In the Philippines, the LGBTQIA+ community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) is referred to using an umbrella term called \u201cbakla\u201d\u2014someone who is not a straight male or female according to societal standards.<\/p>\n
While \u201cbakla\u201d means a person assigned male at birth identifies as someone feminine, it is a general term used by Pinoys to refer to someone who is not strictly heterosexual. <\/p>\n
Times are now changing, and people are starting to move on from the man-versus-woman dichotomy in gender. <\/p>\n
Today, people all over the globe are starting to see that it\u2019s not just straight males, straight females, and gays that are included as the perceptions and definitions of gender are expanding, and Pinoys are only just starting to discover this concept.<\/p>\n
For Pinoys, it might be harder to grasp what \u201cgender fluidity\u201d means\u2014because what do you call it in Filipino? The ordinary Pinoy might just casually refer to them as \u201cbakla\u201d but gender fluidity is not equal to being gay alone.<\/p>\n
Generally, a gender fluid person is someone whose identity can change and is not fixed. For them, gender is flexible, and they do not have a \u201cset gender\u201d on the spectrum. <\/p>\n
They can be female one day and male the next. They can be both, and they can be neither. It is a form of gender expression\u2014\u201can acknowledgment that there is a spectrum and gender is non-binary,\u201d says Margaret Seide, MD, a psychologist from Very Well Mind.<\/p>\n
But one might ask\u2014what in the world is gender expression and non-binary? How will people understand gender fluidity if they don’t know what in the world those terms are?<\/p>\n
Pinoys are only starting to adopt progressive ideals on gender, so fairly new terms might be completely foreign when you mention them. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Gender fluidity is a form of \u201cgender expression\u201d or identity that is \u201cnon-binary\u201d. In a clearer case, gender expression is simply how a person presents themselves to society\u2014they can present themselves as feminine, masculine, both, or neither. In the same way, it is also how society, culture, and communities shape gender.<\/p>\n
\u201cNon-binary\u201d is the opposite of \u201cbinary\u201d. In terms of gender, \u201cbinary\u201d means identifying exclusively as male or exclusively as female; it can also mean presenting yourself strictly as feminine or masculine, or simply following conventional gender expressions.<\/p>\n
Oppositely, “non-binary” people have a more expansive, flexible conception of what gender is and how it can be expressed. <\/p>\n
According to a study on non-binary genders, “non-binary\u201d means identifying as neither male nor female, having a gender other than male or female, having multiple genders, or not having a gender.<\/p>\n
In simpler terms, it means those whose gender expressions are non-binary, meaning they don\u2019t conform to \u201cbinary\u201d identities\u2014a rejection of binary, conventional gender models.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Because they believe in the non-binary, their definition of gender is super flexible. For gender fluid people, gender is dynamic and changing\u2014therefore they shouldn\u2019t be labeled or associated exclusively with one gender.<\/p>\n
According to Gender Spectrum, gender fluid people are \u201cpeople who have a gender or genders that change. Gender fluid people move between genders, experiencing their gender as something dynamic and changing, rather than static.”<\/p>\n
In a brief, simple explanation, being gender fluid means your gender is not exclusive to one alone and it can change. However, in the Philippines, saying your gender is not attached exclusively to one label might confuse people. <\/p>\n
Maybe others would still categorize them as \u201cbakla\u201d even when a gender fluid person might not be gay. After all, Pinoys tend to use \u201cbakla\u201d for anyone that\u2019s not \u201cstraight\u201d or cisgendered. <\/p>\n
It might take a long while before Pinoys fully understand and accept what gender fluidity is, but it is highly possible because of the Philippines\u2019 history of gender-neutral culture.<\/p>\n
Many pre-colonial archives say that the Philippines in the past was egalitarian, meaning everyone was treated equally regardless of gender. <\/p>\n
For example, the \u201cbabaylans\u201d are Filipino shamans who can communicate with spirits. While most of the evidence points to the fact that the \u201cbabaylans\u201d are women, there were also male \u201cbabaylans\u201d or shamans. <\/p>\n
The most interesting part is that these men who perform shaman activities may even crossdress, appear feminine, or simply leave their gender in the interpretation of others. The activities associated with women, like weaving and sewing, were also performed by Filipino men in the past, closing the boundaries between what a man and a woman should be. <\/p>\n
In terms of language, Pinoys use \u201csiya\u201d instead of \u201chim\u201d or \u201cher\u201d to refer to someone, which is nice because there is no particular gender referred to, or assumed to be, when one speaks. <\/p>\n
While, of course, this cannot say that the Philippines is totally gender-neutral, history has evidence that Pinoys are capable of grasping new, emerging concepts of gender.<\/p>\n
Gender fluidity is a fairly new term to Pinoys, but it has existed for so long and it is highly possible that Filipinos have started to recognize its existence in the gender spectrum.<\/p>\n
The Philippines has so many stories about gender diversity. You can meet unconventional people anywhere at any time. The gays are not just in the salon, the \u201ctibo\u201d isn\u2019t always in male haircuts, and gender is not just male slash female. <\/p>\n
The only trait needed to understand the world is to open the mind and adopt a wider perspective, which Pinoys are completely capable of. <\/p>\n
After all, with a culture that is loving, compassionate, and accepting, nothing is truly impossible for a more inclusive society. This is Pride month. This must be remembered and celebrated.<\/p>\n
Source: https:\/\/lgbtqia.ucdavis.edu\/educated\/glossary, https:\/\/youtu.be\/I6xuJu7gLe0, https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6748626\/pdf\/nihms-1050291.pdf, https:\/\/genderspectrum.org\/articles\/language-of-gender<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pinoys are beginning to embrace gender-progressive views. Throughout Pride Month, we will define “gender fluidity” and what this means for most of us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":220663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[7863],"class_list":["post-220664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-thetalk","tag-social"],"zyndk8_nxtgen_metadata":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=220664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/220663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=220664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=220664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=220664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}