Written by: Jason Christopher Paz and Sabrina Basilio
Graphic Design by: Suzy Mamangun & Chelsea Sagalongos
Among the many explosive events that have roused social media this year is the growing popularity of BL (Boys’ Love) culture in Asia, with the Philippines alone having released an impressive total of 40+ BL series this year.
This craze has unfolded alongside waves of outcries against impunity for sexual predators, the #JusticeForJenniferLaude movement, the ‘Filipinx’ scuffle, and ongoing debates around the SOGIE Equality Bill, making the argument that gender discourse is slowly becoming a more tangible and urgent part of our everyday lives.
Social media has played a crucial role in this increased awareness on gender-based issues, so it has an increased responsibility to curb misinformation and the commodification of queer content. Similarly, the local film and TV industry has an increased responsibility: to use the queer narrative not just as means to generate capital, but to actively challenge harmful tropes and forward the call to mobilize gender equality advocacies.
How can we, storytellers and consumers together, take on this challenge?
1. Understanding the Pre-colonial Roots of ‘Bakla’ in the Babaylan
Bakla is a colloquial Filipino term that conflates the ideas of male homosexuality, effeminacy, and trasgender culture. According to J. Neil Garcia’s 2008 book, Philippine Gay Culture, this conflation is largely the result of Western education--but the term Bakla itself can be traced back to the precolonial word, “Babaylan.”
The Babaylan were revered spiritual leaders entrusted to read omens and protect the village. Although primarily a female occupation, males were allowed to perform Babaylan tasks when they took on the garbs and mannerisms of women, an act akin to cross-dressing in modern discourse. Garcia also noted that the Babaylan were known to engage in same-sex sexual activities, which would mean that cross-dressing, homosexuality, and acts of femininity were considered invocations of the divine, if it weren’t for Spanish Catholicism demonizing our indigenous practices.
The Bakla has since lost its privilege in society as capable of divinity or spiritual leadership. Until now, feminine and queer behavior suffer discrimination, social exclusion, and lack of proper representation in the media.
The current BL craze may be a step towards reclaiming the normalization of homosexual relationships between males on screen, but a challenge is posed to us to act beyond the screen. Can we achieve the same enthusiasm for nuanced representation of effeminate gay men, butch lesbians, and transgender folk?
2. Honoring Queer History through the ‘Bakla’ Character of TV & Cinema Visibility
It’s essential hereon that we look at films, TV shows, and plays as more than cultural products, but as active influencers of culture and consciousness.
The clearest example of this is the extent of change that Hallyu (the Korean wave) has brought, not only to our daily lifestyles but the landscape of Filipino television itself (Sanchez, 2014). In the past decade, we’ve seen a sharp rise in Samgyup restaurants, a local influx of Korean skincare brands, and telenovelas shot in several international locations.
The effects of queer narratives in mainstream media aren’t as well-documented and immediate as that of Hallyu, but it does date back to as early as the era of Dolphy in the 1950’s.
Dolphy was the first actor to popularize Bakla roles as leads in mainstream cinema (Nuñez, 2016), the most popular ones being Coring in Lino Brocka’s “Ang Tatay Kong Nanay” (1978) and Walter Dempster, Jr. in Gil Portes’ “Markova: Comfort Gay” (2000). Filipino filmmaker Peque Gallaga once said in an interview that Dolphy being comfortable to play homosexual characters “made it okay, no-big-deal for other heterosexual celebrities like Joey de Leon, Michael V, and Vic Sotto to cross-dress and play gay,” cementing Dolphy’s status as a “gamechanger” and influential persona in Filipino cinema.
A lot of modern and valid criticism now surrounds the way Dolphy performed his roles as a “screaming gay,” but credit must be given to the necessary groundwork that he laid for the many studies that would eventually trace the evolution of gender performance in the Philippines.
We are now capable of examining and challenging the rigidity of gender categories in the Philippines because Dolphy’s career paved the way for the Bakla to be a central figure around which the plot revolves, rather than a comedic side character.
Between Dolphy’s work in the 1950’s and the influx of BL content we enjoy now were several major steps towards representation. One such step was the 2013 telenovela My Husband’s Lover, which aired on GMA-7 and was declared a commercial and critical success. It was the first primetime soap opera to center a non-heterosexual romantic relationship, followed by a lesbian-themed series called “The Rich Man’s Daughter” in 2015. Both GMA-7 telenovelas centered on the queer character’s search for romantic love while struggling for familial acceptance. (Nunez, 2018)
This is a central theme that a lot of Filipino queer viewers have described to be sources of validation and legitimization.
In a piece for Outrage magazine, writer Gee Cruz says:
Watching ‘The Rich Man’s Daughter’ is like watching my life unfold . . . Subjecting ourselves in uncertainty, sacrificing, being invisible, being silent, looking at each other from both ends of the table, showing love without saying it-- it's the only way we know how to.”
Mark Angelo Ching of Philippine Entertainment Portal meanwhile applauded My Husband’s Lover for progressively battling gay stereotypes head on. He says:
"Unlike other shows that only depicts homosexual men as lustful beasts, or as sidekicks in crass, laughable situations, My Husband's Lover shows its gay characters in normal, everyday situations: going to the gym, working in an office, or relaxing at home. The characters have successful lives not as beauticians or stand-up comedians, but as architects and businessmen”
The above statements are perfect anecdotes to echo what Richard Dyer said in the introduction to the film documentary The Celluloid Closet (1996)--that "we learn from the movies what it means to be a man or a woman; what it means to have sexuality."
This is where we can see the central role of visibility. Before a queer person could even resist the hetenormative cultures that insist on their conversion and exclusion, they must first be given a space to see and recognize the experience of being queer meaningfully represented and articulated.
3. Being Mindful of What Visibility Ultimately Means for LGBTQ+ Rights
“BL for me serves as a gateway for LGBTQ content to enter the mainstream. So often, queer characters are portrayed to have this "strange" artistic type of love or comedic attitude when it comes to love, when in fact the reality of love for the LGBTQ community is often not as complicated. As much as this artistic portrayal does have its own merits, if that is all that the general public sees about queer love, it runs the danger of seeing these kinds of relationships as too "out of reach" to comprehend. LGBTQ people just long to be loved the same way every person on this planet does.”
- Ian Pangilinan, Actor for Gaya sa Pelikula (2020)
When Floy Quintos’ “Laro” was staged [last 2018], I tried to make sure that the audience would see a play with human beings and not one-dimensional characters in order to properly represent the different members of the community. It’s crucial for me to break these caricatures and stereotypes that we’ve been seeing for decades. I hope that through these shows that center on queer love and relationships, more and more people will realize that members of the LGBTQ+ community are just like everybody else, people who just want to love and be loved . . . . No one should be deprived of these rights, especially the right to freely love anyone regardless of gender. Art, especially theater, is a very powerful tool to shape little minds and make them more empathetic towards others. Huwag nating kalimutang magpakatao sa kapwa nating tao.
- John Mark Yap, Director of Laro (2019)
4. Calling for Femme Love: Where are the Effeminate Gays and Lesbians?
Yet just like any other tropes in mainstream media, BL series, especially in the Philippines, fall short in representing other various LGBTQIA+ narratives such as lesbians, effeminate gays, transgender folk, among others. Even though we have GL (Girls’ Love) series, they’re not as popular as BL, as though representation queer women is still a gut-punch to the status quo. Generally speaking, films represent gay men characters more than lesbian characters. In 2016, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), an LGBT American media monitoring organization, counted 125 films; 23 (18.4%) had lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer characters. Lesbian characters was only at 34.8% while the representation of gay men was at a whopping 83%. In 2017, gay men were still the most shown at 64% and Lesbian representation still remain at a 36% out of 109 films.
Aside from the underwhelming representation of Lesbian characters, there are still problematic tropes circling Lesbian cinema. Queer women are still regarded as a fetish, the ever so popular (yet predatory) trope of “queer woman converts hetero woman” that reflects on society’s views that a young queer woman’s experience is nothing more than an experiment or a phase (Lott-Lavigna, 2015). Another problematic trope in Lesbian cinema is the daunting ominous shroud of anguish and political unrest that peddles the queer woman narrative. Last 2018, Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz played as two queer women lovers against their Orthodox Jewish community in Disobedience. Another Lesbian film with a colorful concept was The Miseducation of Cameron Post where Chloë Grace Moretz played as a teenage girl forced into gay conversion therapy. These tropes rest upon the misguided assumptions that queer women are nothing more than mere characters with troubled pasts, while the community did struggle for social change (and we still have a long way to go), lesbian cinema should also champion what queer women can be.
Although gay men were the most represented in numbers, mainstream gay cinema, especially BL, focuses more on traditionally masculine gay men, and not effeminate gay men. As mainstream media portrays, effeminate gay characters are boxed to fit in the “typical gay best friend” trope that has lost its edge. This shallow mold of a stereotype regresses effeminate gay men into mere plot devices, the butt of the joke, with one-dimensionl personalities that remain unrelatable to its audiences. The notion also reflects on the heteronormative culture we live today, as traditionally masculine gay men tend to be more accepted because they conform to heterosexual norms (Staples, 2018). Yet Staples’ statement does not invalidate their gender expression, instead he imposes a challenge to the belief that “sexuality shouldn’t be defined on how masculine or feminine”. He emphasized the importance of role models of effeminate gays on the big screen who bravely go beyond the stereotypes, paving a way for effeminate gay men to be comfortable and confident.
After Stonewall (2015) premiered, a film that should have highlighted the bravery of the LGBT community in standing up against their oppressors and celebrated the community’s diversity, justified ‘straight-acting’ from the Director himself—a term regarded as grossly offensive by the gay community (Lee, 2015). Straight-acting actively mocks effeminate behavior as “undesirable” to the public, as to why it favors traditionally masculine gay men more. Gay cinema should represent effeminate gay roles with the same depth as how they would write traditionally masculine gay men roles, and should embrace every nuances in sexuality and gender expression.
Regarding trans visibility, there was a significant incline in gay, lesbian, bisexual roles in the recent years but for the third consecutive year, trans characters weren’t shown in any major studio release according to GLAAD’s annual Studio Responsibility Index (Donelly, 2020).
"If film studios want to stay relevant to today's audiences and compete in an industry that is emphasizing diversity and inclusion, then they must urgently reverse course on the diminishing representation of LGBTQ women and people of color, as well as the complete absence of trans characters.” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis emphasized in a statement.
There is also an appalling misrepresentation of transgender characters in films with tropes to be actively harmful to the community. According to Nikki Reitz (2017), these tropes include associating transgender folk with violence, madness, and mental health issues, due to living in a heternormative society, as Reitz termed as the “villain trope”. Films with these troubling tropes include Silence of the Lambs (1994) and Dressed to Kill (1980).
Other than that, transgender characters in films are often treated as the victims. Eddie Redmayne played as a transwoman in The Danish Girl (2015) and was even nominated for an Oscar. The film was deemed as a “breakthrough” for the transgender community, but also earned flak from critics, mostly from the trans community, due to the film’s take on feminization and transition.
5. Reclaiming the Narrative
There is still ongoing debate whether queer roles should be given to queer actors, as LGBTQIA+ representation remains insincere when queer actors are not given equal opportunities as straight and cis actors. Unfortunately, that’s the practical decision of mainstream directors and producers—either they don’t put enough effort in research, or they prioritize an actor’s marketability over genuine representation.
In an interview with CNN Philippines, Transgender actress Iyah Mina said that when she was casted as Mamu, a transgender transitioning to motherhood in “Mamu; And a Mother Too”, she had high hopes for trans actors, trans singers, and trans performers to be on the big screen. “
Yun ‘yung pinaglalaban naming lahat, lalo na si Direk Rod [Director of Mamu; And a Mother Too], na ito na ‘yung chance, ito na ‘yung time na dapat lumabas na lahat nung dapat lumabas at makita.” Mina bagged the Best Actress Award at the Cinema One Originals Film Festival, becoming the first transgender woman to win a major award from any Philippine award-giving body.
Zar Donato, known for his role as Billie in “Billie and Emma”, also shares the same testament to CNN Philippines.
“When it comes to film, we basically capture life. We capture triumphs and failures. We basically capture people and people in the community have real stories to tell, you know? Film being one of the most impactful industries, to give these people a platform to tell their stories is basically giving them a chance to be seen, to be heard, and of course hopefully to be accepted too.” Donato’s inspiration was Kate Moennig, a queer actress who played Shane McCutcheon, an androgynous lesbias on the American-Canadian television drama “The L Word”.
While casting queer actors for queer roles would be the right call, it is paramount that acknowledge the reason for the shortage of queer actors representing their stories. For Gaya sa Pelikula Writer Juan Miguel Severo, ‘systemic homophobia’ is to blame why gay actors won’t pursue gay roles. When they were holding auditions for their series, they initially pictured an LGBT+ cast, but were met with a sparse amount of queer actors. He tweeted two reasons: coming out issues and having their lives scrutinized, and being casted as the typical “gay best friend”. Moreover, Severo emphasized that in LGBTQIA+ films, cast the person who’ll best serve the story, as many queer individuals have yet to ultimately live their truth.
Sources:
Agbayani, A. (2018). CNN Philippines. Why it’s important to cast LGBTQ+ actors in queer roles. https://www.cnnphilippines.com/life/entertainment/Film/2018/10/30/Why-it-s-important-to-cast-LGBTQ--actors-in-queer-roles-.html?fbclid=IwAR1U69ykMGwR6tRMwMLPFzc56D9acFreETYK1D8vKCbArLN2dJpogJg1r8g
Filipino BL Compilation List. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2020, from https://mydramalist.com/list/M4PVY0jL
"COMMENTARY: My Husband's Lover". Philippine Entertainment Portal. June 22, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
Geronimo, Gian C. (1970, January 01). Dolphy's gay roles blazed trail in PHL films. Retrieved November 2, 2020, from https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/artandculture/264931/dolphy-s-gay-roles-blazed-trail-in-phl-films/story/
Donelly, M. (2020). Queer Representation Rises in Studio Films, but Trans Characters Shut Out for Third Year, GLAAD Says. Retrieved December 12, from 2https://variety.com/2020/film/news/queer-representation-movies-trans-characters-glaad-1234708420/
GLAAD. (n,d). Overview & Recommendations. Retrieved December 12, 2020 from https://www.glaad.org/sri/2018/additional-recommendations
GLAAD. (n,d). 2017 Studio Responsibility Index. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.glaad.org/files/2017_SRI.pdf
Jotanovic, D. (2018). Archer. Why not Love Simone? Lesbian representation in mainstream film. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from http://archermagazine.com.au/2018/05/lesbian-representation-mainstream-film/
Lee, B. (2018). The Guardian. A 'straight-acting' problem: why mass market gay films increasingly fail us all. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/sep/24/stonewall-roland-emmerich-gay-movies?fbclid=IwAR3hcCN-9PMnKG8tKuRucKqz6Y0BsxvmeYrgK8aRyN6uUFq3rBMOPuhlCPo
Lott-Lavigna, R. (2015). The lady's not for turning: cinematic portrayals of lesbians need to get real. Retrieved December 8, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/jul/24/film-lesbians-gay-women-conversion-younger-straight-woman-cate-blanchett-julianne-moore
Nuñez, M. (2018). The Bakla and the Silver Screen : Queer Cinema in the Philippines. Lingan University, Department of Cultural Studies.
Staples, L. (2018). Will 2019 Be the Year the Feminine Gay Man Gets to Shine on Screen?. Retrieved December 9, 2020, from https://www.anothermanmag.com/life-culture/10658/will-2019-be-the-year-the-feminine-gay-man-gets-to-shine-on-screen?fbclid=IwAR10xmRQkep6FsQwZsVZg0-4aTNdsHrHq5ZrwHhOM15o1Ks9N5D3yi