Gay Pride Episode

Rock Ed Radio expected a lot of fun tonight, even before the show started we were all chatting up a storm already. Guests settled in. And the NU107 booth had the atmosphere of a high altitude party minus beer or food or extraneous bland company. Definitely no small talk here.
Everyone settles in. We decided to talk about the surface of the iceberg topic called "Being Gay in the Philippines" wheeee. Let's go. What an all-star cast we had on this one. Prof. Danton Remoto, Chairperson of the Ladlad Partylist (and a recent Congressional candidate) starts off the hour. He says that these days are kinder to the coming-out of gays because of many factors. Literature in the academe has ushered in the more comfortable acceptance of what the general population describe as a 'different sexual orientation.' He, is partly responsible for the fight that the gay collective has put up against the bigots who are hateful of homosexuals. Prof. Ramon Bautista (of the UP Film Dep) better known for his Ramon Bautista show on MTV listens in intently, so does Sir Francis Brew. Both Francis and Ramon represent the straight male tribe.
The Rock Ed straight contingent are all ears. Jaime, Lourd, and Gang listen in rapt attention. Trying to absorb everything, maybe re-assessing if they are really straight. Hehehe
Ramon Bautista says that despite being straight all the way, he can appreciate who is good looking and who isn't among men. He mentions John Lloyd Cruz as his example but it doesn't mean he wants to date John Lloyd. (Incidentally, Ramon: I got a text msg from John Lloyd -also a Rock Ed volunteer--and he says ayaw ka din nya i-date. May girlfriend na daw siya. Hehe loko lang...) Bautista is a media practitioner and a UP Film professor, his field sees a lot of gay participation and he says he doesn't mind this at all.
Little Ms. Philippines/child star/now musician Ms. Aiza Seguerra is candid and straight forward about her preference. She has known her gender identity even as a child in Eat Bulaga. Aiza is stern that 'if you have it, you have it.' Regardless of outside influence. So growing up with the Tito, Vic, and Joey humor has nothing to do with her sexual orientation as an adult. She shares that the most difficult part of coming out was really more about possibly disappointing the important people in her life. She says it's mostly about family. It takes a lot of courage and being self-sufficient to stand one's ground on this one. Lalo na sa isang Catholic atmosphere. She's so steady that it's hard to reconcile the vision of the be-ribboned little girl doing the duck walk when she speaks. This one has more wisdom than we imagine. Mahusay ang tindig ni Aiza. Rock Ed Radio's so proud to have her debut on NU107 airwaves with us. Growing up in a family of 5 boys and a military father, Shu Uemura's EJ Mallorca says he's been blessed. He doesn't have the horror stories of being ostracized or teased as a child. His brothers accepted him even without the "coming out talk." Basta ganun na. He is attached to his Mom and says that his family has been nothing but embracing of his gender leaning. Kakatawa kasi nag prom king ata nung high school si EJ, pero ang crush niya yung Corps Commander. Danton seconds this motion. Ang saya nito. Sana nakinig kayo.
Tatum Ancheta is our wild card. She has had a string of boyfriends, does art direction for People Asia, she is kikay and fashionable but she prefers women when it comes to relationships. She is certain about this despite having had relationships with men. In the end, Tatum says, you fall in love with the person not the gender. Tatum feels like a free spirited will inside a fashionista's body. What a motley crew we had that night. Did you tune in?? As I write this summary on our gay episode, the more I keep thinking, "Maaaaan, you should've been there." (pun intended)
Pam Pastor is decidedly not so decidedly straight. She is straight now. Editing for 2bU and the Super section of the Inquirer does allow her to swim in the ocean of queer friends. And she revels in them. In fact, she says dealbreaker for a guy is if he is homophobic. Pam struck us more as truly open-minded instead of confused. (ibang-iba yon) She has tried to have a relationship with another female but a double dose of PMS in one union was just not feasible for her so she figured she's straight. She is also our source of advice when it comes to gay-straight friendships. She says don't force anyone to come out even if you already know he or she is gay. For the non-straight one --don't force it either, come out when you're ready. That's always the best course to take to avoid misunderstanding and a crossfire of intentions. Pam is my nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize on compassion for and acceptance of homosexuality.
Danton is all out. He has never liked women. He prefers strong quiet men. I think in both the hetero and the homo methods of courtship and relationship management, the rules are the same. We fall in love with the people we fall in love with. Because they have traits that are attractive to us, they possess characteristics that complement, perhaps, our lives and our minds. Goes the same for both sides of the line.
Madami ding nakakatawang comments tulad ng "ang bi-sexual ba ay segurista lang?" o "ang bi-sexual ba bading din?" "ano ang tell-tale signs ng isang bading?" ...the list goes on. It only shows our fascination for what seems to be more expansive than our norms. Tingin ko ang mga homophobic ay talagang namamangha lang sa possibilities na na pe-present ng mga bading o lesbyana. I think what the bigots feel is true awe (maybe even envy and curiousity) and then because it's too much for their mediocre minds to handle it, the easiest manifestation is hate. Then again, I could be very wrong.Rock Ed Radio decided not to touch on the stands of any creed or faith following on this one, that might take up too much time and perhaps should be explored at another forum altogether. We went over the time limit as it was.

Allen Ginsberg, a beat poet from the 50's was born on June 3 1926 and he served as the inspiration of last night's show. Even in the ultra-conservative 40's, he was already open and brazen about discussing homosexuality --he continuously attempted to force the world into dialogue about controversial subjects because he thought no change could be made in a polite silence.

We wanted to talk about this and we did.

Gang and Lourd posing with the powerhouse line up of guests tonight. Check this out. Jaime Garchitorena (straight) reunited with 90's Eat Bulaga colleague, Aiza Seguerra. Inquirer's Pam Pastor (diagonal/straight) beside Ladlad Chairperson Danton Remoto. Shu Uemura's EJ Mallorca, People Asia's Tatum Ancheta hamming it up beside the Ramon Bautista show himself, Ramon Bautista. (straight)

This conversation can go on if you want it to. Post a comment or question on this entry and we can forward it to the guests so they can reply if they want to.

The world has its share of mysteries, but what is most puzzling for Rock Ed Radio is the narrow-mindedness of many even in this era of knowledge-based kindness, acceptance, and wide open mind-spaces.

Tingin ko ang mga makikitid ang utak ang mas weird kesa sa bading, lesbyana, bi-sexual, transsexual o kung ano pang pwedeng kombinasyon nung apat.