STRAP News & Events

STRAP commends the PAP

2011-11-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

On 27 October 2011, the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) released a statement affirming the inherent dignity of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Filipinos. The statement is considered historic and groundbreaking. STRAP sent a letter of commendation addressed to the PAP leadership which is posted in full below.

Dr Maria Caridad H. Tarroja PhD
President
Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP)

CC: Prof Jay A. Yacat
Head, PAP Public Interest Committee

Dear Dr Tarroja

We, the members of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), the pioneer support group and human rights advocacy organization of transpinays ( transgender/transsexual Filipinas), commend the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) for its October 2011 statement on Non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and congratulate the PAP for taking a clear and unequivocal stand against any form of prejudice directed toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Filipinos.

We share the PAP’s view that indeed “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Filipinos continue to experience stigma, prejudice and discrimination in Philippine society.” This stigma, unfortunately, is perpetuated by individuals and institutions connected to the field of psychology and psychiatry whose precepts have been used to “cure” and change people’s sexual orientation and gender identity through harmful and unethical reparative therapies.

We hope that the PAP’s statement will just be one of the many steps it will take to bring the practice of psychology out of the darkness that views a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity as a condition that needs to be treated, cured or suppressed into the light of affirming the agency of every human person and their capacity to self-determine their gender and sexuality. We hope as well that the PAP’s statement will reflect a psychological practice in the Philippines that strikes a balance between science and humanity, a psychology that adds to and does not take away from every Filipinos’ right to lead meaningful, happy and fulfilling lives free from the stigma of psychopathology.

We salute the leadership of today’s PAP. We hope that your wisdom and courage will mold a generation of psychologists who are more humane, more caring and more nurturing of the Filipino mind, body and spirit! Mabuhay kayo at mabuhay ang PAP!

In solidarity,

Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP)
www.tsphilippines.com
www.facebook.com/strap.manila
strapmanila@gmail.com

Transpinay speaks on German panel

2011-10-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

20 October 2011 – Naomi Fontanos, chairwoman of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) the pioneer human rights advocacy organization of transgender/transsexual Filipinas or transpinays, spoke on a panel called Trans* Rights Are Human Rights organized by the Heinrich Boell Foundation in Berlin, Germany on 5 October 2011, Wednesday (see video below). The panel focused on the initial research findings of the TransRespect Vs TransPhobia (TvT) Project of Transgender Europe (TGEU), which investigates the legal and social situation of transgender people globally.

Talking about transpeople in East and Southeast Asia, Fontanos said "From East Asia to Southeast Asia, transpeople face a similar situation: silenced, excluded and erased. Most transpeople have no say over their identities; their lived realities are belittled and dismissed and state and cultural forces act to render them powerless, with no control over their own lives.”

“Like others elsewhere in the world, transpeople in East and Southeast Asia are coerced to make a choice between a life of dignity and their gender identity as if these two were exclusive of each other,” she added.

The packed auditorium was attended by locals, human rights advocates, and members of the media and the transcommunity in Berlin. In the panel with Fontanos were Carla LaGata and Jan Simon Hutta, the main TvT researchers, Witnes Booysen, Outreach Coordinator of GenderDynamix in South Africa, Tamara Adrian, a lawyer and transactivist from Venezuela, Agniva Lahiri, Executive Director of People Like Us (PLUS) Calcutta, Joleen Mataele, Chairperson of the Pacific Sexual Diversity Network (PSDN) from Tonga and Kristian Randelovic of Transgayten in Serbia. The panel was chaired by Julia Ehrt, co-chair of TGEU.

You can see a video of the panel here.

STRAP's ASEAN Declaration

2011-09-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

On 20-21 September 2011, the Women's Legal and Human Rights Bureau (WLB) will be holding a regional training-workshop entitled Women's Rights in the ASEAN: Maximizing Human Rights Mechanisms in the ASEAN that seeks to strengthen women's rights groups' engagement with and participation in the ASEAN. Below is STRAP's official statement released in the regional training-workshop.

Recalling the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that states that the “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world;”

Affirming Article 1 of the UDHR that states that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and that “they are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood;”

Affirming Article 6 of the UDHR that states that “everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law;”

Affirming Article 22 of the UDHR that states that “everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality;”

Invoking Purposes 1.1 and 1.6 of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), which respectively are “to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of the peoples of ASEAN,” and “to uphold international human rights standards as prescribed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, and international human rights instruments to which ASEAN Member States are parties;”

Recalling that the top priority of the ASEAN Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) includes “elimination of violence against women and children; trafficking in women and children; women and children living with and affected by HIV and AIDS; social impact of climate change on women and children; promotion and protection of the rights of women and children with disabilities; ASEAN and other instruments related to the rights of women and children; child protection system: integrative/comprehensive approach for children in need for social protection; the right to quality education, including Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE); the right of children to participate in all affairs that affect them; women participation in politics and decision making, governance and democracy; strengthening economic rights of women with regards to feminization of poverty, women's right to land and property; promoting implementation of international, gender equality in education (textbook, curriculum, and equal access); strengthening institutional capacities of ACWC; and promotion of consultation and dialogue with stakeholders at national and regional levels;”

Recognizing the Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity;

Upholding the International Bill of Gender Rights which states that “all human beings carry within themselves an ever-unfolding idea of who they are and what they are capable of achieving. The individual’s sense of self is not determined by chromosomal sex, genitalia, assigned birth sex, or initial gender role. Thus, the individual’s identity and capabilities cannot be circumscribed by what society deems to be masculine or feminine behavior. It is fundamental that individuals have the right to define, and to redefine as their lives unfold, their own gender identities, without regard to chromosomal sex, genitalia, assigned birth sex, or initial gender role;”

Recalling the societal vision of our organization of a nurturing society that affirms, respects, and upholds the dignity, the right to self-determination and good quality of life of all;

The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), in adopting this declaration, hereby:

Affirms the inherent dignity of all transgender people in the ASEAN Region and the rest of the world;

Affirms that gender identity and expression is a matter of self-determination and an exercise of the human right to the free development of personality;

Calls on the AICHR, ACWC and the ASEAN Commission to Implement the Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW) to uphold, protect, and promote the human rights of transgender populations across the ASEAN which include children, disabled, aging people, migrant workers and people living with HIV and AIDS;

Calls for rights-based legislation in the ASEAN member countries that (1) would protect transgender people from discrimination and bias-motivated crimes and (2) allow transgender people to change their legal sex into their gender identity.

Filipino transsexuals sue PH for discrimination vs gays at UN

2011-07-08T05:56:00.000-07:00

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Philippines' number one broadsheet.

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—Three Filipino transsexuals have sued the government for discriminating against gays before the United Nations, it was revealed in a forum at the University of the Philippines-Baguio last week.

Lawyer Evalyn Ursua, who represents Naomi Fontanos, Juliana Marian Giessel and Rio Moreno, said her clients still carried Philippine passports that identified them as males, owing to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that said the absence of a law regulating sexual reassignments meant that Philippine jurisprudence could not recognize their new gender.

The transsexuals, with the help of Ursua and students in UP-Diliman’s women and development studies program, complained to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) last month, urging the world body to compel the Philippine government to issue a law that will recognize their change of sexual identity.

Ursua presented the complaint at a June 24 forum on transgender situation at UP Baguio.

Ursua, who was here for the 5th Baguio Gay Pride celebration, said the suit preempted the UNHRC resolution on June 17 that officially recognized gay rights and commissioned a world report for December that would compile evidence of gay discrimination in member-states like the Philippines.

The document, transmitted by Ursua to the UN on May 23, said: “Their lack of gender-appropriate legal identity has severely restricted their freedom of movement and right to travel.” Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Jocelyn Uy in Manila

STRAP makes history with UN communication

2011-05-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

CSWCD, UP Diliman -- The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) makes history as they send off a communication to the United Nations (UN) that calls attention to state responsibilities of the Philippine Government as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to pay careful attention to how the justice system updates itself with current developments in international human rights law in its understanding of gender identity through the lived experiences of transsexual women.

The communication aims to put a spotlight on the plight of transpinays (transsexual Filipinas) and their struggle with institutionalized transphobia--the negative attitude towards transgender people that leads to cruelty, abuse and discrimination--as demonstrated by the 2008 Supreme Court (SC) decision that denied a transsexual woman's petition for legal name and sex change. The communication, which highlights the debilitating effects of the the SC decision on the lives of three transpinays--Naomi Fontanos, Juliana Geissel and Rio Moreno--was made possible in collaboration with the Women and Development (WD) Women and the Law class 2010-2011 of the College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD) under Atty. Evalyn Ursua.

The communication will be launched and sent off to the UN at the CSWCD grounds at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman at 5:30 pm on 23 May 2011.

Happy holidays from STRAP!

2010-12-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

Here's wishing everyone a Christmas filled with warmth, laughter and hope and a New Year that affirms our dignity, protects our right to self-determination and ensures a good quality of life for all.

STRAP secretary is Dutch magazine's cover

2010-12-03T05:22:00.000-08:00

The current secretary of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Ms Adri Pangilinan graces the cover of JOIN, a Dutch travel magazine (see pic above).

Adri is featured as a young professional woman trying to break down barriers. The article focuses on her strength and courage.

The special issue of JOIN, out on the second week of December 2010, is a collection of articles about the Philippines. JOIN is distributed in almost all Dutch universities. Around 2,000 members get JOIN at home.

STRAP commemorates the 12th International Transgender Day of Remembrance

2010-11-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

On 28 November 2010, Sunday, STRAP will form a circle with allies, loved ones and friends to commemorate the 12th International Transgender Day of Remembrance and memorialize all the men, women and children in the past year who died due to transphobic hatred.

STRAP Salutes Amazing Philippine Beauties 2010

2010-11-24T14:38:00.000-08:00

Eight years ago, Amazing Philippine Beauties was conceived to be the leading transgender pageant in the Philippines that would attract the most beautiful and talented transgender/transsexual Filipinas (transpinays) who can then become part of an elite group of performers. Eight years later it still holds that distinction.

STRAP is honored to declare solidarity with Amazing Philippine Beauties and on its 8th year at that—truly an auspicious year! Eight years of showing the world amazingly beautiful transpinays has certainly brought not only luck to the girl who gets to wear the crown each year but also joy to their supporters, loved ones and communities.

Indeed Amazing Philippine Beauties has played an important part towards building a unified Filipino transgender community. Coronation night always brings hundreds of transgender and gender-variant people and those who love them together in the spirit of high-level pageantry. For sure on pageant night (on November 26 at the Manila Film Center CCP Complex Roxas Blvd., Pasay City) Amazing Philippine Beauties candidates will be raised up anew as the wonderful, unique, and stellar human beings that they are and give them respite from a life otherwise marked by discrimination and marginalization.

Thank you to the organizers and supporters of Amazing Philippine Beauties for giving our community a way to be reminded of our beauty and ultimately humanity. Long live Amazing Philippines! Mabuhay ang Amazing Philippine Beauties 2010!

In sisterhood,

The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines
www.tsphilippines.com
strapmanila@gmail.com

STRAP's Declaration in Support of the STP 2012 Campaign

2010-11-21T01:39:00.000-08:00

On 13 November 2010, Saturday, the members of STRAP, in support of the Stop Trans Pathologization 2012 campaign, sat down with members of the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) to have a discussion on the issues that trans Filipinos face and the call to delist Gender Identity Disorder (GID) from the DSM IV and transsexualism from the ICD 10 (see pic above). Below is STRAP's statement declaring full support for STP 2012.

STRAP’s Declaration in Support of the Stop Trans Pathologization 2012 Campaign

Recognizing that transsexualism is classified as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM IV) of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) of the World Health Organization (WHO);

Considering that gender is a binary classification system imposed on human beings since their birth;

Bearing in mind that the gender identities and expressions that strictly fit into the traditional norms of being either male or female are the only socially allowed gender identities and expressions;

Highlighting that this gender binary classification system has led to the discrimination, violence, and marginalization against human beings who do not conform to its standards;

Upholding the definition of gender identity in the Yogyakarta Principles, as each person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth, including the personal sense of the body (which may involve, if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance or function by medical, surgical or other means) and other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms”;

Affirming the Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity, especially Principle 1 – The Right to the Universal Enjoyment of Human Rights, which calls on states to “undertake programmes of education and awareness to promote and enhance the full enjoyment of all human rights by all persons, irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity”; and Principle 2 – The Rights to Equality and Non Discrimination, which calls on States to “take all appropriate action, including programmes of education and training, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudicial or discriminatory attitudes or behaviours which are related to the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of any sexual orientation or gender identity or gender expression”;

Endorsing the 26th of May 2010 statement of the Board of Directors of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) that calls for the de-psychopathologisation of gender variance worldwide and which affirms that “the expression of gender characteristics, including identities, that are not stereotypically associated with one's assigned sex at birth is a common and culturally-diverse human phenomenon which should not be judged as inherently pathological or negative”;

Recalling the societal vision of our organization of a nurturing society that affirms, respects, and upholds the dignity, the right to self-determination and good quality of life of all;

The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), in adopting this declaration, hereby:

Rejects the pathologization of gender identities and expressions and supports the call to Stop Trans Pathologization by the year 2012

Affirms that the development of gender identity and expression is part of the right to the free development of personality;

Affirms that gender identity and expression is a matter of self-determination and as sacred as the right to life itself;

Affirms that the role of the psychiatric and medical communities over the lives of transgender people is not to pathologize and stigmatize them but to provide patient-centred care that upholds that highest possible standards of health; and

Calls for rights-based legislation in the Philippines that would protect transgender people from discrimination and allow them to change their legal sex into their gender identity.

Iloilo Math Goddess to judge Queen of Cebu

2010-11-05T20:26:00.000-07:00

Lahug, CEBU – Rica Paras, the Math Goddess of Iloilo in the hit reality TV show Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) Double Up, is slated to judge Cebu’s most prestigious pageant for Cebuana transpinays (transgender/transsexual Filipinas), Queen of Cebu on 6 November 2010, Saturday, 8 pm at the Waterfront Hotel Cebu.

“I am very excited to be one of the judges of Queen of Cebu 2010 and grateful to Cary Santiago, Sal Malto and the rest of the members of Clothes for Life Foundation for inviting me here,” says Rica who holds the distinction of being the first ever transgender housemate in the Philippine version of Big Brother.

“As the current Vice Chairwoman of the only transgender rights advocacy organization in the Philippines, I am happy that Queen of Cebu exists as a platform to showcase the beauty and brilliance of transgender Cebuanas,” adds the transpinay celebrity. A day before the pageant, Rica flew to Cebu to give the 21 Queen of Cebu 2010 candidates a talk on self-empowerment, gender identity and human rights.

STRAP salutes Queen of Cebu

2010-11-04T04:07:00.000-07:00

Every girl dreams of being treated like a Princess. But in Cebu, they can actually dream of becoming a Queen.

The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) congratulates the organizers of Queen of Cebu on its sophomore year. Envisioned as an alternative pageant, Queen of Cebu has proven not only to be a grand showcase of the beauty, talent & splendid uniqueness of the Cebuana transpinay but as well as a magnificent platform to advocate for respect of gender diversity & the right to determine one’s gender identity.

Thank you to those who put together Queen of Cebu & for setting a very high bar indeed. As has been said, excellence is the best deterrent to sexism. Now our Cebuana transpinay sisters have another prestigious pageant that they can not only be proud to be a part of & call their own but as well as to use to break down barriers of prejudice.

May dreams come true on pageant night (6 November 2010, Saturday, 8 pm, Waterfront Hotel Cebu)! May all the candidates’ stars shine bright! And to the next Queen, may you reign in kindness & compassion, love & light!

In sisterhood,

The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines
www.tsphilippines.com
strapmanila@gmail.com

STRAP Chairwoman Naomi Fontanos featured in a men’s magazine

2010-09-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

A write-up on Naomi Fontanos and the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) of which she is the current chairwoman is featured in the August issue of UNO Magazine Philippines, a men’s magazine.

In the article, Fontanos discusses her growing up years, the struggles of transpinays (transgender/transsexual Filipinas) and one of the advocacy issues facing the global transgender community, the psychiatric diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder (GID).

Fontanos has been serving STRAP as it chairwoman since 2009 and working with a dedicated team of officers including Vice Chairwoman Rica Paras of Pinoy Big Brother Double Up, Seretary Charlese Saballe, Treasurer Joy Cruz, Membership Coordinator Alessandra N. and Internal Affairs Head Santy Layno to make STRAP an upstanding activist organization.

Her UNO Magazine Philippines feature can be seen here.

STRAP salutes Baguio Pride

2010-06-28T04:18:00.001-07:00

SOLIDARITY STATEMENT

The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) is honored to declare its solidarity with the Baguio Pride Network (BPN) as it holds the 4th Baguio Pride Parade. We salute all the organizers, supporters and participants of this milestone event as it signifies the commitment to human rights advocacy of Transgender Lesbian Bisexual and Gay (TLBG) activists in the Northern Luzon region.

From Baguio to Manila to Cebu to Davao, the Filipino TLBG community stands on the cusp of history with the imminent inauguration of the 15th President of our beloved Republic. May we take our Pride events this June as an opportunity to recommit to building a strong, united and empowered movement that will work in securing civil rights protections for TLBG Filipinos and eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Indeed let us continue to educate people and liberate them from the bonds of bigotry. In doing so, let us never forget to celebrate ourselves and each other and the diversity of our community. STRAP stands proudly with all those who make up BPN in their quest for equality, acceptance, empowerment and dignity.

Agbiag ti Baguio Pride Network! Agbiag ti Baguio Pride Parade!

Love,

The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines
www.tsphilippines.com
strapmanila@gmail.com

STRAP chair, co-founder attend historic Barcelona conference

2010-05-31T04:18:00.000-07:00

30 May 2010—STRAP Chair Naomi Fontanos and founding member Sass Rogando Sasot are slated to attend the International Congress on Gender Identity and Human Rights in Barcelona, Spain on June 1-6, 2010. The historic Congress will gather transgender human rights activists from around the world.

The Congress aims to produce a document outlining the specific human rights claims of transgender people across the globe that will be used to influence policy at the international level. A preparatory pre-conference happening on June 1-3, 2010 will precede the main conference on June 4-6, 2010 at the University of Barcelona.

The International Congress on Gender Identity and Human Rights is spearheaded by Human Rights Watch with the support of the Spanish Government through its Ministry of Equality and Office of Human Rights. For more information, visit www.congenid.org.

Movie, reality show receive STRAP’s first Sybil Awards

2010-05-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

22 May 2010—To close its month-long 8th year anniversary celebrations, STRAP held a General Assembly (GA) of members and the first ever Sybil Awards at Annabel’s Tomas Morato. The Sybil Awards is given to honor those who promote the equality, empowerment and acceptance of transgender/transsexual Filipinas or transpinays.

This year’s recipients include the indie film, The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela and the hit reality TV show, Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) Double Up. Both portrayed transpinays in a frank but respectful and dignified way.

Receiving the Sybil for Queen Raquela was the star of the movie herself, Raquela Rios who flew to Manila from Cebu for the awarding ceremony. The Sybil for PBB Double Up was accepted by one of its creative managers, Ted Boborol. In attendance were PBB Double Up housemates Rica Paras, Paul Jake Castillo and Melai Cantiveros.

This May STRAP turns 8

2010-05-18T01:18:00.000-07:00

Dear friends & fellow activists,

This May 2010, the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) celebrates 8years of struggle, standing up and successes as the first and, as yet, only human rights advocacy and support organization for transpinays (transgender/transsexual Filipinas). In line with our 8^th year anniversary celebrations, it is our pleasure to present the following events:

GLBT FLOREZ DE MAYO

2 May 2010 (Sun), 7 pm

Bgy.Bagong Pag-asa Covered Court, Quezon City

The Flores de Mayo is a Filipino cultural tradition that celebrates the blooming flowers of May. The festival culminates with a procession that depicts the finding of the Holy Cross by Queen Helena, mother of Constantine the Great. On 2 May 2010, selected STRAP ladies will serve as sagalas and parade in Bgy. Pag-asa in Quezon City in the first Gay Lesbian Bisexual & Transgender (GLBT) FlorEZ de Mayo. This event is brought to you by EZ Lubricating Jelly in cooperation with the Metropolitan Community Church Quezon City (MCCQC), Progressive Organization of Gays in the Philippines (PROGAY) and Task Force Pride (TFP) Philippines.

TRANS+ACTION Standing Up For Your Rights

9 May 2010 (Sun), 1 pm

Isis International, UP Village, Quezon City

No STRAP anniversary will be complete without revisiting the ideas that undergird transactivism. On 9 May 2010 STRAP members will come together for an exclusive closed-door workshop on transgender human rights advocacy in the Philippines entitled Trans+Action Standing Up For Your Rights followed by a strategic planning workshop that will set STRAP’s agenda and action plan in the coming year.

SYBIL AWARDS

22 May 2010 (Sat, 7PM)

Annabels’ Restaurant, 194 Tomas Morato Avenue corner Sct Delgado, Quezon City

On 22 May 2010, STRAP proudly presents the first Sybil Awards, right around the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO), as a way to honor individuals, organizations, establishments and other entities that, in their own way, combat intolerance based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), uphold gender equality and promote the empowerment of sex and gender diverse people.

The Sybil Awards is named after one incarnation of the Great Mother, a goddess whose worship dates back to the Stone Age. Known by different names, she was called Sybil in various cultures. The Great Mother Sybil was venerated by transgender priestesses in pre-communal, matrilineal societies. STRAP makes history by being the first SOGI activist organization in the Philippines to pay tribute to those who have helped further its cause.

Join us as we usher in STRAP’s anniversary month in the spirit of energetic activism and empowerment. Celebrate STRAP’s 8 years of struggle, standing up and successes!

Yours sincerely,

Naomi Fontanos

Chair

STRAP

A Day With Rica Paras

2010-03-15T22:32:00.000-07:00

You are cordially invited

Let us celebrate all women! Join us on Thursday. See you there!

STRAP Women featured in Sunday Inquirer Magazine

2010-03-15T00:33:00.000-07:00

(as seen here)

By Ida L. Bata
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:56:00 03/06/2010

Filed Under: Gender Issues, Women, Lifestyle & Leisure

“I AM a woman. I’m not gay.”

This succinct line from a song by a local artist best describes how Transpinays (or Filipino transsexuals) see and accept themselves –and hope the rest of the world would too.

The words reflect the experience of Filipino transsexual women, says Brenda R. Alegre, a clinical psychologist who has completed a study on transgenderism. Herself a transsexual, Alegre explains that they are individuals whose sex and gender are in opposition, and so they seek to hormonally or surgically alter their bodies to match their gender identities. Gays, on the other hand, do not feel the need to change their genitals, she adds.

Alegre began her research back in 1993 while completing a Psychology course at the University of Santo Tomas. “The research was something I really wanted to do. My feeling of being a woman is genuine and sprung from the time I was 5,” she shares. Her research included watching and joining gay and transsexual beauty pageants, visiting beauty salons to observe and interview hair stylists and customers, and watching TV programs and movies about characters conflicted about their sexual identities.

In 2005, Alegre met Dr. Sam Winter of Transgender Asia and Hong Kong University, as well as the founders of the Society of Transsexual Women in the Philippines (STRAP), the first advocacy and support group in the country for male to female (M2F) transgenders. They were her beacons, she says, encouraging her to complete the study within the scope of gender identity and sexual orientation.

“This is my advocacy. I want Filipinos to accept us as we are and realize that we too have equal rights and opportunities to jobs, education, marriage and political representation,” Alegre says. “It’s like a gift – you have to accept it whether it’s a good or bad one.”

The study’s 15 respondents, all aged 21 to 40, identified and presented themselves as women, not as homosexuals or a third gender. They have adopted female names, prefer to be called “ma’am” and referred to as a “she,” and would rather use the ladies’ washroom than the men’s room. They have also joined beauty pageants for transgenders and gays, considered a prelude to their transitioning ritual, which a few of them achieved through sex reassignment surgery (SRS). The surgical procedure costs at least P1 million and is available here, in the US, UK, Sweden, Denmark, Japan and Thailand.

Bemz D. Benedito, 31, national secretary of the gay organization Ang LadLad representing Transpinays, stresses the need to educate society about transsexualism and transgenderism and its distinction from homosexuality. “Most of the time, we are labeled as gays while others think that all transsexuals have undergone SRS,” she says. “Not all of us can afford this procedure,” she adds.

Their gender has been a source of discrimination, says Alegre. “Despite our academic qualifications, we can’t get the right jobs that fit our skills. There are many talented Transpinays who become entertainers and go to Japan and Thailand because of the lack of employment opportunities here. Entertainment is the only industry that shows us the quickest route to income. It has only been in the last 10 years or so, with the opening of call centers, that we’ve been given another career option. Still, it isn’t always a success story for many of us,” she says.

Alegre has worked for the last 12 years with four companies, carving a career path in Human Resources. Between these jobs, she has applied in some 100 companies.

“I have always presented myself as a transgender,” she says. “They’re impressed with my academic accomplishments and work experience, but when they see that I am transgendered, they don’t call me for further interviews. Companies in the Philippines and HR practitioners lack awareness on the transgender experience, so they’re inclined to turn us down.”

Society’s expectations also make things difficult, Alegre adds. “Companies want us to wear men’s uniforms, cut our hair, and use the men’s washroom. We cannot wear earrings and make up. They will not even allow configuration of emails based on our preferred female names. My advice to companies is: hire us first. Skills and the right attitude make a good employee,” she says.

Benedito echoes similar frustrations. Academically accomplished with degrees in Mass Communications and Sociology, she recalls unflattering remarks from colleagues while working on a research project at Ateneo.

Cruel taunts are frequently thrown her way by bystanders when she’s walking on the street or waiting for a cab. “They call me names like bakla, mang-aagaw ng lakas, or salot. Occasionally, I would challenge them to take a good look at themselves and what they’ve done to improve themselves. But most of the time, I just ignore them,” she sighs.

Like Alegre, she has been turned away by companies because of her gender identity. She remembers a male manager of a call center in Ortigas telling her during the final interview that though she performed excellently in the written and oral exams, he cannot take her in because she’s gay, wears women’s clothes, and it is against his (Mormon) religion.

Benedito doesn’t mince words when talking about how the Comelec abused its authority as a legal institution when it called the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community immoral and a threat to the youth. Ang Ladlad, she says, complied with the Partylist system law when it applied for accreditation to represent gays. Comelec however ruled that the group advocates immorality, citing Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code on lust and pornography. A false claim, she explains, because being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender isn’t an interpretation of pornography.

All transgender groups are ready to soldier on if the Supreme Court’s final decision is in their disfavor. They will then step up their education campaign on the rights of LGBTs around the country and will re-apply for party list accreditation during the next national election.

Apart from a more compassionate government, Alegre is pinning her faith on a more enlightened academe, as well as medical and social workers. “Studies on gender differences should be included in the sex and health education classes in the elementary grades and high school. Schools must include activities for transsexuals since most educational programs are designed for male and female students. Social workers must provide the right counseling and job placements for us,” she says.

Alegre and Benedito insist that they’re not batting for tolerance for their gender identity and sexual orientation, but for acceptance. Their advocacy and that of Ang LadLad is to reclaim their human rights as persons and as LGBTs. They are looking forward to that day when being transgendered in the Philippines does not make them beggars pleading for recognition and acceptance.

Says Alegre: “Believing that we are women is not a psychological disorder. This is who we are and what we are.” •

Transpinay graces the "I, Woman" section of Metro Magazine's (Women's Month) March Issue.

2010-03-10T02:50:00.000-08:00

by Ana Santos

The struggle for Dee Mendoza to prove herself at work was a difficult one, not for reasons of capability, but because of the way she chose to express and affirm her gender. Mendoza talks intimately about being a transsexual woman; her discoveries and her struggles that ultimately led to her emancipation.

Clothes may make a man, but it doesn’t make a woman.

I have always been a woman even though I had to wear men’s clothes. Cross dressing — that is me in men’s clothes — started at a very young age. I was born with a male body. Thus, I was expected to perform conventionally in the role of male; act male, be heterosexual, have girl friends, and eventually a wife.

It never felt right. From my earliest memories I knew I was not comfortable in some way. From an early age, I identified far more with my childhood girl friends than boyfriends. It went on until college, up to the first few years of my employment in my current job.

My parents reared me to become a good, law-abiding, God-fearing boy. In my heart I know that they did this out of love and good intentions. But that did not stop me from dressing up in princess gowns using our spare curtains or wrap a towel on my head and think that it was my long hair when I was alone or in the company of my female friends.

One Christmas, I wrote Santa: Dear Santa, please give me a Barbie doll.

“Santa” (my parents) wrote me back and said: Barbie dolls are for girls, you should not ask for that. I was crushed. I thought Santa Claus was about magic. I thought he was my confidant, and my request was something that would not reach my parents. From then on, I wrote to Santa and asked for neutral toys like puzzles or books.

As I grew up, the only path open to me was the so called gay role. But I soon discovered that wasn’t me.

Meeting the word “transgender” is one of the turning points of my life. It was then that I truly began to discover who I was, who I am, who I have always been, in respect to my sexuality, and my gender. I knew then that I was, and always had been, gender female, and a heterosexual woman.

There was no transformation, there was just an AFFIRMATION. A declaration to myself and to the world that my gender is female and that I am a woman. The word “transformation” is problematic to describe my experiences. It connotes a leap from point A to point B. In retrospect, I have always thought myself to be female since the earliest recollection of my memory. It was later blurred by the dictates of society and it became clear again to me when I reached the affirmative point in my life where I rediscovered I am woman.

Before the realization, I lived a life behind a mask. Always pretending to be someone I was not. I was always unhappy, unfulfilled.

The day I rediscovered who I am was the day I was set free. I was never felt happier, more confident. It was as if a whole new world awaited me.

Before that, I felt so trapped.

This is me, free and unmasked. This is who I am. Who I have always been. I was always Dee. That wasn’t always my name. But I have always been who I am. I felt it from an early age, but as described above, rebelled against my imposed identity and now, I am myself both outwardly as well as well as inwardly.

Discovering who we are is a process all of us go through at some point in our lives, and it takes time. For some people it takes more time than for others, and for the transperson, discovery is further complicated by the restrictions of society’s conventional thinking, misunderstanding, and even hostility about sexuality, sexual identity, and gender identity.

The reality is that the conventional view that there is only male and female, heterosexual and homosexual, and that one should conform to the expected norms, is simply, wrong. Human, life, all life for that matter, is more complex and more interesting than that.

Of course, there are still some constraints for me. These are not of my choosing. Instead they are imposed by those around me, by some sections of our society, in its ignorance and bigotry, when it tries and sometimes succeeds in restricting my right to be who I am. I face this daily.

Beyond Appearances

A few years ago, I was fired from my job because I started to express my real gender by growing my hair and putting on women’s garb.

The reason for termination was, of course, something else other than that. I actively searched for a job after that enduring as many as 3 interviews in a week. This went on for 6 months. I even applied for entry-level positions in Marketing, which were way below my qualifications. I would be called for an interview upon seeing my resume, but when they saw me, they’d politely come up with a reason for the rejection of my application. An unforgettable encounter I had with a prospective employer was when he said, to my face, “We’re okay with gays but not the likes of you.”

Fortunately now, I am employed by an equal opportunity employer who judges me based on my performance and not what’s between my legs or how I choose to present myself. I had to prove myself and work hard, but it paid off. I have earned the respect of my supervisor and colleagues and have been with the same company for the last 6 years.

I am currently in a healthy, loving relationship. I met my partner on-line.

You know, there’s a certain quality about meeting someone on-line; you are not lured by the trappings of the other’s beauty, the wining and dining…by the need for touch. You connect on an intellectual and deeper level.

He flew here to the Philippines a few months after we met. For the first few years, it was a long distance relationship. He would fly here every three months and would be together 6 months in a year. In 2008, he moved here.

My partner looks at me and treats me as a woman. I told him from the start that I am a transsexual woman and he said: “It doesn’t change the way I feel about you”. My partner has always been heterosexual and I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. I wouldn’t want to go out without a man interested in other men.

He first proposed to me on a trip to London. We were outside the church where Princess Diana got married and he knelt down and proposed. I told him it wasn’t the right time yet, and I think it may have hurt him, but after a year, he proposed again and I said yes.

I’m incredibly happy. Because of the Gender Recognition Law in the UK, ours will not be a civil partnership, it will be a marriage. Being married has always been my dream as a child to and now it’s going to happen. I’m going to make it happen. It’s the ultimate affirmation of my femininity. I am going to be part of a legitimate and recognized couple.

Suffice to say that there is nothing really that remarkable about transpeople, beyond the struggles we have to overcome to be accepted as just as normal, just as clever, just as nice just as nasty — just the same as everybody else.

We are so much more than our bodies. When we think of ourselves and others in terms of their anatomy and their genetalia, it is as if we are reducing ourselves to bits and pieces.

We all want love and long for a lifelong partner.

We just have to try harder, and do more than most to prove it. And all we want is a level playing field, an equal chance to succeed.

(article originally from here)

The Right to Self-Determination, a forum on transgender human rights

2010-03-04T02:43:00.000-08:00

STRAP girl featured in Metro’s I, Woman

2010-03-04T02:28:00.000-08:00

In a feat that can only be called groundbreaking, Dee Mendoza, one of the original founding members of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), is featured in the March issue of Metro Magazine, the Philippine’s premiere lifestyle magazine in its section called I, Woman.

Mendoza has served as STRAP’s Chair for four years and has worked as a marketing manager at the Makati Central Business District in the last six years. When asked about the landmark article on her in Metro Magazine, she quipped “I hope that when people who are dealing with difficult gender and identity issues see this, they will have hope and be inspired and continue the path to becoming the real person that they are inside.”

Metro Magazine is available in all leading bookstores nationwide. Grab your copy now.

Photo by Ian Castanares

The Education MS. RICA

2010-02-08T21:50:00.000-08:00

Reality TV star Rica Paras bares her heart and soul in this Students and Campuses Bulletin exclusive, and hopes that her story will inspire more people...

By RONALD LIM

January 19, 2010, 1:17pm

Education is the great equalizer. Rica Paras, former housemate in the current Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) series, certainly proves that.

For one, not only has Rica’s education landed her under the kleiglights of showbiz, it has also brought her to a rewarding career as a team leader and consultant in a multinational ITIT company.

But more importantly, the education she got from Philippine Science High School and Ateneo de Manila University has given her the necessary tools to face challenges as a transgender person.
“Education has given me the confidence.

It has brought me to where I am right now with work and how I present myself in public. I’m very thankful that I concentrated on my studies,” Rica quips.

FROM RICHARD TO RICA

Rica was born as Richard. Even as young as five years old, Rica says she already knew that she was going to live her life as a woman, and that changes had to be made for her so she could feel comfortable in her own skin.

“I had already accepted it bata pa lang ako. At that stage alam ko na ‘yung buhay na tatahakin ko. The only decision that I had to make was when to make the transition. But I didn’t want to be too radical with my parents kasi pinapahalagahan ko sila. And in high school, you can’t insist na dapat naka-girl’s uniform ka,” the 26-year-old Rica recalls.

She was also aware that she was a ready target for people who would not understand her situation. Schoolwork thus became a refuge.

“Habang nagkakamalay ako nagsisi-sink sa akin na there’s something wrong with me. I already knew that my father was disappointed. Sa Iloilo, ang mga batang bakla, binubugbog. Natakot din ako,” she says. “So ang ginawa ko, para maging proud ang father ko sa akin, nag-concentrate akis sa studies, aral talaga! From Grade I to Grade VI, first honors ako. Dun nag-sink in sa akin na ang bait ng tatay ko sa akin kapag first honor ako, he couldn’t hurt me, kasi kilala ako ng mga teachers, and anything na gawin sa akin would be publicized. Sabi ko, eto ang formula!’”

Her determination and her skills would get her into the Western Visayas campus of the Philippine Science High School. It was in this fiercely competitive academic environment that she was discovered as a force to be reckoned with in Mathematics -- safe from the taunts and violence often inflicted on young gay men in her province.

“When teachers discovered I was good in Math, they trained me. There would be special reviews on weekends.

By the time I was in fourth year high school kinatatakutan na ako ng buong Western Visayas sa Math,” she recalls with a laugh. “I think the biggest achievement I had in high school was when I represented Western Visayas sa Philippine Math Olympiad and I finished number seven. When I graduated from Pisay, it was with honors.”

THE BIG CITY AND THE CORPORATE WORLD

Rica would then find herself Manila-bound after getting a scholarship to take up BS Math at the Ateneo de Manila University. The transfer to the city would prove to be an education for her – in more ways than one.

“Nakakaloka sa Manila kasi ang mga kaklase ko nagda-drive na ng kotse at 16! Ganito pala sa Manila! Sobrang sheltered at academic ako nung high school kaya nagulat ako,” she says with amusement. “Ateneo was also where I met Doll House. It’s like Babaylan sa UP. May mga kasama na akong mamili ng girl clothes. I started taking hormones given by older Doll Housers. That’s when I shifted from briefs to panties din.”

Ateneo would not only provide the environment for her transition towards becoming a woman, but would help her expand her mind and realize the truths about her own experience.

“With Psychology classes, gender studies, makikilala mo ‘yung sarili mo and realize that being a transgender is different from homosexuality. I used to think I was gay, but how come iba ‘yung concerns ng mga pa-mhin (Gay men acting straight – Ed.) sa mga pa-girl? I am concerned with hormone therapy and paperwork and immigration counters, at hindi ‘yun concern ng mga pa-mhin,” she explains. “Ang concern na mga pa-mhin perhaps is same sex marriage. But once I have my papers legally changed to female, I don’t need same sex marriage. It will be a heterosexual case. You learn a lot about yourself, but you also learn about your place in society, and how you can help.”

But even with the confidence she has acquired (“I graduated with honors. Batch queen pa ako sa Blue Rose! At Batch King ko si Richard Alvarez!”), Rica admits to feeling a little bit apprehensive about entering the corporate world.

“Akala ko walang kukuha sa aking employer. Inisip kong magpakalalaki to get a really nice job, pero inisip ko kailangan nila akong tanggapin na babae. I was confident. I was a Math graduate, an honor student, the president of my organization. On paper, ang ganda talaga ng resume ko,” she says. “I had an interview, mahaba ang hair ko, naka-blouse. The two lady executives said ‘We thought we were interviewing a guy.’ And I said ‘That’s exactly me.’ When they overcame the question, dun na ako nag-talak. Ma-overcome lang nila ‘yung prejudice and discomfort, kayang-kaya ko na.”

ONE MORE DREAM

Rica says that the decision to join PBB was something of a surprise even to her, as she already had a stable and well-paying job. Joining PBB was, quite literally, a dream.

“Life for the past six years has been work and home. But then I had a dream where I saw myself on TV blabbering about why people are so quick to judge. I thought it was weird. When I turned on the TV, I saw the ad for the PBB auditions,’’ she recalls.

Rica’s audition was not without complications.

“Sa babae ako nakapila. A staff approached and said, ‘Sorry, alam ko ‘yung chismis mo. Ang ganda mo pero dun ka sa kabila.’ Pinapila ako sa lalaki! Naka-dress ako, nakakulot pa ‘yung hair ko. Ang tangkad ko pa sa ibang lalaki!” she recalls with a laugh.

“Pagdating sa harap, tinanong ako, ‘Bakit ka nandiyan?’ Sinagot ko siya ‘Your staff forced me to fall in line here, but the only similar thing between me and these people is the datum on our birth certificate! But other than that, I am a woman, in my mind, in my heart, and in my soul! I am a woman!’ Nagulat sila sa akin!”

Rica says she saw the PBB experience as her own chance to educate the public on how to treat members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community.

“I realized that there is really no representation from the LGBT community, except for Rustom, pero hindi siya pumasok na out and proud. Ang dala dala ko going inside PBB is that representation,” she states.

Given the moniker “Math Goddess of Bacolod”, Rica says she went into the PBB house with no small amount of apprehension.

“First, prinoblema ko na ipapasok ako ni Kuya sa kuwarto ng mga lalaki. Nakakaloka! Kelangan ko pang i-put ‘yung sarili ko sa stress! I worked hard to achieve a stable status that I can control, and now I’m putting myself in a situation that I could not control. My major apprehension was the normal characterization of gay and trans characters.

Natatakot ako na baka gawing circus at katatawanan ‘yung buhay ko. I was afraid na i-bully ako ng mga lalaki,” she admits.

HER STORY

Rica also found herself at the center of controversy after being the object of harsh remarks from some male housemates.

The controversy was resolved between them, but Rica soon discovered that the said conflict had become a national talking point.

“Nagulat ako pagdating sa labas, because I saw the depth of my case. Ang Ladlad had been rejected by the Comelec at the time, and then they were seeing on TV that I was being bashed. What was a personal issue to me had turned into a national issue. I understand kasi in the real world, ganun naman talaga nangyayari. People are quick to say something ill about people kahit di pa nila kilala. Sasabihan na She-Man, mumu, baka gapangin niya tayo. I’m glad that it started a discussion because people can reflect and realize na hindi siya maganda. Hindi lahat ng mga bakla, tomboy, bi, trans, are like that, kasi nasa tao naman talaga ang kabutihan,” she says.

Even if she has already been booted out of the house, Rica says that she is happy with how things turned out, and is hoping that her own experience becomes an education for other people as well.

“I wanted to show another image of us. Wala akong desire to really earn a lot of money, kasi I can work for it, I have a stable job. Even showbiz, I’m just enjoying the ride but it’s not my priority. A lot of us are comedians and hosts and entertainers, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But masyado na-stereotype ng mga tao na kapag LGBT ka, ito lang ang kaya mong gawin,” she says. “With me coming out with my story, sana na-open up ko ‘yung mind ng mga tao na you can finish school and get a good degree and get a job in a good company without changing yourself. And not just with being part of the LGBT community – taga-probinsya ako, and yet na-achieve ko ito. I hope people see that you don’t have to fit in to achieve what you want.”

Article from The Manila Bulletin

Photo by Jong Clemente

Reclaiming the lucidity of our hearts

2009-12-13T13:33:00.000-08:00

“Opposing grave human rights violations
on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity”

ECOSOC Chamber, United Nations Headquarters, New York
Thursday, December 10th 2009 at 1.15 p.m. – 2.45 p.m

Let me begin by expressing my warmest gratitude to the Permanent Missions to the United Nations of Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, and to the coalition of non-government organizations defending the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Thank you for making this event possible and for giving us this opportunity to contribute our voices to this ongoing conversation for change. Our esteemed participants, beautiful beings, and profound expressions of this Universe, a warm, vibrant, and dignified afternoon to each and every one of you!

Burned at stake. Strangled and hanged. Raped and shot and stabbed to death. Throats slashed. Left to bleed to death. These are just some of the ways transgender people were killed in different parts of the world, in different times in the history of humanity. These are just the tip, the violent tip, of the iceberg of our suffering. I can go on and on, reciting a litany of indignity upon indignity, but my time is not enough to name all the acts of atrocious cruelty that transgender people experience. But what is the point of counting the dead bodies of our fellow human beings, of narrating how we suffer, and of opposing violence against us if we don’t challenge the root of our oppression?

The sincerity of our intention to address the human rights violations against transgender people rests upon the depth of our appreciation of human diversity and the breadth of our understanding of why transgender people suffer these indignities.

The root of our oppression is the belief that there is only one and only one way to be male or female. And this starts from our birth. Upon a quick look on our genitals, we are assigned into either male or female. This declaration is more than just a statement of what’s between our legs. It is a prescription of how we should and must live our lives. It is a dictation of what we should think about ourselves, the roles we should play, the clothes we should wear, the way we should move, and the people with whom we should have romantic or erotic relationships. But the existence of people whose identities, bodies, and experiences do not conform to gender norms is a proof that this belief is wrong.

Nonetheless, even though the truth of human diversity is so evident and clear to us, we choose to hang on to our current beliefs about gender, a belief that rejects reality and forces people to live a lie. This is the belief that leads to attacks on our physical and mental integrity, to different forms of discrimination against us, and to our social marginalization. This is the belief that led to Joan of Arc to be burned at stake because she was cross-dressing. This is the belief that motivated the rape and murder of Brandon Teena on December 31, 1993. This is the belief that led to the stabbing to death of Ebru Soykan, a prominent transgender human rights activist in Turkey, on March 10, 2009. This is the belief that led to the arrest of 67 Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia for cross-dressing in June this year. This is the belief that keeps the list of transgender people being harassed, killed, and violated growing year after year. And it is very unfortunate that our legal systems, religions, and cultures are being used to justify, glorify, and sanctify the violent expressions of this belief.

So we question: Is human life less precious than this belief? Is our right to life, to dignified existence, to liberty, and pursuit of happiness subservient to gender norms? This doesn’t need a complicated answer. You want to be born, to live, and die with dignity – so do we! You want the freedom to express the uniqueness of the life force within you – so do we! You want to live with authenticity – so do we!

Now is the time that we realize that diversity does not diminish our humanity; that respecting diversity does not make us less human; that understanding and accepting our differences do not make us cruel. And in fact, history has shown us that denying and rejecting human variability is the one that has lead us to inflict indignity upon indignity towards each other.

We are human beings of transgender experience. We are your children, your partners, your friends, your siblings, your students, your teachers, your workers, your citizens.

Let our lives delight in the same freedom of expression that you enjoy as you manifest to the outside world your unique and graceful selves.

Let us live together in the fertile ground of our common humanity for this is the ground where religion is not a motivation to hate but a way to appreciate the profound beauty and mysteries of life;

for this is the ground where laws are not tools to eliminate those who are different from us but are there to facilitate our harmonious relationship with each other;

for this is the ground where culture is not a channel to express the brutality of our limited perception but a means to express the nobility of our souls;

for this is the ground where the promise of the universality of human rights can be fulfilled!

And we will be in this ground if we let the sanity of our desires, the tenacity of our compassion, and above all, the lucidity of our hearts to reign in our lives.

Thank you!

----------------
by: Sass Rogando Sasot, transgender activist, Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP)
----------------
Links to the entire webcast:

English: http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/specialevents/2009/se091210pm2.rm

Spanish: http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/specialevents/2009/se091210pm2-orig.rm

Stop Transphobia sa Bahay ni Kuya!!!

2009-11-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

Official Statement of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) on the recent happenings inside the Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) House involving Rica Paras

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
--Anonymous

She-man. Mumu. Half-half. Samson and Delilah. These are just a few of the derogatory comments heard recently from PBB Double Up Housemates Rob Stumvol, Patrick Villanueva, Hermes Bautista, Mariel Sorino, Yuri Okawa and most especially Rocky Salumbides in referring to Rica Paras. We, her sisters in STRAP, join the rest of the world’s loyal audiences who watch PBB Double Up diligently in expressing our dismay, disappointment and disbelief in this blatant show of anti-transgender prejudice or transphobia. STRAP condemns to the highest degree this senseless bigotry and calls on Big Brother to intervene and put a stop to the hate happening right under his watchful eye.

Ever since Rica entered the PBB House, she has always carried herself well. She has never been a burden to her housemates but instead has proven to be an asset to them with her leadership skills, quick thinking and positive attitude. She has helped in household chores, shared her talents selflessly, related wholeheartedly with her housemates, and always contributed to the completion of tasks in the best way she could. The whole world knows that Rica has been nothing but a consistent team player, a shoulder to cry on, a loyal friend and a loving and reliable sister to all of her housemates.

We are therefore calling on all the housemates to STOP BASHING RICA for she has done nobody any harm. STOP DISREPECTING RICA for she has only treated all of them with grace and care. STOP DISPARAGING RICA for she is simply being herself. The asinine machismo being directed at her is the same kind of misogyny that leads to violence against women. The narrow-mindedness being displayed by some of the PBB Double Up housemates is the same kind of bias that leads to abuse, insensitivity and cruelty towards others. This is totally unacceptable behavior and must be stopped at all costs.

This has to stop if we believe in the equality of all persons. This has to stop if we want to create a world where the uniqueness of all is valued. This has to stop if we want to create a better world where kindness, compassion and respect reign, a world that upholds the inherent dignity of all. STOP TRANSPHOBIA SA BAHAY NI KUYA!

*repost as you please

Bigotry is the threat to the well-being of humanity

2009-11-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

The Official Statement of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) on Comelec’s non-accreditation of Ang Ladlad LGBT Party List

“The greatness of every mighty organization
embodying an idea in this world
lies in the religious fanaticism and intolerance
with which, fanatically convinced of its own right,
it intolerantly imposes its will against all others."
- Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf Vol. 1 Chapter 12

The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) stands with courage and in solidarity with all those organizations and individuals who have been disheartened, disappointed, and dismayed by the unfavorable decision Ang Ladlad received from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

STRAP is among those who say: Yes! It’s a violation of the separation of Church and State; Yes! It breaches the ‘no religion test’ clause of our Constitution; Yes! It lays the case for our legal persecution; Yes! It’s a retrogressive way of thinking; Yes! It’s a violation of human rights. But above all this, STRAP says Yes! The bigotry of Comelec is a threat to the well-being of every human being.

In its 8-page decision, Comelec argued that should they allow Ang Ladlad to participate in the elections, “[the] youth would be exposed to an environment that does not conform to the teachings of [Christianity and Islam]”, implying that such exposure would cause the moral and spiritual degradation of the youth. "[They] are not condemning the LGBT," Comelec said, they just “cannot compromise the well-being of the greater number of our people, especially the youth.“ Protecting the well-being of everyone is a good intention. However, as history has shown us, the road to hell can be paved with bigotry masked as good intentions.

How many wars have been waged, people burned at stake, genocide committed, and bodies turned into bombs just to create an environment that blindly conforms to the teachings of a particular religion? How many such atrocities have happened just because of the refusal to acknowledge the humanity of those people who are simply different?

If we’re going to be honest in answering these questions, we’ll find out that our natural diversity in sexual orientation, gender identity and expression is not the threat to the well-being of humanity. The threat is bigotry.

So we further ask, Who is the real threat to the youth? An organization that seeks to promote respect for and deeper understanding of human diversity? Or those who wear bigotry as a badge of honor?

*repost as you please

2009 Transgender Day of Remembrance - Manila

2009-11-13T16:36:00.000-08:00

This year, STRAP is partnering with the first-ever TLBG student group in the University of the Philippines (UP) system, UP Babaylan to commemorate the International Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) The TDOR is meant to honor people who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. It began a decade ago after the death of Rita Hester who was brutally murdered in November 1998. Hester’s death resulted in the creation of the Remembering Our Dead website and a candlelight vigil in 1999. Henceforth, transgender people killed due to hatred are honored in annual TDOR activities worldwide.

We are holding TDOR week in UP and our activities are as follows:

Activity and Venue	Date and Time
TDOR Exhibit *Opening ceremony (AS Lobby or Palma Hall Lobby, UP Diliman)	November 24-27, 2009 (8:00AM to 5:00PM) *November 24, Tuesday, 10:00AM
TRANSCEND: Stories and Struggles of Transpeople in the Philippines (Forum) (UP Diliman Gender Office, 2/F Benton Hall)	November 27, Friday, 2:30PM to 5:00 PM
Candlelighting Ceremony and Reading of Stories of the Departed (AS Lobby or Palma Hall Lobby, UP Diliman)	November 27, Friday, 6:00 PM

We hope that you can join us in all these activities. We will really appreciate it. To participate or for inquiries, contact STRAP Secretary Mae Emmanuel Hernandez at mobile (0905.352.0943) and email (mushy.mae@gmail.com). Thank you. See you there!

STRAP Girl Wins Queen of Cebu Pageant

2009-11-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

24 October - Rain Villagonzalo won the first edition of Queen of Cebu, a new and prestigious pageant for Cebuana transpinays. Rain, who is Cebu-based, was Miss Philippines and she bested 20 other beautiful Cebuanas representing different nations of the world for the title of Queen of Cebu Universe.

As reported in The Mindanao Examiner, "It was no neck-and-neck battle of beauty and brains before the panel of judges, who unanimously singled her out to walk away with the crown, after she articulately discussed STRAP, of which she's been an active member for two summers now.

The ever eloquent pageant champ recaps, "It stands for Society of Trans-sexual Women of the Philippines. It is the only transgender rights support and advocacy group in the Philippines. It aims to provide assistance to transgender people who are victims of discrimination and prejudice, be it in the workplace or in society in general. Most of the time transgender people are not taken seriously in the workplace. The organization provides legal support as well... in order to assert every transgender's rights to equal employment opportunity. After all, Transgender rights are also Human Rights. On a personal note, I'm fortunate enough to be part of a company that respects equal employment opportunity and somehow takes into consideration Affirmative Action when hiring employees."

STRAP Girl Enters Pinoy Big Brother's House

2009-10-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, Allies & Supporters,

We, the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), a transgender rights advocacy organization and support group for girls and women of transsexual experience, are very proud to announce that one of our very own, Ms Rica Paras, is now a Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) housemate. Housemate Rica, the Math Goddess of Bacolod (although she is really from Iloilo, entered the PBB house tonight, 10 October 2009, Saturday, and we believe that given the dearth of positive and empowering media images of transgender Filipinas or transpinays, her addition to the cast of PBB housemates marks a significant milestone both in the history of Philippine TV but as well as in the local transgender liberation movement. Rica is the first out and proud transpinay who will ever enter the PBB house and be watched by millions on national TV.

This is perhaps just rightly so as Rica’s story, indeed, is one that needs to be told. Growing up in a lower middle-class household in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo, Rica at a young age displayed an affinity for science and mathematics. This led her to attend the prestigious Western Visayas campus of the Philippine Science High School where she was a consistent A-student. Later, Rica won a scholarship to study Mathematics at Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) where she graduated with honors. The last six years, Rica has been working as a globally certified IT consultant for a multi-national company training people in sales, product distribution and finance.

That Rica’s story may serve as an inspiration to people who are dealing with difficult gender and identity issues at a young age is not lost on us. Many of us, her sisters in STRAP, know all too well how it is like to grow up with no one to look up to, deprived of role models on TV who look like us and are going through the same things in life. We would therefore like to invite you to watch Rica on PBB so that she can tell you her story in her own words. There is so much more to know so watch and see the amazing person that we have all come to love and cherish. More importantly we hope that you will join us in supporting our dear sister and ensuring that she emerges the Big Winner of this season’s PBB.

Add Rica Paras on Facebook, Multiply and Friendster. Do not forget to text in your vote for her also so that she can stay in the PBB house until the Final Four. Help us bring Rica’s story of succeeding against all odds and breaking stereotypes and barriers to the millions of Filipino households that watch PBB every day and every night. Remember that a vote for Rica is a vote for our desire for change—change in the kind of people we see on TV and change in the way people will see people like us. A vote for Rica is a vote for the dreamer in us—that anyone, regardless of gender, religion, social status, ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc. can dream big and work hard for a better life. A vote for Rica is a vote for self-determination—that ultimately we are the masters of our fate and the captains of our souls. Only we can decide for ourselves who we want to be and who we really are!

In love and peace,
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP)
www.tsphilippines.com
Dear Friends, Allies & Supporters,