27/04/2022
Read Kate's views on this topic...
By Kate Montecarlo Cordova
In Bacolod, there are two words used to refer to gender "non-conforming" people, such as "agi" for g**s and "tomboy" for le****ns.
But what does LGBT stands for? What is its implication to society? What’s the relevance of LGBT adaptation to our language?
LGBT refers to Le***an, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. But there's more to these terms, such as Q***r, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Pansexual, etc. Thus, you will sometimes see LGBTI, LGBTQIA, LGBTQ Plus, or you. Sounds complicated? Yes, it is. But remember, these are labels of people who do not conform to the hetero normative gender binary.
"Amo man ina gihapon. Agi man ina gihapon" (it is still the same, he is still "agi"), which is usually what we hear from people who refuse to learn and understand human diversity.
Having limited understanding is detrimental to the well-being of people with different sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions (SOGIE) and society as a whole.
Just a glimpse of how it affects, for instance, the sexual and reproductive health issues of le****ns may be different from transgender men. Gender Recognition law protects the fundamental human rights of transgender people, while this may not concern g**s. Same-sex marriage is important to gay men but may not directly benefit women of transgender experience.
Simply boxing people with "non-conforming" SOGIE to "agi" and "tomboy" has pernicious effects on society. Progressively, the human rights and health rights of LGBT people have been recognized even by international bodies such as World Health Organization, United Nations, etc, because of the pervasive violence documented. According to Williams Institute, LGBT people are four times higher than non-LGBT people to experience violent victimization. And violence against LGBT people is due to ignorance that causes fear and phobia.
Luckily, Bacolod has quickly recognized the importance of the anti-discrimination ordinance, which includes sexual orientation and gender identity in the language, bypassing the City Ordinance 640. Congratulations, Bacolod, for being one of the leaders in passing this ordinance, which shocked me when I was in Manila doing my hardcore transgender advocacy. I couldn't believe that Bacolod could give such an ordinance as early as 2013 when the rest were still unfamiliar with it.
The Anti-discrimination Ordinance is one of the tools to mitigate at least violence against LGBT people, including those in the marginalized sectors of society.
However, up to this writing, this ordinance does not have Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR). Hopefully, the steady increase of LGBT organizations in the city can be advantageous to the community through strategic executions of interventions to address the interconnected issues and concerns. Pushing for the creation of IRR is one. Each organization must have its focus or area of concern.
The LGBT community has to work harder and faster than the women's movement did because of the vastness of its issues due to its diversity. The intersectionality of the problems is also a concern.
There is still a long way to go for the LGBT community in Bacolod. From data collection, population estimation, violence documentation, legal protection, intervention to economic dislocation, employment and livelihood, psychosocial programs, human development, leadership empowerment, strengthening of human rights activism, initiation of health care services addressing the biomedical needs, and other related issues impacting the community like HIV/AIDS, hate crime, pandemic, inflation, underemployment, etc.
With that being said, to be hopeful for the community's future, it is incumbent for every member of the community to scrutinize the kind of organizations that are operational at this given moment and the focus of these groups. To remain indifferent is fatal. To remain ignorant is deadly.
Looking at the existing LGBT organizations, they all have political colors. Adding to the injury, online wrangle among community members is glaring. The exchange of insults and other derogatory words among members has weakened their ties. And since the LGBT community is polarized by political division, one can not help but ask, "what will happen after the election?" Will these organizations continue to operate...? Hopefully, the answer is yes.
We must be reminded that the quality of recruitment and the purpose/values of the member joining are crucial to an organization's success. If members of these institutions were recruited based on the organization's mayoralty choice rather than the vision and mission of the group, then these institutions are called LGBT organizations simply because they are composed of LGBTQIA+ people.
A transgender woman told me that competition between two organizations is getting harsher where LGBT people in a barangay are divided because the other organization is also establishing its subgroup. The other side said they need to form a group in each barangay who will support their mayoralty candidate.
A political stand should not be the basis for accepting a member. Instead, recruit people to reach out to the community.
The political division within the community only exacerbates its worsening condition. The solid political division contributes to economic dislocation, where the competent one will not occupy the proper position.
So much time, energy, and effort are exerted on feeding programs and HIV/AIDS, as far as I know. Of course, there are probably other activities these organizations are doing that I may not know of. However, the basic activities of each LGBT organization, especially institutions that are not highly technical, are awareness and educational campaigns like LGBT 101 or trans 101. The purpose is to educate people and to somehow minimize violence and eliminate stigma.
Networking and working with connected networks to gain allies and support is also crucial in the advocacy rather than concentrating its effort on political campaigns. By now, I am expecting our LGBT organizations here must have links to LGBT networks or national groups, even regional. If not, then community mobilization must be the focus where they should be working with the grassroots to learn their experiences and understand the different needs. They must be the voice of the voiceless.
Political candidates must be the ones seeking support and endorsement of the LGBT organizations. What does it mean? It means the community has the power. I am not saying that LGBT organizations must not involve in politics. The involvement is beneficial because we need allies. However, political involvement must strengthen the community and not cause division. For a "house divided against itself cannot stand."
The most important to consider is the moral ascendency of the leaders and their leadership competence. In addition, leaders must have in-depth knowledge about LGBT issues because if not, it would be disastrous for a blind person can't lead another blind.
Advocacy must not be used as a vehicle to stardom and power. LGBT advocacy is not a weapon for personal gain, fame, and prestige. It is about the courage to fight and rightfully claim our space in society.
Advocacy is not an assertion of power within our community but an assertion that the community has a place in society. #
