I missed that Saturday encounter with BB Gandanghari. I was invited in that affair. It was to be an intimate affair, a unique interview with one of Philippine showbiz most colorful personalities.
It was my fault. I was so engrossed with what I’m doing with this Quad Media organization that I totally forgot the invitation of my good friend, Noemi. I would just ask her a transcript of their interviews.
Since my childhood days, I’ve always been with gay friends. I’m not a homosexual. I’m straight. Yet, I find these friends of mine articulate, intelligent and fun to be with. That’s why I have lots of friends from way back who chose to live like that.
When I reached college, I also have many gay friends in the university. They even helped me win council elections, both in my undergraduate and in law school. Until now, they are still communicating with me, albeit, most of them now living abroad.
When the gay rights bill was being debated upon a couple of years ago, I was one of those hundreds of souls who rushed to Congress and defended their rights. I believe in human rights, and every individual deserves respect. More than this though, homosexuals have the right to choose the life they want for themselves.
That’s why when BB GandangHari announced her beautiful transformation, from that Rustom Padilla guy to this lovely lady, I was not surprised. That “movement” of transformation started way back, with that first UP student who went to Bangkok for a sex change. And he’s a dear friend.
Many Filipino homosexuals are asserting themselves against a backdrop of a society still locked in a very traditional and extreme monochromatic gender philosophical worldview. The struggle started a few decades back and it’s blossoming into a new movement, tougher, stronger and more determined to succeed.
BB Gandanghari did’nt go all out. Yet, her courage to face her detractors is inspiring to say the least. Inspite of those damning and hurtful things her family hurled against her, BB Gandanghari symbolized a Cause. And that Cause is very simple—de gustibus non disputandum est (for likes and dislikes, there should be no disputing. Live and let live).
Some homosexual celebrity writers, and even celebrity Ricky Reyes, lambasted BB Gandanghari for what she did. Reyes said that it’s not the way to assert your homosexuality. Maybe Reyes has a point. Or maybe, he’s wrong. What BB Gandanghari symbolizes is again, very simple—the right to live and be respected by others, whatever you think, feel and believe.
Popularity: 3% [?]
I had the chance to talk to BB before this event. Imagine, we talked for over 7 hours with friends. Time flew so fast. She is really interesting to talk to.
Unfortunately I don’t have a transcript but you might be interested to read Marck’s post where he asked relevant questions
http://www.marocharim.com/2009/03/15/meeting-bb-gandanghari/
Ricky Reyes is right. He does not have to cross-dress to flaunt his “femininity.’
It is just a hype to get back to showbiz. He was already out of the closet years back when he joined the Big Brother something.
He has to reinvent himself to earn more moolah in the guise of advocacy for the third gender.
i salute ricky reyes for having helped women become small entrpreneurs. i salute the other gays who did not have to wear make-up to make their points.
He will be just be flash-in-the pan.
naku! wag ninyong titirahin si bb!
baka malagot kayo sa h-world ni royette.
:D
I see nothing wrong with cross-dressing. What a hypocrite Ricky Reyes is.
Gays are people. They are breathing, living and
thinking people. We must accept them for who they
are.
It is not their fault, that they are born that way.
The point here is: Inclusion, instead of Exclusion.
They must be given also chances to develop their
full potential as humans, inspite of their sexual
orientations.
I agree with c.d.e. I have accepted gay people long before AMerica accepted them as human. Vatican still don’t accept Gays because Vatican hates competition.
Gays are the most fully employed people in my dear Pilifinas!!!!!
They are hardworking and honest more than the foreign-educated-ivy-league-graduate Congressmen and Senators
VIVA GAY!!!!!! LET’S HAVE GAY RIGHT PARADE!!!!!
I NEED THAT RIGHTS-TO-REPLY BILL APPROVED
There are many decent and respectable people belonging to the third gender. Being a san Franciscan I am exposed to the gays and lesbian communities.
They don’t come to the office shashaying in haute couture drsesses and heavily made-up faces.
What these people are fighting for is recognition for marriage and rights that are provided by the law to legally-wedded couple such as insurance, tax matters, and property-ownership. Not to wear dresses. They have that once a year and they still wear masks during the parade.
The fashion designers have been recognized in the Philippines long before BB came strutting like a peacock.
They let the ramp modeling to the young ladies and do the designing of the clothes themselves providing employment to seamstresses and other people in the clothes business.
Here in SANFO, he can not just do what he is doing right now. It is very risky to walk in the streets in girl’s clothes.
Homophobic people kill.
Lance Bass of American pop boy band ‘N Sync. He is gay but he does not show he’s limp wristed to become popular.
Neil Patrick Harris aka Doogie Howser, MD is gay but he does not use it to get attention from the media.
What moral virtues are we teaching the youth when we attend his press conference to gain mileage not only in the media but also in the blogosphere ?
I’m with The C at. Bebe is a freakazoid and gives all the gays and lesbians a sleazy reputation they do not deserve just because he’s trying to get a foundering career going again.
I believe Noemi found the conversation with Bebe genuinely interesting, even fascinating. I suppose I would too. (But then again, I’m the kind of guy that loves snakes and spiders and all the strangest kinds of bugs and insects and flowers and weird upside down inside out trees. They are not “strange” like this though.)
Now of course, to be fair, I should give him/her/it the benefit of some doubt. So, I would want to be like St. Thomas the Doubter and insist on putting my hands in its alleged Wound.
The gays don’t need this aberration any more than the straights. Right now, it looks like a most outrageous showbiz gimmick.
*Comment has been deleted as requested by the real Edwin Jamora*
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Hi,
A recording of BB’s Q&A with bloggers can be found here:
http://www.thepoc.net/index.php/BB-Gandanghari/Features/Extracted-from-Rustom-s-rib-wholly-human.html
To address Cat’s question: What moral virtues are we teaching the youth when we attend his press conference to gain mileage not only in the media but also in the blogosphere?
Since we organized the event–which is part of a series called POC Presents–I feel I should throw in my two cents:
The forum was not an exercise in teaching–or perverting–virtue. It was meant to induce dialog, not generate mileage, of which BB has already had a lot. I don’t think that attending the event was tantamount to endorsing an apparently reprehensible image of what somebody like BB should be or how she should conduct herself in public. I would like to believe that the people who came were motivated by a genuine desire to engage with BB–and who she represents–instead of making some sort of normative statement. I certainly hope they were enriched by the experience and that their world expanded a little after talking with BB. But if it didn’t, then that’s okay too.
For the record, I do not believe that BB brings shame to gay people, as if there is some sort of perfect ideal that gays should always aspire to in order to be considered decent and respectable, to be accepted by a society that has always shunned difference in whatever form. She is not deviant. She is not an aberration. It is not a publicity stunt. She is a woman of transsexual experience who happens to be an artist and an entertainer.
Tin,
So you at least admit that this was a COMMERCIAL activity, to sell this particular “nondeviant artist” and “transsexual entertainer” to the Public?
But I ask merely a factual question that goes to the heart of the integrity of the matter:
IS HE/SHE/IT really a transsexual. Is this a verified physical fact.
Because if it is NOT a fact, it would be a reprehensible scam like Legacy and definitely a disgusting and aberrant project.
You claim to be the organizer. Is there any credible proof, medical or audiovisual, that Rustom Padilla really is, psychologically and physically a woman and not a Con-Man?
Dean,
No, it wasn’t a commercial activity. We didn’t get paid for it and neither did BB. If by ‘selling BB’ you meant that introducing her to bloggers would enhance her viability as a product, the answer is still: no. Again, the purpose of the forum was to enable people to interact with and understand a person like BB, not to secure acting deals.
With respect to the question of BB’s integrity or presumed lack thereof: The proof is in her assertion of her identity, not in her body. Gender is a matter of self-identification. It is not automatically attached to one’s physicality. If BB says she’s a woman, then she’s a woman.
I think that a large part of the confusion about her stems from the fact that we have no cultural context or basis to understand her. In this country, if you are not heteronormative, you are automatically gay. But sexuality is very complex. When you talk about transsexuals, I assume you are pertaining to individuals who have had their bodies altered in some way or form. However, there are people who identify themselves as men or women but who choose not to go under the knife. Nonetheless, they live as they choose with respect to the gender that they want to identify with. There are other people who are better qualified to talk about this so I’ll end by pointing to a website which I hope can lend some light on the matter: http://www.tsphilippines.com/
Thank you for indulging me at all Tin. I’m friends with (or was) with his/her brother, Robin Padilla and have nothing against Bebe personally. Am a natural skeptic when it comes to “artists” and “entertainers” though, because of their obsessive need to be unique and different at all costs.
Back to the ants and arachnids…at least these are real creepy crawlies with no makeup or elaborate psychologies.
Pat,
So what IS BBGH’s “cause” and how does this promote it?
DJB,
Well, as what I wrote, it’s all about letting people respect who you are. That’s is, I think, what BB Gandanghari is trying to do.
If someone wants to dress like a woman and live like a woman, so be it. If someone wants to speak like a woman, be like a woman, feel like a woman or marry as a woman, so be it.
I think this is far too serious, this BB Gandanghari thing, to be just a showbiz gimmick. Besides, this will even lessen BB Gandanghari’s projects.
In a monochromatic society such as ours, BB Gandanghari is perceived as a “freak”, just because she did the unthinkable. In terms of publicity, yes, she did get some; but not enough to encourage producers to finance film projects starring her.
Gawd, are you that naive or you are the ones riding on her “popularity”.
So why do you have to expect the bloggers to write something about her before and after the meeting?
As i have mentioned before, this is not the first time, he went out of the closet. it was more dramatic at PBB where a big mariposa was used as props for his confession. So much drama, so much hype.
The gays i know are private persons when it comes to their lifestyles. Sabi nga ni ricky reyes, pinababa naman niya ang honor ng ibang gays.
he’s not expecting acting assignments but, he wanted to become a model at age 42. Even Cindy Crawford left modeling at age 36.
So tell me what have you learned from the interview. anything important to be considered a national issue in this blog?
he has a lot but majority of which is due to curiosity. the media people no longer considered her as hot topic so he invades the blogosphere since i know his name BB is inspired by another BB BryanBoy. Anyway in the first week of his arrival, the keyword BB gandanghari is well searched in the search engine. I should know, my celebrity blog got to the number one page of google. But goodness, mine is a celebrity blog. it is not pretending to be a family blog of sorts neither it is a political blog like Filipino voices. isn’t that what motivates the bloggers to blog about him, the traffic? Be honest.
CatCath, live and let live they say. I do not question BB’s motives of crossdressing. If it was her choice to express herself in that way, good for her. One can never truly please the other. I respect your opinion too but let it stay with you. That is your opinion and this is ours. :) Cheers!
Cat, who are you to judge someone? :) Just saying. I love my gays—whether they’re flashy or demure. I respect my friends’ diverse personalities.
Live and let live.
I will stop talking now as I choose to be happy for BB. :)
Ako din happy for BB, or whatever people want to be, as long as they are not hurting other people.
The C_at,
I think, BB formerly Rustom Padilla as an entertainer would like to revive his/her career tama ka — e yon ikinabubuhay nya eh. So siempre, publicity will always be vehicle of entertainers.
What I’m suspicious of is when they take up “causes” because it gives they mileage to be seen as goody-goody. But then again, there benefit of the doubt should always be given, entertainer or not.
Pat,
I agree,IF that is really what Bebe is trying to do: just be a woman, feel like a woman, dress like a woman. What I want to know is: does he spend every night laughing at every body while playing with HIMSELF? Is this just a gimmick to boost his commercial career? Is he a con artist and not an artiste as he has been portrayed?
Honestly I don’t know of course and really almost don’t care. But I don’t want Filipino Voices becoming a laughing stock again, as in the golf fiasco.
So next time you see the Preciousss lil bebe, would you please check to see if he had the operation he claims to have had?
am i judging bebe because he’s gay? you never know me. when a fellow blogger confessed that he is gay, i was the first to defend him in the blogosphere.
read my lips. it is the hype created by bloggers about bebe as if he is some sort of an advocate when he is just simple celebrity trying to reinvent his showiz career which i am not comfortable with.
it is a wrong idea that gays express themselves by cross dressing.
if this is the true, he’s late. our parloristas have been doing that long time i can remember. so were the impersonators in the carnival.
that is the reason why the esteemed fashion designers and artists in the country chose to be different from these groups of people.
I agree with you madonna, like people who took advantage of the death of francis m. to promote their concerts. like celebrities who cleaned their clothes wrack as an act of charity.
i do not care if he likes to live the way he chooses as long as he does not pretend to be someone who can be a role model to the youth.
“When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.”- Wayne Dyer
“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” – Wayne Dyer
bloghopping! pormal po ba dito? kapag nabasa ng mga ibang lahi tong mga post na to, parang medyo nakakahiya yata dahil kulturang pinoy ang kanilang nababasa! ay ganyan pala ang mga pilipino, walang mga kwenta!
What i know is that this entry is pure simple as blogging coz of the blog event attended.
There had been no problem in the acceptance of gays in the Philippines. The gay people there can walk freely in the streets without the fear of being mauled by homophobes.
They can participate in the santacruzan wearing the most daring gowns.
try doing that here in the US when there is no approved and secured gay parade, it will be a riot.
indeed, “The highest form of ignorance is when you talk about something you don’t know except from just one blog event. ” -The Ca t
Here is a fact and the truth: Transgenders are not gay men who think and feel they are women born in the wrong body. They are not, as stated by one so-called expert, merely people who suppress their sexuality for a very long time.
Transgender is a term that has emerged fairly recently and is used to describe ANYBODY who feels their gender identity and expression is different to that which was assigned to them at birth (based only on the viewing of their genitalia). A transgender may be a woman or a man, and like any woman or man, they can be heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual. Their sexuality is not their gender.
To clarify and emphasize this point, gender is who we are – it is ourselves, our person. Gender is not our body, not genitals, not our clothes, not even our names, not our hormones and not our sexual preference.
A new-born who is pronounced male by the doctor or midwife may not necessarily identify as male when that child grows up. This person must have every right to choose to live his/her life the way s/he needs it to be lived. This person who was born male may live her life as a woman. Because she expresses and identifies as a woman, then she is a woman.
One’s gender has nothing to do with the absence or presence of a specific genitalia. Gender must not be imposed on us. Who then has the right to determine the gender of a person? Is it the church? Is it the doctor who inspects the baby’s genitalia upon birth? Is it the psychiatrist? Surely, it is only that person because only s/he alone possesses and has innate knowledge of his/her self.
Furthermore, a person need not make any change in order to be the gender they are. Feeling is being. No genital or cosmetic surgery, hormone replacement therapy, nor any other intervention is a pre-requisite to being oneself. A man is a man and a woman is a woman not because of their genitals. We are not walking penises and vaginas. We are living beings who happen to have a certain kind of genitalia. Surely, we do not want to reduce ourselves to mere organs. Our being is a determinant of who we are, not what’s between our legs.
Man or woman. Hetero-, homo-, bi- or pansexual. These are only words and words are only inventions. Sometimes, words are ambiguous. Sometimes, their meanings changes over time. Sometimes, new words are invented as our knowledge and understanding evolves over time. It is not surprising then when sometimes writers publish a piece that contains inaccurate and misunderstood use of certain words. Words, which in this case, are crucial to the understanding and description of other people. Words that can confuse, harass, demean and disrespect people. Hence, a writer must take it upon themselves to be vigilant in ensuring their thorough understanding of all words before going to print.
we reap what we sow: If our forefathers plant a seed of confusion, then there you goes, you earn their harvest, and you have no choice but to consume them!
keyword: search for the wings of truth, not the chains of lies!