Moving Trans History Forward 2021
BRENDA R. ALEGRE, PhD Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines/UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG Khanith , Xanith
Hijra, Kothi, Meti, Mahu, Aravani, Fa’afafine, Khusra, Fakaleiti, Zanana Pinapinain Apwint, e Acault Bakla, Kathoey, Waria, Bayot, Maknyah Pumia, Banci, Bayog, Pumae, Bencong, Asog, Phuying Calabai, Bantut, praphet Kedie, Binabae song Wandu Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Taken from Mabahague, UST Taken from Mabahague, UST Precolonial/ Ancient times: Animist society Particularism – uniqueness and indigeneity of practices
Deities:
Bulan (Visayan); Sidapa : Gay deities
Ikapati or Lakapati (Tagalog): Trans, Intersex deity
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Dates back to pre-Hispanic times
Transgender people called asog/bayoguin held positions of social prestige as community priestesses and healers. They worked as babaylan/catalonan/daetan/baliana and served as a religious leader, equal in status to the community’s political leader (Garcia, 1996).
They reflect a tradition of transgender shamanism that can also be found in other Asian countries such as Burma/Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, India, China, etc (Winter, 2002b). As in other ancient cultures, they were venerated as a third gender or a female variant and thought to posses wisdom others didn’t have (Allen, 2008). “BAKLA”
The asog/bayoguin is considered the precursor of the modern bakla or bayot (Visayas) or bantut (Mindanao) (Garcia, 1996).
Bakla/bayot/bantut were not meant originally as sexual orientation terms but gender terms. They denoted transgender people.
The advent of modern homosexual discourse from the 60s onwards coupled with a lack of understanding of transgenderism resulted in the homosexualization of these gender identities. bayoguin, bayok, agi-ngin, asog, bido, binabae Baylan, Babaylan, Katalonan
WORDS STILL USED THIS DAY: BAYOT/BAYUT : VISAYAS REGION BANTUT : MINDANAO (Johnson,1997) Bakla is the modern derivative. It ‘s roots is really that it’s a Gender term
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Reforms in Institutions of Education
Reforms in Institutions of Medicine (Psychiatry and Psychology)
Endemic belief in the Kalooban (Interiority of Identity) 4-gender Model: Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Bakla as gender identity Bakla as gender expression Bakla as sexual orientation Bakla as sexual identity Bakla as sexual behavior Bakla as gender role Bakla as stereotype TOMBOY : AN IDENTITY CONFLATION
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines /STRAP INTRODUCED THE TERM TRANSPINAY IN 2007/2008…SASOT 2011/SASOT 2014 Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION FAMILY CODE LABOR CODE ANTI VAGRANCY LAW Republic Act No. 10172 SEC. 3. Section 5 : No change of Gender… REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH BILL PENDING: SOGIE EQUALITY BILL / ANTI DICRIMINATION LAW
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines TAKEN FROM ERIC JULIAN MANALASTAS UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES: http://pages.upd.edu.ph/ ejmanalastas/policies- ordinances BIRTH CERTIFICATE SCHOOL RECORDS SCHOOL: PINK FORMS SCHOOL: UNIFORMS / GENDER EXPRESSION POLICING WORK: GENDERED UNIFORMS WORK: DOCUMENTS / EMAILS WORK: DEVELOPMENT / HIRING WORK: HARASSMENT PUBLIC SPACES
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Who Am I? The History of Me.
Hundreds of years ago, I thrived and I lived in our community My voice was strong; my presence was essential. I am part of the Barangay. I was a giver of blessing, I was feared for cursing. I am a key to eternity. I was neither a man, nor a woman, I am both a man and a woman. I am part of the Balangay. I am an asog, a catalonan, a bayog … I am a Babaylan.
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines Hundreds of years ago, I led our community. Our people came to me, sought refuge and guidance. I spoke our history of creation. I warned of destruction. I was key to eternity. My gender was not known. Yet I give them my song and my dance. Then they came and conquered. They decimated my kind. We were taken out of the barangay. We were asog, catalonan, bayog … We were Babaylan.
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines We were mostly brown and sun-kissed. We planted and farmed. My people worshipped trees and nature. We were once equal. But then they came and conquered. We were enslaved and harmed. They stopped us from practicing our ways. They taught us their religion. We accepted them but we were never the same. We were gone. I can’t be a man, I can’t be a woman. I can’t be neither, I can’t be both.
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines The centuries, four that have passed, changed us in many ways. Not all of us are brown and proud, our mestizas are privileged. The rest of us not. I thought their religion taught only of love. Yet it taught hatred and fear. We lost our identity, we lost our barangay. We lost our freedom here. But then they fought, and defied the power. They want to challenge our colonizer. We won and claimed our freedom. We are Pilipinos.
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines The Thomasites brought us our teachers. They too were near colonizers. They were different though, somehow kinder. In the evils of war, our defender. After the ravages of war, we wandered. Who we were as a people. We forgot about the Babaylan. Then we discovered that we were still here. Neither a woman nor a man. I am identified for my softness, I am identified for my attractions. I have no power. I am a Bakla. I am Pilipino. I am Filipino.
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines The movies, the shows, the plays and the books describe me in different ways. But mostly to everyone, I am funny, I am a clown, I am the life of the party. I am a designer. And as everybody’s favourite excuse, I am their hairdresser. I own the street beauty parlor. Yet it is hard to convince everybody that I am not a man, I am a woman. Or maybe I am both. I don’t lead the community, I don’t tell my story, I don’t seem visible. It is a sin to be me. Am I Pilipino? Am I Filipina? Am I Bakla?
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines In the modern years I realized we reclaimed the barangay. People poke fun at it by calling it Barang-GAYS. How did I forget that they still think of us as clowns. We joined beauty contests and they called us Miss Gay. Until one day we coined “Transpinay.” And in a top university they recalled my ancient identity, they called their school community Babaylan. There are pains for being me. There are joys for being me. My identity has evolved continually. I discover myself anew. I am man, I am woman, I am Transpinay. I am FilipinX.
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines InEvitability Published in LGBTQ2SIA+ FilipinX in Canada: by Jacqueline Gallos Aquines ; Anak Publishing , Winnipeg Anne Marie Lim & Charisse M. Jordan, “Policy Audit: Social protection Policies and Urban Poor LBTs in the Philippines”, Institute of Development Studies, August 2013. Available from http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/2892/E RB21%20 Final%20Online.pdf?sequence=4. Sexuality and Poverty Synthesis Report (2014) : Kate Hawkins ET AL. http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/3525/E R53.pdf?sequence=1
Winter, S. Lost in Transition (2012). Winter, S. Identity Recognition w/o the Knife. Merged visuals from CCHU 9007 , S. Winter and STRAP presentation images by Innton- Cmapbell and Alegre
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines