BLNC Facets: arigoggles

blncmag
Jul 9
1 min read

BLNC Facets : Pride in Everyday

arigoggles

PASIG

What is everyday life like as a queer person on your side of the country?

a: The timing of me discovering my queer identity, I happened to be living in Los Angeles (2015-2022), to now living in Manila. It was eye opening to feel the pressure of fitting into the heteronormative expectations in The Philippines, compared to feeling the openness and the privilege of challenging sexuality/gender roles in Los Angeles.

But what I love about the queer scene here in Manila is how unapologetic and proud the community is here, despite The Philippines being a Catholic dominated country where same-sex marriage is not acknowledged, or legal… yet. I see this pride present itself through the queer parties and events I would find myself in, DJing in or attending.

What would you like Filipinos to know about the LGBTQIA+ community where you are?

a: With being able to immerse in both country’s (Los Angeles, CA and Manila, PH) queer communities, it’s unfortunate to hear the same conversations and have the same observations of the lack of sapphic dominated spaces, which goes in hand with feeling tokenized as sapphics. Especially in nightlife, where many spaces cater towards gay men, and then suddenly those gay men spaces would host sapphic nights, it sometimes does come off disingenuous.

But on the flip side, it’s an exciting time to see sapphic led sapphic parties/events starting to appear.