Let me share with you a discussion on gay men and media in a yahoo group called "The Philippine Cinema". Several people have started their tirades against gay films.
Here's a letter from a certain John Paul Laxamana.
We're not pointing dirty fingers to gays. Only gays who use filmmaking as an excuse to get ambitious boys naked in front of camera. Lots of these movies are made for the pleasure of the director, not "for their own kind" (although that may be a secondary objective). Haha, oo nga naman, two birds in one stone, right?
It is this idealized "marginalization" of homosexuality kuno that encourages the sex-deprived homosexual to go out there and prey on objects of his fantasies. Because he knows that when he is criticized, he can always use this marginalization as shield. It reminds me of that Powerpuff Girls episode where Mojo Jojo complained that his animal rights were being violated, and cried that he was being "oppressed" whenever the Powerpuff Girls came to beat him up for doing crime.
But from what I see in media, gays are not very marginalized at all. They hold power in several institutions especially in mass media, including the movie industry. And some -- or a lot -- abuse this power. We don't even need to name names.
Only a sociologically ignorant person will deny this.
Bato bato sa langit
JASON
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And here's my reply:
Yes. it is true that many media executives are gay men. Many of the most internationally acclaimed Filipino filmakers are gay men - Brocka, Bernal, Mendoza. Some of the biggest brands are owned by gay men. And one of the most powerful business empires in this country is controlled by a gay man.
But here also some facts that we must not ignore. Gay men are not allowed party list representation in this country simply because we are "immoral" as stated by the Commission on Elections. Many male executives still have to hide in the closet just so they can easily move their way up in the corporate world, And even if we have domestic partners, we are not allowed to be make important medical decision on our partner's behalf simply because the Philippine law does not recognize same sex partnership.
With all these glaring facts, It is ignorant to say that the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders are no longer marginalized in Filipino society.
You may accuse many powerful gay men of abuse and exploitation. But is this behavior unique to the queer population? Human beings whether straight or gay are capable of abusing their power, of corruption and of exploitation. It is not fair for anyone to attack the gay population just because some gay men use their position for sexual pleasures, which in fact, is a macho attribute in the first place.
As filmmakers just make movies and grow as an artist. And stop bothering yourself with things that should not matter to you (Leave the gay movies alone, if you are not gay!).
In the end, it is the future generation that will decide which films they want to honor and which of them they would rather forget.
Lex Bonife
11 comments:
positive or negative essentializing by anyone against another (and especially a whole group) deprives us all of our humanity. essentializer and essentialized.
and further, to paraphrase Fanon: however painful it may be for me to accept this conclusion, I am obliged to state it: For the gay man, there is only one destiny. And it is straight. his failure to recognize this forecloses his ability to see that his own perspective helps foster the evils he perceives.
fanon also said, "'white,' depends for its stability on its negation, 'black'. Neither exists without the other."
not having had to deal with colonial oppression, i equate his remarks with the straight man's oppression of gays.
a straight man's first thought on being gay is sucking cock and getting fucked. because his prostate gland is so impacted with negative build-up, it obviates any chance of his future acceptance of gay people ever being a picture of the trinity.
regarding gay movies: many gay indy's are financed out of the filmmaker's own pockets. without the constraints that a big studio might impose on them, they are free to make films/videos as they see fit. and so what?
Creating flimsily veiled themes centered around cute young boys showing skin is no worse than any of the other filmography out there. like lex said, let the future generation decide which films they want to honor and which ones they don't.
lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders come in all shapes and sizes; that is normal and we should be accepted as equals for that and that alone.
btw lex, i just saw my first lex bonife film: kambyo.
the original Fanon quote was: "however painful it may be for me to accept this conclusion, I am obliged to state it: For the Black man, there is only one destiny. And it is white."
line of flight, i already knew that but i understood the point you were trying to make.
so in the spirit of honesty, my comments about a straight man's thoughts was more specifically referring to pope benedict xvi, aka santo papa.
forgive me if that offends anyone. i applaud lex for allowing everyone to express their points of view but lately some of the comments have been downright hateful. perhaps i am guilty of that too.
it saddens me.
David, I've noticed that too. That of late, the posts are a bit laced with some dash of bitterness and hate. But you see, you get what you ask for. I believe in that too. For others, they have a word for it - karma. But that is an altogether different topic to be discussed.
Perhaps if we will also (as gay men) set aside our own prejudices (and to be honest, we have a lot too as much as the straights), we will understand that we need to tone down too on our categorized approaches on wanting to be heard.
Di dahil bading tayo, may karapatan na tayo maging mataray just because it is expected of gays to be one.
Respect. It is quite sad that this is one trait that is now apparently lacking in people across all genders and orientation.
i wasn't offended. i do think though that only a straight man whose first thought of being gay is sucking cock and getting fucked is someone who already harbors a secret doubt/secret thought regarding such things. i also think the threat of homosexuality in an abstract way to symbolism of the trinity for the Roman church is that it mirrors back the man-heavy theology and also calls into question the sufficiency of the doctrine of the assumption of Virgin as a sufficient compensatory figure.
line of flight/johnson chua,
thank you both for your insightful comments. perhaps one day we can continue our conservations over a bottle of johnnie walker blue label and some pulatan. i'm buyin'.
LIGHTEN UP GUYS...a collusion is born! of intellects, Fanon and J.W. blue. WOW! my head is spinning and makes members of the CBCP envious. first nite meeting, throw in a trannie (like Sweet Lapus) to provide half-time show, and presto - time to break open the Astro(glide). let me guess who are coming. guy with a receding hairline, a 5' 2" with grey-haired sideburn or a Woody Allen look-a-like with a pair of gold-rimmed triple vista glasses. better still guys, reward yourselves with memberhips to the book club of the black woman with a talk show. summer is here and the nites are longer...YO HAVE FUN DUDES!
To Jason: There will be no predators if there are no willing preys... Teka, bakit bitter ocampo siya? Baka kasi di napapansin ng mga bading? Hmmm. Maraming boys ang willing na magbaba ng zippers nila kasi bukod sa masasarapan na sila, kikita pa sila!
1. i'm not an intellect although i am well educated, an avid reader, and well travelled. fanon's complexities and contradictions once sparked my interest but nowdays i prefer the wit of kathy griffen.
2. what can is say, i don't like cheap scotch. life is short, why poison my kidney's with rot gut.
3. the only trannie that I ever hang with is an aggressive top, not really my style, but yes, i do love her.
4. my lube of choice is jur eros bodyglide.
5. socially, i prefer to surround myself around attractive and educated younger men, shallow perhaps, but i am a visual learner. should you not fall into that category, you are still welcome to join us for that drink.
5. i am 5'9", 160lbs, 31' waist, full head of hair, all of which i have maintained since high school (around 10,000 B.C.E.) and my vision is 20/20. when and if i no longer can stand the way i look, i may opt for cosmetic surgery. my ate' ernand recommends dr. vicky belo in manila.
6. i prefer ellen degenres to oprah, although currently, my favorite television personality is tyra banks.
7. having friends in the publishing business, i rarely pay for books so i really have no need to join book of the month clubs.
oaky lex, it's way time to move forward. i'll put this dead horse down :-)
btw, lex, in a recent interview with time magazine, desmond tutu, when asked if he supported the appointment of gays in the clergy," replied, "of course. if i don't support them, why support the appointment of any other person? their sexuality is as much a part of who they are as my race is. they don't choose it. i don't choose it. two of my chaplains when I was archbishop were gay. one is now a bishop, and the other is the dean of a cathedral."
PUNDIT "10", REALITY "0" ... my honesty metre has gone overdrive. as Judge Judy would say, "i am old and smart enough to know if you are lying through your teeth."
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