LGBTQIA, if expanded; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexual, and asexual. These are the many gender orientations recognized in LGBT community. In my 17 years of living, I have witnessed and encountered, in the media and real life, some of the many discriminatory acts that these individuals have experienced. If you were to walk in their shoes for a day, roaming around the city like them, you would see for yourself the many things that they go through. You would get to experience the slurs that they hear and the discrimination that they face firsthand. Here in the Philippines, there are many underlying issues that this community faces. Things and words that could damage not only these people, but also the sexual orientation that they are supposed to have the freedom of. The issues are:
First, orthodox religion is propagated here in the Philippines, almost every Filipino is Roman Catholic and most of them, especially the old ones, are die-hard believers. I don’t see anything wrong with that, but the fact that these devout believers are usually so hostile to this community, makes me wonder if they are preaching or simply discriminating against these people just because their gender differs from the usual. Along with religious institutions that publicly discriminate against this community, some people also sexually harass, threaten, and ignore the rights of these individuals. These people are what we call “homophobic”. In the standard definition, homophobic means having or showing a dislike of or prejudice against gay people or the LGBT community itself. Many of these people have harmed countless innocent members of the said community just because of the latter’s chosen sexual orientation. Beating them up, causing them harm as a person, and even killing them is something that most in this community fear. This goes against basic human rights, and should be even punishable by law, but of course, the government also has homophobia, ignoring these things when in fact, they should cater to all countrymen regardless of their gender orientation.
If we were to open our minds and understand these individuals by respecting their choices, our country would be a haven even for those who want to go against the norms of society. Hopefully, we Filipinos get to understand concepts, such as these, to lessen or even eliminate the discrimination that these individuals receive.
Site Title 