LGBT

NEW YORK – While waiting for dinner to be served at Angelika's Kitchen in downtown New York, I was attracted to the crimson cover of a promotional booklet from Newfest, where two men were sitting casually in front of each other with their lips locked. I came across these initials LGBT, which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. How long was I out of touch with civilization? The forms I usually fill out ask if I'm Male or Female (M/F). How come they didn't include the other choices?

Growing up with a close friend who had signs of being a lesbian or a tomboy in an all-girls school didn't really bother me. I thought it was natural for girls to be fond of each other, holding hands, hugging and kissing. We would pick on a girlie classmate and have our discreetly coded description of how "nice" she is. My friend started to get cozy with another friend. Okey, I admit that at a certain point I start to question if there were any unusual feelings that came up during the course of our friendship. We were really subtle then, joking around and not really saying how we feel about each other. With a lot of nice girls around, this is probably why I wasn't really interested in boys.

The moment of truth came recently when she was in town again. We got together with old friends and reminisced. Soon the topic on being gay came up. That's when she finally came out of the closet.

They were asking me if I had known about her gender issues since our adolescent years. I smiled and said yes but we don't really talk about it. Deep inside I knew she has this tendency of becoming a lesbian long before she decided on her choice. I still respect her privacy and it doesn't change the way I see her as a person.

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A gay friend of mine came over for dinner one night and dished out a plethora of childhood issues. As a child he was molested by his uncle, physically abused by his dad, and to this day verbally and psychologically abused by his parents and siblings. He always asked me if he hadn't been abused, would his life turn out differently? Of course, he just wants love and acceptance from his family, which I think they were too ashamed to face the situation and tried to cover it up by acting indifferently, as if it was his imagination and nothing happened. The opposite of love is not hate. It's indifference.

The point is to stop blaming other people for one's misery and learn from what happened. One cannot change the past but one can always create something better now. Do something about the situation.

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I was in Palm Springs, California last Memorial Day weekend. Was it my imagination or was I in Gay Heaven? People are just so open about themselves and it made me feel like I was trespassing or worse, a peeping tom. I was told that I'm in the gay capital of California run by Mayor Ron Oden, the first openly gay African-American to be elected mayor in America. After serving nine years on the Palm Springs City Council, his decision to come out was prompted by a tear-gas bomb explosion at a gay pride event in San Diego that he attended.

Mayor Oden has not only shattered political barriers, his leadership and vision has inspired millions of LGBT Americans. His achievement allows LGBT people to dream about their future without limits.

"When I came back to Palm Springs, I told the Council I wanted to make sure that we had a city that is safe and accepting of all people," stated Oden, who is also an ordained minister in his church.

So who says that we cannot mix religion, politics and be gay about it?

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The opening night gala featuring the movie Strangers With Candy highlights the 18th New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Film Festival from June 1-11, 2006. Presenting NYC's largest line-up of 230 new works from 35 countries, including the Philippines, this year's festival focuses on LGBT History, Arts, Youth and MTF (Male-to-Female) transgender.

Among the line-up are two Filipino films: Mga Pusang Gala (Stray Cats) in its US premiere is directed by Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil and Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros), a youth focus film directed by Auraeus Solito. It is really ironic what is considered trash in our society is art to others. One can only appreciate inner beauty by coming out of one's self.

Celebrate Gay Pride this month of June in the following cities: Manila, New York, Rome and Paris.

TGIF! TTFN and TCGB.

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