalurkey akey nang nasightsung ko ang videobels ni Bekimon. (Naloka ako nang nakita ko ang mga videos ni Bekimon). Imagine your mom scolding you in Bekimon language. I was trying to decipher the meaning without the subtitles and good thing I can still understand! Been used to hearing gay lingo with my orgmates in Babaylan really helped but sad thing is I can’t really ispluk straight. Haha. Hope that Bern can still create more videos like this, it’s really helps lighten up the mood.

Getchikola mes? (Na-gets mo ba? / Did you get it? )

Muli is a movie that’s based on Jerry Gracio’s Palanca-winning screenplay. This indie gay film is about the love story of an underground/activist inn keeper (Sid Lucero) and a layer (Cogie Domingo). The film is directed by Adolfo B. Alix, Jr. Please do watch out for this film in the Cinemalaya Film fest this coming July.

Gay icons are someone that gays look up to, whether they are really gay or not. Here are some individuals that are considered to be as gay icons here in the Philippines:

Ricky Reyes – Icon for the “parloristang” bakla

He is the most successful gay who strived to make his salon chain successful. Before the F Salons, Index and the others, the most evident ones were Ricky Reyes’ salons. He also founded the Ricky Reyes Learning Institute wherein people who aspire to become a professional hairdresser can be formally educated. During the 90’s (and I believe until now), he has a television show called “Beauty School Plus” wherein the television viewers can learn how to put on make up and cut someone else’s hair.

Danton Remoto: Icon for the Political Gays

* photo from dantonremoto2010.blogspot.com

An Ateneo professor and writer, Danton Remoto aims to become the first openly gay politician. Danton heads the LGBT political group “Ang Ladlad” which was at first denied to be recognized as a party list representative for the LGBTs in the upcoming 2010 National Elections. As of this moment, the Supreme Court has given the go signal to let “Ang Ladlad” run a party list group.

Boy Abunda – Icon for the Tsismosang Bakla

Boy Abunda is also an artist manager aside from being the host of the popular Showbiz oriented show, The Buzz. I guess he’s one of the respected hosts and interviewers in this country. I can’t really say that he’s perfectly balanced in all that he does but I am sure that he’s one hell of an intelligent interviewer.

I know there are a lot but I guess I’ll keep this shortlisted first. If you have any gay in mind that you feel is respected in Philippine society, then please suggest it below.

]]> http://pinoylgbt.com/who-are-the-gay-icons-in-your-neighborhood/feed/ 0 http://pinoylgbt.com/rainbow-radio-pilipinas-on-valentines-day/ http://pinoylgbt.com/rainbow-radio-pilipinas-on-valentines-day/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:41:41 +0000 karlaredor http://pinoylgbt.com/?p=193

Rainbow Radio Pilipinas will be opening the airwaves for listeners who will be sending their love letters and short but sweet shout outs on Valentine’s Day. All you have to do is to send an email to: rainbowradiopilipinas[at]gmail.com on or before February 5 (Friday).

Rainbow Radio Pilipinas will choose the shout-outs and stories to be read on air. If your entry won’t be chosen, don’t fret because they will post the other stories on their website (with your permission of course).

Guidelines:

Short and sweet shout outs:

• Email Valentine shout-outs, greetings, or messages from today to 05 February 2010 to rainbowradiopilipinas@gmail.com for your submission to be included in our recording.
• Shout out should be a maximum of 50 words.
• Anonymous shout-outs will be allowed. Foul language is prohibited.

Love Letters:

• Email letters from today to 05 February 2010 to rainbowradiopilipinas@gmail.com
• Letter should have words not exceeding 300 words.
• Letter recipient can be a romantic partner, a family member, a colleague or a personal hero. Letter must express love, thanks, appreciation, congratulations, etc. Story must have LGBT theme. Example: Transgender female writing to her grandmother who loved and supported her throughout her transition
• The three most inspiring letters will be read on air and will get prizes from Rainbow Radio Pilipinas!
• Anonymous letters will be allowed. Foul language is prohibited.

Prizes are as follows:

1st prize: Romantic dinner for 2

2nd prize: Movie Date for 2

3rd prize: 2 Rainbow Pilipinas Shirts

Keep posted for details

One of the icons of the global LGBT community, Stephen Gately of Boyzone, died at 33 while he was having his vacation in Majorca, Spain. He was with his partner Andrew Cowles whom he wed through a civil union in 2006. The cause of death is still unknown. There are stories that say that he just went out for a few drinks then came back to the hotel to sleep but he never woke up.

He admitted his sexuality in 1999 through The Sun by admitting that he was in a relationship with Eloy de Jong, a member of  boyband called Caught in the Act. Their relationship ended in 2002. His partner, Andrew Cowles, was introduced to him through mutual friends Elton John and David Furnish.

Here’s the lyrics of a Boyzone song that every LGBT individual around the world can relate:

No Matter

No matter what they tell us
No matter what they do
No matter what they teach us
What we believe is true

No matter what they call us
However they attack
No matter where they take us
We’ll find our own way back

I can’t deny what I believe
I can’t be what I’m not
I know I’ll love forever
I know, no matter what

If only tears were laughter
If only night was day
If only prayers were answered
Then we would hear God say

Chorus

And I will keep you safe and strong
And shelter from the storm
No matter where it’s barren
A dream is being born
No matter who they follow
No matter where they lead
No matter how they judge us
I’ll be everyone you need
No matter if the sun don’t shine
Or if the skies are blue
No matter what the end is
My life began with you

I can’t deny what I believe
I can’t be what I’m not
I know, I know
I know this love’s forever
That’s all that matters now
No matter what

Mr. Gay World Philippines 2009 will be held on October 25, 2009 at Metro Bar, West Avenue, Quezon City. The pageant will be hosted by Boy Abunda. The winner in the said pageant will represent the Philippines in the upcoming Mr. Gay World 2010 in Oslo, Norway.

Interested to go to the event? Ticket price is at PhP 500.00 and it’s a first-come, first-serve basis.

I just got a copy of the Maxim Philippines’ Gay and Lesbian Issue a few days ago with Mocha on the cover of it. Just finished reading the interesting articles and of course looking at the interesting pictures of it too . I believe this is the most daring mainstream magazine magazine that I’ve seen lately. A lot of provocative femme-to-femme poses from women who I believe who are just swingers (or bi-curious women) but not really femme lesbians per se. Oh well.

It’s obviously selling femme-to-femme action which is appealing to men (and lesbians) of course. Would you think that men would buy the magazine if there’s a butch-to-femme action? Nahh. Well, that is the nature of the magazine so I really wouldn’t expect much from them. There were lots of nipple exposures (there were a lot, literally). I admit that I enjoyed looking at some of the pictures there (and no I am not being a hypocrite about it) but I was also looking for some depth as what it claims to be: the ‘gay and lesbian issue’. There were some articles that at least tickled my brain (and at least some of the readers also) not just my libido.

There was an article entitled “Gays Night Out” which featured 5 out gays in the our society such as Boy Abunda, Danton Remoto (writer and activist), Puey Quiñones (fashion designer), Mojo Jojo (Magic 89.9 DJ) and Carlo Tadiar (a magazine editor). The discussion was lead by Boy Abunda and the night out happened at a VIP room in Classmate (in Quezon City). There were “GROs” and a stripper was hired to dance infront of them. In this article, I saw different perspectives of gays on certain things. Even though they all like men, they still have different opinions in relationships, sex, women, etc… Moral lesson of the article: In a room full of gays in it, a naked woman won’t really interest them. They’ll most likely befriend the girl but never to have sex with her.

On the other hand, there was an article about lesbians. They featured 4 butch looking lesbians. Unfortunately, they didn’t do a lesbians night out thing with a male stripper on it. Talk about equality. Haha. I could just imagine how these butches would react. I also hoped that they also featured femme lesbians (not just Mocha because it seemed that she’s not a femme lesbian). Femme lesbians are also called lipstick lesbians, who are not bisexuals by the way.

The two articles actually show one thing in common: that even though we are all part of the LGBT community, we still have different views and perspectives on certain things. This is probably the reason we are also having a hard time uniting as one. I am not saying that diversity is bad, actually, it’s better. Life would be boring and too mechanical if all of us are the same; there is no room for discussion and debate. Even in feminism, there are different kinds of it. In addition, I believe the questions that were asked from the participants were the questions that ’straight’ individuals are curious to ask. It’s just like the ‘gay and lesbian life for dummies’. I was able to relate to the lesbian article even though I am not butch.

They wanted to have an alternative magazine cover with BB Gandanghari on it but they didn’t push it through. I felt disappointed when I read their open letter to BB Gandanghari. And I quote from the open letter:

When the editorial staff brainstored for this Gay and Lesbian Issue, we seriously considered shooting you for an alternate cover, one that would be sold in newsstands alongside Mocha’s. Quite understandably, that idea was soon deemed too risky by management. We had to concede that a good percentage of MAXIM readers would probably not be too happy to see a whole issue dedicated to homosexuality, let alone see a transgendered person on the cover.

Besides you claim that you’re a woman and not gay was all the discouragement we needed..

Maxim seems to show ‘fluidity of sexuality’ in their magazines but it’s in the terms of having different sexual partners (whether male or female) but the fluidity in terms of gender and sexuality is still out of their vocabulary. A transgendered individual, by the way, is still part of the LGBT community. They are biologically male but they are not gay men. BB claims that she is a woman because she is a transgendered individual therefore she is still part of the LGBT community. Even though there are some members of the LGBT community who would still question transgenders and transexuals as part of the community, the bottomline is the “common people” who do not understand concepts of gender and sexuality would still label them as gays. Anyway, maybe I’ll just take it literally: it’s a GAY AND LESBIAN issue and they didn’t include TRANSGENDER in the title. Haha.
 
As mentioned, I appreciated the fact that MAXIM dared to release this kind of issue. It’s not that in depth but what the heck, the magazine only has a few pages with texts in it. Like I said, I didn’t expect the magazine to have full understanding of it but at least there was an attempt to show a gist of the gay and lesbian life. So congratulations, MAXIM was able to make heads turn because of this and more bucks of course. In summary, the magazine was ok. It’s more stimulating to the libido than to the brain.

The film stars Baron Geisler (as Jay Santiago), and Coco Martin (as Edward Navarro). The film is directed by Francis Pasion.

“Jay” is about the gay schoolteacher that was brutally murdered in a sex-crime. TV producer, then, convinces the family to shoot Jay’s wake and funeral for a reality show. You can read more about its synopsis in their website: JayTheMovie.com.

The title of the film reminds me of the song “Hey Jay” by Eraserheads. I’m not really sure though if the title of the film was somehow inspired by this song.

Directed and Written by: Charliebebs Gohetia
Language: Visayan
Genre: Comedy

Actors: Gie Salonga as Allyson
Pidot Villocino as Mommy Paola
July Jimenez … Bernadette
E.J. Pantujan as Chris
Kit Poliquit as Vanette
Kim Vergara as Macario
Ari Bancale as Carlos
Joan Mae Soco as Adora
Andrew Caisido as the Narrator

I got interested in watching this film primarily because I support films that show LGBTs in the local setting. The film was released in 2008 but it was only last Saturday when I was able to watch this movie. I never realized that the film already was being recognized abroad. It was nominated in the 2008 Vancouver International Film Festival under the category of Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema. This was the only Filipino film that was showcased among the 74 other Asian films.

Is it worth it to watch?

My answer is YES. It is worth your penny to watch. Anybody can relate to this one, even though you’re not gay. Even though the language is in Visayan, the jokes are still very contemporary. Luckily, I have little understanding of Visayan words so I didn’t really had the hard time deciphering it. They have the English subtitles anyway.

In addition, the actors didn’t need to be overly dramatic. The reality of it all lies in the conversations between the characters. I think that this film was able to convey to the audience the difficulties and trials of being gay in this day and age.

As I was watching he film, I remembered a film of Patrick Swaze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo entitled “To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar”. It is almost the same as one of their main goals is to see Julie Newmar in person ( a gay icon ) and as for this film, they are aspiring to see Adora Garcia in person ( especially Allyson because she’s his ex-girlfriend when he was still a heterosexual). Because the movie was mostly shot while they were travelling around Mindanao, I remembered the movie “Sex Drive” with Maui Taylor and Katya Santos as lead stars.

I will recommend you to listen to the soundtrack because it’s really good. Original songs were written for this movie, performed by independent Filipino bands however, I felt that the songs didn’t fit the tone of the movie. It’s not because I am stereotyping here but the songs should’ve sounded a bit like disco music. As we know, disco music (especially in the 70’s) are associated with “drag queens” that is why there are entertainment gay icons such as Gloria Gaynor (singer of ‘I Will Survive”) , Donna Summer, Cher, Madonna and many more. But, that was just as suggestion. Let me repeat, I personally liked the songs as they are but the music genre used is not that effective in the film. The “Churvaloo” song of the band Haphazard is the most appropriate track. Listen to some tracks at the end of this blogpost.

Would I learn anything in this movie?

Definitely YES. If you think that this is a shallow movie, you are definitely wrong. The irony of it is that the comedy is just the surface but the film actually shows the other side of these gays who are desperate to win gay beauty contests. Most people probably wonder on why transgenders/transvestites seriously join these beauty contests even though they don’t really look good, answer the questions properly or it’s just a small-scale beauty contest. ( I bet most of you anticipate the question and answer portion, well for me it’s really my favorite part.) This film actually shows the why. Most of them would aspire on the monetary value of it but I think the subliminal reason is that these beauty contests are their way to be “in the circle” of the heterosexual crowd. Yes, they may be laughing stocks for most people but whatever reaction that is given to them is still ATTENTION. Acknowledgment of their presence is enough for them to be happy. I know it’s a cliche and probably not everyone will admit it.

By watching this film, you will definitely learn to at least understand their culture. I bet most of you reading this blogpost didn’t really watch the film and are looking for reviews in the internet so that you can have some content for your reaction papers. It is all because you’re too ashamed to watch a “gay movie” inside the theater. Well, I cannot blame you because you are brought that way but you are missing a lot of new knowledge because of your narrow-mindedness. For the others who are reading this blog because you want to watch the film, thank you. Thank you for your liberal minds.

For more information, you may visit the official website of Thank You Girls the movie and they also have a Multiply site.

Churvaloo – Haphazard

StarSick – Kampai

kalibangon.mp3 – reggztheory

Lilipas – Sidecrash

Anywhere – The Roxymorrons

saliva.mp3 – reggztheory

Ikaw na Nga – The Superflirts

fueledfull version – Gasulina

boom – roxymorrons

Above is the trailer of “The Thank You Girls”. The movie will be shown from January 21 to 27 at Robinson’s Indiesine (Robinson’s Galleria Cinema). The movie is written and directed by Charliebebs Gohetia. Basically it’s a Visayan film with a gay lingo twist.

Synopsis
Tired of losing in all the beauty competitions in Davao City, five gay beauty pageant veterans decide to travel north to Cagayan de Oro City, in the island of Mindanao, with a mission to conquer the grandest competition of beauty, personality and brains in the province.

They believe that being city dwellers, gays in the province will never stand a chance against them.