philippines

tickling him, he was laughing andenjoying and [my mother] told me thatthat kind of action ‘tickling a baby boyand you are gay; that’s a form of molestation,child molestation.’ So I reallyfelt bad, I cried.Angel, 42, provided an example of verbal andemotional violence that was accompanied bya violent physical act. After telling her familythat she was a lesbian, her brother took outa gun and shot their pet dog, saying, “Ako,naglagot ako sa imo [I am mad at you]. I mightbe able to kill you.”Verbal violence, which oftencontains a directive to change behavior or dress,also serves to remind LBT women of a female’splace in society. May Rhoda, a transgenderwoman, analyzed her boyfriend’s frequentverbal abuse:When he gets mad, he always tells me, ‘Don’tfeel confident that you are moneyed; you’rejust a bayot [gay/transgender person]’... ThatI’m so underestimated that I’m really, reallysmall. It pisses me off. If I am ‘just a bayot’,why did he still chase after me?Traditionally, families do not disown FilipinoLBT children because nuclear families need to remainintact as an economically functioning unit.However, Pol, a transgender woman, lamentedthat she was forced to leave home after her fathercaught her flirting with some men in her nativeBacolod City:I left everything behind in Manila justfor you guys and this is how you repayme? You’re kicking me out?... I lived inboarding houses; I’ve never been kickedout [by them] but here, within my ownfamily, my father kicks me out. So I wasreally, really hurt.Many of the LBT women interviewed for thisresearch also reported experiencing verbal andemotional violence outside of the home. Brigite,a transgender sex worker, recalled a saleswomanaddressing her as “Sir.” “That’s an insult. Oh myGod, look at my boobs, so huge, and you’regoing to call me sir?” Brigite recalled. Most ofthe emotional and verbal violence that respondentsexperienced took the form of sexually loadedtaunts, catcalls, whistles, the playing of musicoffensive to transgender women, gestures, visualsigns and insults posted online from either strangers,neighbors, acquaintances and employees of publicestablishments. The content of the verbal attacksconsisted mostly of thinly veiled invitations for sex,putdowns laden with stereotypes, and threats ofinjury or sexual assault.Rain’s sister, a makeup artist who accepted Rain’stransgenderism, proudly uploaded videos of Rain’scosmetic transformations. Instead of praise, onlinecommentators posted such remarks as “Oh, sothis a trans/gay” after they realized she was atransgender woman. Rain found those commentsto be “offensive and insensitive.”Violence in the Name of ReligionOnly a small number of the LBT women weinterviewed said that they considered religion acritical factor for their emotional, psychologicalor social development. Those who consideredfaith to be important in their lives said they feltviolated by homophobic or transphobic churchdoctrine, or they blamed religious tenets forpromoting oppression within their families.Sheena, a bisexual woman:I think what happened was a result of myparents being constantly bombarded byadvice from their … church. Before [theystarted going to church], they were notlike that. It seemed that they knew [mysexual orientation] and they were lettingme be; but with that pressure from thechurch, they became strict with me.Other respondents coped by either quietlyconforming to the rules of their church or byleaving the church altogether. Kaycee, a transgenderwoman, said:16VIOLENCE: Through the Lens of Lesbians, Bisexual Women and Transgender People in Asia