"echosera"

We are all "echoseras", as claimed by my friend, event organizer Bien Rivera. In his interesting observation, Filipino gay men are masters of "echos", which is a gay term that refers to a silly claim or foolish talk.

According to Bien, because as young gay men living in a Christianly conservative society, we have learned to live double lives -- create lies about ourselves and sometimes pretend to be someone whom we're actually not all in the name of conforming to our "macho-centric" society.

"echos" isn't exactly bad although it is quite far from the truth. It usually is fun and does not pose a real danger unlike a deceptive lie.

And because of this observation, I now understand why I, along with other gay friends are true blue "echoseras".