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Rainbow Warriors: Strategies of War in the Inclusion of Persons of Diverse Sogie in the Maoist Insurgency in the Philippines

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Rainbow Warriors: Strategies of War in the Inclusion of Persons of Diverse Sogie in the Maoist Insurgency in the Philippines RAINBOW WARRIORS: STRATEGIES OF WAR IN THE INCLUSION OF PERSONS OF DIVERSE SOGIE IN THE MAOIST INSURGENCY IN THE PHILIPPINES By Marlon Lacsamana Submitted to Central European University Department of Gender Studies In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Gender Studies Supervisor: Professor Elissa Helms CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2015 Abstract In this thesis, readers are given a first-hand account of the lives of ten persons of diverse Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) in the context of the Maoist insurgency in the Philippines with emphasis on their experiences as armed rainbow warriors. Their experiences are complimented with in-depth analysis of six CPP documents on how the movement should treat people of diverse SOGIE by looking at key frameworks of Maoist nationalism and military and militarized masculinities. In the perspective of the ten respondents, their position within the Maoist movement revolves around the ideology, institution, and subjective identities. The author argues for a rethinking of essentialist view of hegemonic Western cultural product such as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) in the understanding of the Filipino bakla and tomboy. The (re)construction of the bakla and tomboys as ‘heterosexualized homosexuals’ by the Maoist movement, that speaks of a different ontological experience of people who transgress heterosexual sexual norms, that is incomparable to their Western counterpart. And finally, the thesis looks at the gender hierarchy being created within the Maoist movement and how people of diverse SOGIE were positioned into it. CEU eTD Collection i Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank and praise the Faiths and the Goddess with Ten Thousand Names for giving me the opportunity to study and experience life in Hungary. My love & gratitude goes to my parents Bien E. Lacsamana & Nancy C. Toledo; to my sisters Ellaine L. Tomaclas, Marian L. Lagmay & Ednalyn T. Lacsamana; to my brother in law Danilo Tomaclas; to our angels Angelo T. Lacsamana & Anne Nicole L. Lagmay; to the dyosas Mark Anthony R. Cayanan, Lesley Anne M. Dacula, Janice P. O’Hara & Denise P. O’Hara; and to my husband Jan Jaap S. Bosman for their support and encouragements. My deepest and heartfelt appreciation goes to my thesis supervisor Dr. Elissa Helms for her constructive criticism, insightful comments and encouragements. To Dr. Francisca de Haan my deepest gratefulness for the valuable comments she gave as the second reader. I will always be indebted to the CEU scholarship for the sponsorship and to all my respondents for allowing me a glimpse to their lives. To the honorary and members of the CEU Pinoy Mafia 2014-15 Hender, Macario, Nelliza, Ata, Whelma, Baleng, Svetlana, & Yuri for making a place away from home feels like home. And the rest of CEU Gender Studies batch 2014-2015 for brightening my stay at the CEU and making studying bearable. CEU eTD Collection ii Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... iii List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. v Chapter 1: The Road Less Traveled: An Introduction ............................................................... 1 1.1. Homosexuality in the Philippines ................................................................................... 1 1.2. Central Research Question: ............................................................................................. 3 1.2.1. Secondary Research questions: ................................................................................ 3 1.3. Research Objectives ........................................................................................................ 3 1.4. State of Research ............................................................................................................. 4 1.4.1. Gender and Heteronormativity ................................................................................. 4 1.4.2. Masculinities ............................................................................................................ 5 1.4.3. Gendered Nationalism .............................................................................................. 6 1.4.4. Gaps and Challenges ................................................................................................ 7 1.5. Reflexive Interest in the Research ................................................................................... 7 1.6. Methods of Data Collection & Methodology ................................................................ 10 1.7. SOGIE versus LGBT .................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2: Historical Landscape .............................................................................................. 15 2.1. Stories of Conquests and Resistance ............................................................................. 15 2.2. The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Communism ..................................................... 17 Chapter 3: Revolutionary Directives ........................................................................................ 23 3.1. From Marx to Mao ........................................................................................................ 23 3.2.1. On the Proletarian Relationship of the Sexes (1998) ................................................. 27 3.2.2. Three Points of Discipline and Eight Points of Attention of the New People’s Army (1999) ................................................................................................................................... 30 3.2.3. The Party’s Stand on the Homosexual Question (2002) ............................................ 31 3.2.4. Gays and Lesbians in the Revolutionary Movement (2014) ...................................... 33 3.2.5. A Call to Revolution: The “Jennifer Laude” Case (2014) ......................................... 34 3.3. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter 4: Voices from Below ................................................................................................. 38 CEU eTD Collection 4.1. Rainbow Warriors ......................................................................................................... 38 4.2. Coming Out in the “Underground” ............................................................................... 39 4.3. To Love thy Motherland (National Democracy) ........................................................... 41 4.4. Revolutionizing Culture (Sexualized Regulation) ........................................................ 44 4.5. Macho in Battle (Militarized & Military Masculinities) ............................................... 46 4.6. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 49 iii Chapter 5: Ending at the Crossroad.......................................................................................... 50 Appendices ............................................................................................................................... 53 Appendix 1: List of Organizations Under the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) ................................................................................................................................. 53 Appendix 2: On the Proletarian Relationship of the Sexes (1998) ...................................... 54 Appendix 3: Three Points of Discipline and Eight Points of Attention of the New People’s Army (1999) ......................................................................................................................... 59 Appendix 4: The Party’s Stand on the Homosexual Question (2002) ................................. 60 Appendix 5: Gays and Lesbians in the Revolutionary Movement (2014) ........................... 62 Appendix 6: A Call to Revolution: The “Jennifer Laude” Case (2014) .............................. 64 6.1. Condemn and Punish the American Soldier Who Killed Jeffrey "Jennifer " Laude ! Junk the VFA, EDCA and American soldiers leave the Philippines!!! ........................... 64 6.2. Justice for Jennifer Laude and Other Victims of Military Violence! ........................ 66 Appendix 7: List of Interviewees and Profile Summary ...................................................... 68 References ................................................................................................................................ 70 CEU eTD Collection iv List of Abbreviations AFP Armed Forces of the Philippines APA American Psychological Association ARMAS Artista at Manunulat Para sa Sambayanan (Artists and Writers for the People) CEGP College Editors Guild of the Philippines CNL Christians for National Liberation CPP Communist Party of the Philippines CPP-MLKMZ Communist Party of the Philippines – Marxism, Leninism and Mao Zedong Though EDCA
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