For many women, the "bedroom" is not just a room but represents a multiplicity of meanings. It can be a site of struggle for power, pleasure and personhood. To others, it can be a place of vulnerability, where personal issues are dealt with--those that pertain to the body, health, sense of well-being, sense of belonging, sexuality, gender, pain, lust and love.
On International Women's Month, the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), the pioneer organization of transgender rights advocates in the Philippines, revisits the idea of the "bedroom" as a complex space. Collaborating with renowned photographer Niccolo Cosme, transpinays (transgender/transsexual Filipinas) figuratively go to bed with Cosme to produce black-and-white images of transgender women confronting the issues that they face daily: discrimination, hate, the struggle for equality, identity, their place in public/social institutions, social roles and relationships, kinship, sisterhood and community.
These photographs are not only meant to showcase the diversity, beauty, and strength of the transpinay but also to trigger a reflection on the power of self-determination and how in the bedroom the personal is also the political.
The exhibit will run from 5-9 March 2012 at the Law School of the Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) Professional Schools and is co-presented by the Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) Women’s Desk.
Written for STRAP by Chairwoman Ms Naomi Fontanos
Showing posts with label Transpinay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transpinay. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Sunday, 26 February 2012
STRAP turns 10: A decade of support, sorority and sisterhood
The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), the pioneer support group and human rights advocacy organization of transpinays (transgender/transsexual Filipinas) turns 10 in May 2012. To celebrate a decade of support, sorority and sisterhood, STRAP will hold three major events in three months (March, April & May 2012).
In March, in time for International Women's Month, STRAP will hold a photo exhibit at the Law School of the Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) Professional Schools in cooperation with the Ateneo Human Rights Center's Women's Desk. To be held on 5-9 March 2012, the exhibit will feature black-and-white photographs showcasing the beauty and diversity of STRAP members shot by renowned photographer Niccolo Cosme.
In April, STRAP will hold a social responsibility activity to benefit a charity of their choice. STRAP's 10th year anniversary celebrations culminate with the 2nd Sybil Awards on 19 May 2012. 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 societies. STRAP's Sybil awards honor individuals, organizations, establishments, activities, programs, and other entities that, in their own way, promote the equality, acceptance, empowerment and dignity of transgender Filipinos.
For more information on these events, please contact Ms Naomi Fontanos, STRAP Chairwoman at strapmanila@gmail.com or through mobile +63920.2697607.
Written for STRAP by Chairwoman Ms Naomi Fontanos
In March, in time for International Women's Month, STRAP will hold a photo exhibit at the Law School of the Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) Professional Schools in cooperation with the Ateneo Human Rights Center's Women's Desk. To be held on 5-9 March 2012, the exhibit will feature black-and-white photographs showcasing the beauty and diversity of STRAP members shot by renowned photographer Niccolo Cosme.
In April, STRAP will hold a social responsibility activity to benefit a charity of their choice. STRAP's 10th year anniversary celebrations culminate with the 2nd Sybil Awards on 19 May 2012. 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 societies. STRAP's Sybil awards honor individuals, organizations, establishments, activities, programs, and other entities that, in their own way, promote the equality, acceptance, empowerment and dignity of transgender Filipinos.
For more information on these events, please contact Ms Naomi Fontanos, STRAP Chairwoman at strapmanila@gmail.com or through mobile +63920.2697607.
Written for STRAP by Chairwoman Ms Naomi Fontanos
Rep. Teddy Casiño's response on HB 4530
Below is Rep. Teddy Casiño's response on his co-authorship of HB 4530 or "An act further authorizing the city of municipal civil registrar or the consul general to correct clerical or typographical errors in the date of birth or sex or a person appearing in the civil register without need of a judicial order amending for this purpose the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 9048." STRAP is opposed to this measure as it makes the process of changing sex in the birth certificate violative of privacy and impossible for those who identify as transgender/transsexual.
HB 4530 Co-authorship
Dear Friends in the LGBT Community,
Warm greetings!
In response to some discussions in the LGBT community about the recently passed bill on correcting entries in birth certificates, I wish to make the following clarifications.
1. I was never an author of any of the measures that went into the final bill (HB 4530 titled: An Act Further Authorizing The City Or Municipal Civil Registrar Or The Consul General To Correct Clerical Or Typographical Error In The Date Of Birth Or Sex Of A Person Appearing In The Civil Register Without Need Of A Judicial Order). Instead, I was automatically included as a co-author of the measure after attending a meeting of the Committee on Justice sometime in May 2011, where a number of bills, including HB 4530, were apparently approved. I did not vote for or against the measure and was not a co-author of any similar measure (House Bills 214, 237, 1767, 2438, 2681, 2795, 3834).
2. The intention of the bill is merely to allow ordinary citizens to correct CLERICAL or TYPOGRAPHICAL errors in their birth certificates without having to go through the courts. There is nothing objectionable in that.
3. Technically, transgender persons who want to change their gender identity in their birth certificates are not covered by the bill, since such a change is neither a clerical nor typographical error. Thus, the law specifically states that changes in gender due to medical procedures are excluded from the coverage of the law.
4. I agree, however, that the wording of the law tends to discriminate against transgender persons, especially those who have undergone a medical procedure to change their sex. It would have been better if the law merely stated that the law does not cover persons who deliberately change their gender identity, as corrections of this nature are neither clerical nor typographical.
5. I shall withdraw my name as a co-author of the said measure and will take steps, if it is still possible, to correct the discriminatory language found in the said bill.
I deeply appreciate your concern on bringing this issue to me and allowing me to clarify my position. And I welcome all your views and proposals, for I would definitely like to be informed further on LGBT issues and concerns.
Thank you very much!
Teddy Casiño
HB 4530 Co-authorship
Dear Friends in the LGBT Community,
Warm greetings!
In response to some discussions in the LGBT community about the recently passed bill on correcting entries in birth certificates, I wish to make the following clarifications.
1. I was never an author of any of the measures that went into the final bill (HB 4530 titled: An Act Further Authorizing The City Or Municipal Civil Registrar Or The Consul General To Correct Clerical Or Typographical Error In The Date Of Birth Or Sex Of A Person Appearing In The Civil Register Without Need Of A Judicial Order). Instead, I was automatically included as a co-author of the measure after attending a meeting of the Committee on Justice sometime in May 2011, where a number of bills, including HB 4530, were apparently approved. I did not vote for or against the measure and was not a co-author of any similar measure (House Bills 214, 237, 1767, 2438, 2681, 2795, 3834).
2. The intention of the bill is merely to allow ordinary citizens to correct CLERICAL or TYPOGRAPHICAL errors in their birth certificates without having to go through the courts. There is nothing objectionable in that.
3. Technically, transgender persons who want to change their gender identity in their birth certificates are not covered by the bill, since such a change is neither a clerical nor typographical error. Thus, the law specifically states that changes in gender due to medical procedures are excluded from the coverage of the law.
4. I agree, however, that the wording of the law tends to discriminate against transgender persons, especially those who have undergone a medical procedure to change their sex. It would have been better if the law merely stated that the law does not cover persons who deliberately change their gender identity, as corrections of this nature are neither clerical nor typographical.
5. I shall withdraw my name as a co-author of the said measure and will take steps, if it is still possible, to correct the discriminatory language found in the said bill.
I deeply appreciate your concern on bringing this issue to me and allowing me to clarify my position. And I welcome all your views and proposals, for I would definitely like to be informed further on LGBT issues and concerns.
Thank you very much!
Teddy Casiño
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Gender identity is a human right
Below is the official position written by Chairwoman Ms Naomi Fontanos of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) on House Bill No. 4530 and Senate Bill 3113 also known as "An act further authorizing the city of municipal civil registrar or the consul general to correct clerical or typographical errors in the date of birth or sex or a person appearing in the civil register without need of a judicial order amending for this purpose the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 9048"
As the day of hearts fast approaches, we, the members of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP)*, are heartbroken that members of Congress (REPRESENTATIVES GUNIGUNDO, ROMUALDO, MIRAFLORES, ALVAREZ (M.), ESPINA, ARNAIZ, RODRIGUEZ (R.), RODRIGUEZ (M.), TUPAS, CASIÑO AND RELAMPAGOS) and the Senate (SENATORS TRILLANES AND ESCUDERO) are seeking to amend Republic Act (RA) 9048 or the Clerical Error Law of 2001 that would effectively illegalize the lives and identities of transgender/transsexual Filipinos including those who are intersex.
Section 5 of HB 4530 and SB 3113 reads "NO PETITION FOR CORRECTION OF ERRONEOUS ENTRY CONCERNING THE DATE OF BIRTH OR THE SEX OF A PERSON SHALL BE ENTERTAINED EXCEPT IF THE PETITION IS ACCOMPANIED BY EARLIEST SCHOOL RECORD OR EARLIEST CIVIL DOCUMENTS SUCH AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, MEDICAL RECORDS, BAPTISMAL CERTIFICATE AND OTHER DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES; NOR SHALL ANY ENTRY INVOLVING CHANGE OF GENDER CORRECTED EXCEPT IF THE PETITION IS ACCOMPANIED BY A CERTIFICATION ISSUED BY AN ACCREDITED GOVERNMENT PHYSICIAN ATTESTING TO THE FACT THAT THE PETITIONER HAS NOT UNDERGONE SEX CHANGE OR SEX TRANSPLANT.(emphasis ours)"
While we note that our lawmakers recognize the reality of surgical sex change, or more correctly sex reassignment surgery (SRS), we are dismayed that they seem to be in denial of the very idea behind this medical procedure that has been available since the 1920's:
a) that sex does and can be changed ;
b) that there exist people in society who prefer a gender or have a gender identity/expression other than the one recorded in their birth certificates, now known under the modern terms transgender/transsexual (trans for short) or intersex;
c) and that recognizing trans and intersex people under the law means respecting and affirming the gender they choose or prefer.
In fact, many nations across the globe have taken steps to recognize their trans and intersex citizens' right to a chosen gender identity such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Nepal, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, South Africa, some jurisdictions in the United States and other countries based on evidence that not having documents that reflect their gender identity/expression make them vulnerable to prejudice and discrimination. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, in a statement in September 2011, has herself underscored the importance of protecting the right to legal sex change and called on all states of the world "to review their own laws, policies and practices to ensure that discrimination against transgender and intersex individuals is addressed in a systematic and effective way."
Clearly, the above-mentioned legislative initiatives from both chambers of the Philippine House of Representatives are a step in the wrong direction. Moreover, HB 4530 and SB 3113 perpetuate anti-transgender or transphobic attitudes and justify the marginalization of trans and intersex people in Philippine society. Their subscription to a medical view of transsexualism/intersexuality also contributes to the continued pathologization of a minority who, in their daily lives, have to confront violence, abuse, torture, and cruel and inhumane treatment based on their gender identity or gender expression.
We, the members of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), therefore urge members of Congress and the Senate to recognize and accept the reality of sex and gender diversity and recall HB 4530 and SB 3113. Instead, we ask them to amend RA 9048 in a way that would lead to a better quality of life for trans and intersex Filipinos by allowing us to change our first name and sex in the birth certificate in simple and easy steps. As well, we urge Congress and the Senate, to immediately pass legislation recognizing trans and intersex Filipino citizens in our chosen gender with no requirement for surgical modification of the body.
In closing, we note with irony that SB 3113 was filed in the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Justice for and the protection of the human rights of trans and intersex Filipinos will be best served if the government heeds the call to end violence, criminal sanctions and related human rights violations based on gender identity or expression in the Philippines. Justice for and the protection of the human rights of trans and intersex Filipinos will only truly begin by recognizing us as people under the law as the gender we say we are. Justice for and the protection of the human rights of trans and intersex Filipinos will only prevail if the government accepts that its right to identify its citizens by gender stops at the right of those citizens to determine their own gender identity. Our gender identity is our human right. Help us protect it.
Written for STRAP by Chairwoman Ms Naomi Fontanos
___________________________
* The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) is the pioneer support group and human rights advocacy organization of transpinays (transgender/transsexual Filipinas). We seek to improve the public understanding of transsexualism, campaign for the right to define one's gender identity and expression and work towards building a supportive community amongst transgender/transsexual Filipina girls and women and a society free from transphobia and discrimination.
Contact person:
Ms Naomi Fontanos
Chairwoman
STRAP
M: 0920-269-7607
As the day of hearts fast approaches, we, the members of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP)*, are heartbroken that members of Congress (REPRESENTATIVES GUNIGUNDO, ROMUALDO, MIRAFLORES, ALVAREZ (M.), ESPINA, ARNAIZ, RODRIGUEZ (R.), RODRIGUEZ (M.), TUPAS, CASIÑO AND RELAMPAGOS) and the Senate (SENATORS TRILLANES AND ESCUDERO) are seeking to amend Republic Act (RA) 9048 or the Clerical Error Law of 2001 that would effectively illegalize the lives and identities of transgender/transsexual Filipinos including those who are intersex.
Section 5 of HB 4530 and SB 3113 reads "NO PETITION FOR CORRECTION OF ERRONEOUS ENTRY CONCERNING THE DATE OF BIRTH OR THE SEX OF A PERSON SHALL BE ENTERTAINED EXCEPT IF THE PETITION IS ACCOMPANIED BY EARLIEST SCHOOL RECORD OR EARLIEST CIVIL DOCUMENTS SUCH AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, MEDICAL RECORDS, BAPTISMAL CERTIFICATE AND OTHER DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES; NOR SHALL ANY ENTRY INVOLVING CHANGE OF GENDER CORRECTED EXCEPT IF THE PETITION IS ACCOMPANIED BY A CERTIFICATION ISSUED BY AN ACCREDITED GOVERNMENT PHYSICIAN ATTESTING TO THE FACT THAT THE PETITIONER HAS NOT UNDERGONE SEX CHANGE OR SEX TRANSPLANT.(emphasis ours)"
While we note that our lawmakers recognize the reality of surgical sex change, or more correctly sex reassignment surgery (SRS), we are dismayed that they seem to be in denial of the very idea behind this medical procedure that has been available since the 1920's:
a) that sex does and can be changed ;
b) that there exist people in society who prefer a gender or have a gender identity/expression other than the one recorded in their birth certificates, now known under the modern terms transgender/transsexual (trans for short) or intersex;
c) and that recognizing trans and intersex people under the law means respecting and affirming the gender they choose or prefer.
In fact, many nations across the globe have taken steps to recognize their trans and intersex citizens' right to a chosen gender identity such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Nepal, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, South Africa, some jurisdictions in the United States and other countries based on evidence that not having documents that reflect their gender identity/expression make them vulnerable to prejudice and discrimination. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, in a statement in September 2011, has herself underscored the importance of protecting the right to legal sex change and called on all states of the world "to review their own laws, policies and practices to ensure that discrimination against transgender and intersex individuals is addressed in a systematic and effective way."
Clearly, the above-mentioned legislative initiatives from both chambers of the Philippine House of Representatives are a step in the wrong direction. Moreover, HB 4530 and SB 3113 perpetuate anti-transgender or transphobic attitudes and justify the marginalization of trans and intersex people in Philippine society. Their subscription to a medical view of transsexualism/intersexuality also contributes to the continued pathologization of a minority who, in their daily lives, have to confront violence, abuse, torture, and cruel and inhumane treatment based on their gender identity or gender expression.
We, the members of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), therefore urge members of Congress and the Senate to recognize and accept the reality of sex and gender diversity and recall HB 4530 and SB 3113. Instead, we ask them to amend RA 9048 in a way that would lead to a better quality of life for trans and intersex Filipinos by allowing us to change our first name and sex in the birth certificate in simple and easy steps. As well, we urge Congress and the Senate, to immediately pass legislation recognizing trans and intersex Filipino citizens in our chosen gender with no requirement for surgical modification of the body.
In closing, we note with irony that SB 3113 was filed in the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Justice for and the protection of the human rights of trans and intersex Filipinos will be best served if the government heeds the call to end violence, criminal sanctions and related human rights violations based on gender identity or expression in the Philippines. Justice for and the protection of the human rights of trans and intersex Filipinos will only truly begin by recognizing us as people under the law as the gender we say we are. Justice for and the protection of the human rights of trans and intersex Filipinos will only prevail if the government accepts that its right to identify its citizens by gender stops at the right of those citizens to determine their own gender identity. Our gender identity is our human right. Help us protect it.
Written for STRAP by Chairwoman Ms Naomi Fontanos
___________________________
* The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) is the pioneer support group and human rights advocacy organization of transpinays (transgender/transsexual Filipinas). We seek to improve the public understanding of transsexualism, campaign for the right to define one's gender identity and expression and work towards building a supportive community amongst transgender/transsexual Filipina girls and women and a society free from transphobia and discrimination.
Contact person:
Ms Naomi Fontanos
Chairwoman
STRAP
M: 0920-269-7607
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Transpinay speaks on German panel
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.
Friday, 3 December 2010
STRAP secretary is Dutch magazine's cover
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.
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
STRAP Salutes Amazing Philippine Beauties 2010
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 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
Thursday, 4 November 2010
STRAP salutes Queen of Cebu
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
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
Monday, 15 March 2010
A Day With Rica Paras
You are cordially invited
Let us celebrate all women! Join us on Thursday. See you there!
Let us celebrate all women! Join us on Thursday. See you there!
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Transpinay graces the "I, Woman" section of Metro Magazine's (Women's Month) March Issue.
by Ana SantosThe 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)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
