SA 21 Final Project
Group X
Bartolome, Dolendo, Fausto, Ilagan, Yu
Section B
Topic: Inequality
Gender inequality is a social issue often goes unnoticed because of how deep-rooted it has become in our culture. Though the feminist and gay liberation movements have been largely successful in terms of challenging sex- and gender-based discrimination, gender stereotypes and stigmas, against homosexuals in particular, still persist in today’s society, as made evident by mass media. In the Philippines, in particular, one can still easily see how the most common images of homosexuality are the flamboyant bakla and macho tibo, and how the nature of “acceptance” of homosexuality, both of men and women, is justified because they are “comedic” or are “not a problem, so long as they do not directly affect others,” both point to the prevalence of harmful stereotyping among members of the LGBT community or the mere tolerance—not acceptance—of homosexuality. As such, our group asked 20 different interviewees with different statuses about their thoughts on homosexuality, in order to better understand the different perspectives of homosexuality.
Question: “If someone close to you came out to you as homosexual, what would you say to her/him?"
Group X
Bartolome, Dolendo, Fausto, Ilagan, Yu
Section B
Topic: Inequality
Gender inequality is a social issue often goes unnoticed because of how deep-rooted it has become in our culture. Though the feminist and gay liberation movements have been largely successful in terms of challenging sex- and gender-based discrimination, gender stereotypes and stigmas, against homosexuals in particular, still persist in today’s society, as made evident by mass media. In the Philippines, in particular, one can still easily see how the most common images of homosexuality are the flamboyant bakla and macho tibo, and how the nature of “acceptance” of homosexuality, both of men and women, is justified because they are “comedic” or are “not a problem, so long as they do not directly affect others,” both point to the prevalence of harmful stereotyping among members of the LGBT community or the mere tolerance—not acceptance—of homosexuality. As such, our group asked 20 different interviewees with different statuses about their thoughts on homosexuality, in order to better understand the different perspectives of homosexuality.
Question: “If someone close to you came out to you as homosexual, what would you say to her/him?"
AGE GROUPS
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| Hans, 8, Child #inequality #comingout #lovewhoyoulove |
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| Hannah, 11, Child #inequality #comingout #staythesame |
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| Patrick, 18, Teenager #inequality #comingout #greatjob |
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| Frankie, 19, Student #inequality #comingout #yaoiandyuri #samesexlove |
Note: Yaoi and yuri are Japanese genres that pertain to male and female same-sex love respectively
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| Jim, 22, Professional #inequality #comingout #noprobs #luvu |
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| Kristine, 27, Professional #inequality #comingout #proudofyou #superhappy #lotsalove |
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| Julie, 44, Adult #inequality #comingout #okaylang #bastamasayaka |
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| Rafael, 40, Adult #inequality #comingout #cool |
SOCIAL CLASS
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| April, 21, Teacher (Working Class) #inequality #comingout #normalyan |
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| Michael, 37, Driver (Working Class) #inequality #comingout #oklang |
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| Jay, 50, Upper Class #inequality #comingout #good4you |
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| Sarge, 55, Upper Class #inequality #comingout #welcome |
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
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| Gabbie, 18 Mass Server (Religion) #inequality #comingout #support |
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| Miles, 22, Overall Officer of Ateneo Christian Life Community (Religion) #inequality #comingout #supportive #loving |
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| Met, 47, Mother #inequality #comingout #proudmom #loveyou |
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| Leonardo, 55, Father #inequality #comingout #areyoukidding #isthisajoke |
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| Joe, 75, Grandfather #inequality #comingout #why #whatinfluencedyou |
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| Lucia, --, Grandmother #inequality #comingout #samegender #stillaboy #stillagirl |
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| Jared, 18, Student #inequality #comingout #respect |
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| Peabody, Old, Professor #inequality #comingout #glad #youvedecided |
Most of the people the group interviewed were generally “okay” with the idea of their friends and family members being homosexual. Generally, the women reacted more positively because they did not just show acceptance towards the LGBT community, they even encouraged it by saying things like “I still love you”, “I’m so proud of you” and “I’m super happy for you”. However, we noticed that the range of reactions was not based on gender but on age. The older the respondents are, the more negative their reactions are. We noticed that the male respondents belonging the age group 55 to 75 reacted more violently than the male respondents belonging the younger age group. They immediately questioned how or why their loved one turned out to be homosexual, which shows that the older generations do not really tolerate or accept the idea of homosexuality as much as the younger generations do. The younger respondents were either neutral or supportive of the idea. Those who belong to the age group 10-27 had the most positive reactions which shows their “openness” to the LGBT community. Those who fell under the age group 37 to 44 were neutral about the homosexuality of their loved ones. The reactions of the middle-aged people probably imply that they are the ones who are in the middle ground of the older and the younger generation, where homosexuality is not and is accepted.
Though mostly positive and supportive, answers such as "Okay lang," "I'm proud of you," and “Normal lang yan” all point to how coming out as homosexual is still stigmatized and frowned upon by other social sectors, despite the gay liberation movement because of the need to reassure whoever is coming out that being gay, at least in the perspective of the interviewee, is not something to be ashamed of. On the other hand, the negative or questioning responses (such as “What factors influenced you to become a homosexual?”) point to notions rejected by the LGBT community: in particular, that being gay is a choice (a point of contention for many religious groups that condemn homosexuality) and that being gay automatically means being transgender (whether one is masculine or feminine). Moreover, it appears that homosexuality is still sensationalized because of its immediate association with sexual desire (as made apparent by the question: “So does that mean I can give you yaoi/yuri now?”).
All in all, from this project, our group saw that the gender equality movement still has a long way to go before it is able to fully challenge and abolish the gender inequality present in social structures. It was difficult for the group to get answers for the question, especially from those in the older age brackets because homosexuality is a heated and controversial topic, especially among conservatives. However, if the positive answers are any indication, the group believes that there is indeed progress as more and more people, such as Pope Francis, various LGBT celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, and even the Philippines’ own party-list LADLAD, are starting to become more open about and active in fighting for the rights of homosexuals.
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