Bakla Ako, May Reklamo?

I started noticing a lot of people posting their NoH8 photos on Tumblr

earlier today.  So what I did was to reblog all NoH8 photos I saw on Tumblr.  And I did that through the new Tumblr blog I created: The NoH8 Project on Tumblr.

And boy are Tumblrs fast!  The blog now has a total of 37 Tumblr followers and we have been receiving quite a number of contributions.  Thank you!

And even though I am not from California (I’m not even in the United States – I’m in the Philippines, and I’m not even American!), I believe in this campaign.  I have been following news and updates about Prop8 for as long as I can remember.  I believe in a cause like this.  I believe that no matter where you are in the world, no matter what race, color, religion, or sexual orientation you have, hate (H8) is never a good thing.

The predominantly Catholic nation of the Philippines is still worlds away from gay marriage or marriage equality, but it does not mean that the LGBT Community and our friends here do not have something to fight for. Believe it or not, we still do not have laws that protect the basic rights of members of the LGBT community.

What we are fighting for now is the enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Bill, which has been a bill for almost a decade now.  I believe that a campaign similar to NoH8 can be done here and I really hope we can do something to further our cause and our call for EQUAL (not special) rights.

So to all those who followed the NoH8 Tumblr Project and those who have contributed, Thank you!

Contributions may be sent through: noh8@baklaako.com

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• Proposition 8: California supreme court grills gay marriage backers (telegraph.co.uk)

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“I am gay because I have no control over it. I was the way I was born. So I embrace it. I want to embrace it. Because it’s who I am. It’s what I am. That’s the truth. That’s the truth about me.”

John Barrowman, in a documentary by the BBC UK called The Making of Me, uttered the lines above in reference to his sexuality. The Making of Me is a multi-part documentary series exploring the debate on wheteher one’s sexual orientation is caused by nature or nurture.  In the documentary, John Barrowman undergoes several tests to find out the causes of his being gay with the help of scientific testing, the latest psychology techniques, brain science and genetics. Watch excerpts of the documentary (via YouTube) and actual parts of the documentary via BBC UK.

So just like John Barrowman¹, I also profess to embrace my homosexuality and embrace it.  I have no control over it.  It’s who I am and that’s the truth.  Bakla ako, may reklamo? (I’m gay, got a problem with that?)

Who is John Barrowman?  For those of you who have never heard of his existence in the gay universe, here are some basic info about him²:

John Scot Barrowman (born 11 March 1967 in Mount Vernon, Glasgow, Scotland) is a British American actor, musical performer, dancer, singer and television presenter, who has lived and worked both in the United Kingdom and the United States. He currently lives in the UK with his civil partner Scott Gill.

Barrowman is best known on British television for his acting and presenting work for the BBC. His most prominent television role has been as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood.

Read the rest of this entry »

Image by bse303 via Flickr

There is a growing need for education about HIV/AIDS here in the Philippines.  While there are many resources out there (online, print, support groups, health centers, etc.) that are readily available to many of us, it still is undeniable that some of us do not know anything about HIV.

Some of us think that reading literature about the virus is too tasking and taxing, some think that they know everything and are pretty safe, and some others are too scared of HIV (even just the mention of those three words make some cringe).

But what do we really know about HIV and AIDS?  Just because there isn’t any celebrated news about it, it doesn’t mean that the virus has been completely annihilated and that everyone is safe.

I’m currently reading Orosa-Nakpil Malate, a novel about a young gay man’s experiences, escapades and love affairs (not auto-biographical, by the way) set in Manila’s hottest gay district.  I have not finished the book yet, so I am unable to share my insights about it yet.  Also, if anyone is interested in reading this book, just let me know and I will give it for free (along with other gay Filipino books) once I’m done reading it – details to follow in the upcoming days.

Going back to HIV and AIDS.  While many of us think that HIV is not a big deal, Read the rest of this entry »