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Moving Trans Forward 2021

BRENDA R. ALEGRE, PhD of Women of the /UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG Khanith , Xanith

Hijra, , Meti, Mahu, Aravani, Fa’afafine, Khusra, Fakaleiti, Zanana Pinapinain Apwint, e Acault , , 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 : deities

 Ikapati or Lakapati (Tagalog): Trans, 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. 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 that can also be found in Asian countries such as Burma/Myanmar, , , , China, etc (Winter, 2002b). As in other ancient , they were venerated as a third or a 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 () or bantut () (Garcia, 1996).

 Bakla/bayot/bantut were not meant originally as 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

 Reforms in Institutions of Medicine (Psychiatry and Psychology)

 Endemic belief in the Kalooban (Interiority of Identity)  4-gender Model: , , Bakla,

Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines  Bakla as  Bakla as  Bakla as sexual orientation  Bakla as  Bakla as sexual behavior  Bakla as gender  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 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: 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 , nor a , 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 .  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 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 : 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 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