Bakla Ako, May Reklamo?

I am no longer a virgin.

Last weekend, I happily gave up my virginity and marched through the streets of Manila!  Yes, I am no longer a Pride March virgin.  And yes, I used to be.

Believe it or not, the 2008 Manila Pride March was the first for me.  I came out in 2005, but I did not really get the chance to join any Pride March at all.  Either I did not have the time to join or I did not want to join.

I did not want to join. I was scared of having my face plastered all over the news.  I was scared of what might come my way after the march.  I was scared that my friends of old would see me and judge me.

I did not have the time (or deliberately planned out-of-town trips to coincide with the Pride March schedule). I did not want to march under the sweltering heat of the sun.  I did not want my B Club shoes (Yes, chipangga ito!) to get all dirty and worn out.  I did not want to have sweat as an accessory.

I would sleep all afternoon till night and then wake up at about 1am then head to Malate. Bed.  That was Manila Pride for me.

Until last weekend.

Months before the 2008 Manila Pride March, I already decided that I would join and that nothing was gonna stop me from joining!  And so began my journey towards my Pride March devirginization.  Together with the Rainbow Bloggers Philippines, I planned the LGBT Bloggers Night at Red Box (thanks again, Red Box!).  And because there was an LGBT bloggers contingent at this year’s march, I knew that I had a place!

Enter: Rainbow Bloggers and Friends.

And so I went, marched, Read the rest of this entry »

Party!  The LGBT Bloggers Party for Pride that we’ve all been waiting for is finally here! Previously, I posted this invite online:

We are inviting all Filipino Gay and Lesbian Bloggers to take part in this year’s Pride March which will take place sometime in December!  Yes, we know it may still be too early, but we’re inviting you all to join us as we celebrate Pride! The organizers of this year’s Pride March — Task Force Pride and Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) — are inviting us all to form a Bloggers Contingent for this year’s march.

There is no definite date yet, but we will post updates here soon.

Also, we can have an LGBT Bloggers Night slash meet-up sometime in October or November (I will work on getting sponsors for the venue and possibly food) for us to get to know each other more, unite our ranks, fight for our rights, and of course… party!

The world wide web has heard our voices online, why not let the rest of the offline world hear us too?

Thanks much to Red Box, the country’s leading karaoke and entertainment establishment, who gladly showed their support by agreeing to sponsor this event!  Red Box is a very staunch supporter of the online community and I’m glad they also support the LGBT online community! Yey to Red Box!  Also big thanks goes to our friends at GeiserMaclang who helped us with this sponsorship!

Details:

November 16, 2008 – Sunday
7pm @ Red Box Greenbelt Branch
Red Box will cover venue and food

This party is open to all LGBT bloggers (whatever your blog content may be), who are willing to join us all in the much-awaited Manila Pride March 2008! During this party, aside from having fun , we will also be consolidating our ranks as we prepare for the LGBT Bloggers Contingent at the Pride March on December 6, 2008.

Bloggers who are not gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (aka straight), but who support the gay community and are willing to join our contingent at the Pride March, and show their support, are also welcome to join us!

(Oh and by the way, my Win a Wii Party at Red Box promo is still ongoing!  Click here for details!)

Registration form is after the jump.
Jump! Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the schedule of  Pride and UP: 100-Taong Kasaysayan ng Pagtatanghal ng Dangal

Venue: PH400 (Claro M. Recto Hall in the Faculty Center)
Time: 1-5pm
Programme

1:00 – 1:05pm Invocation

1:05 – 1:10pm National anthem

1:10 – 1:20pm Opening remarks

1:20 – 1:30pm hosts/introduction to the forum/outline of

forum/ introduction of first Speakers

1:30 – 2:00pm Percival Cendana on LGBT in Leadership and Mass movement

2:05 – 2:35pm Eva Callueng on Lesbianism

2:40 – 2:50pm Intermission Number

2:55 – 3:25pm Pau Fontanos on Transgender rights and other related transgender issues

3:30 – 4:00pm Jonas Bagas on the Anti Discrimination bill

4:05 – 4:35pm Reactors

4:35 – 4:45pm Open forum

4:45 – 4:55pm Closing remarks

4:55 – 5:00pm                     UP Naming Mahal

Members, supporters, and friends of the LGBT community in the Philippines are invited to commemorate the Stonewall Riots that happened on June 26-28, 1969 in a one of a kind Pride March at the University of the Philippines in Diliman Quezon City.

Stonewall what? Stonewall Riots:

Image via Wikipedia

The Stonewall Riots were a series of violent conflicts between LGBT people and New York City police officers that began during a 28 June 1969 police raid, and lasted several days. They were centered at the Stonewall Inn and are widely recognized as the catalyst for the modern-day movement towards LGBT rights. Also called the Stonewall Uprising, Stonewall Rebellion, Stonewall Revolution or simply Stonewall, the clash was a watershed for the worldwide gay rights movement, as gay, lesbian and transgender people had never before acted together in such large numbers to forcibly resist police harassment directed towards their community. Many also credit the events as igniting a movement to celebrate gay pride with events such as pride parades and dyke marches. – Wikipedia¹

The theme for this pride march is: “Pride and UP: Isang Daan Taong Kasaysayan ng Pagtatanghal ng Dangal.” The march will take place at 10:00 AM on June 27, 2008.  Convergence point will be Vinzons Hall.  After the march, a forum will be conducted from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM.  At 6:00 PM of the same day, a festive and fun Cultural Night will take place.

This Pride March is sponsored and organized by the Gender Committee of the University Student Council (USC) of UP Diliman.