PBB to swap housemates with Finland

After almost a month on air, I was starting to get bored with Pinoy Big Brother (PBB), the Philippines' version of the Endemol-produced hit reality TV show. This week, I only tuned in twice just to see how our STRAP girl, Rica Paras is doing so far. As the joke goes, according to Ate Vi (that's Vilma Santos for you, an actress turned politician who has a quirky way of speaking), so far so good so far. During Rica's first week, she was asked by Big Brother to pretend that she's the girl friend of the Filipino-Austrian housemate, Rob Stumvol. They were able to pull off the task pretty well. It even reached a point where Rica and Rob had to pretend that they were getting married with Rob proposing and all. It had the entire nation glued to their TV sets. So many people found the Rica-Rob pretend love team so cute, including me and the girls.

This week I learned that the housemates are anticipating a swap where a housemate from the Philippines will be swapped with another from a Big Brother house abroad. This year PBB has a choice to swap with Big Brother in India, Africa, Finland, Turkey and France. A good friend of mine just told me that it's Finland. My friend is Finnish of course that's why he knows. According to him, the Big Brother Finland housemate they are sending to Manila is Katlin (see her pic below). She is 22 years old, an Aries born in Estonia. She moved to Finland when she was 16 and considers her immigration the biggest achievement in her life so far. Katlin is single and works in the grocery business. She likes dancing, drawing, going to the gym and roller skating. She smokes occasionally.



I hope they swap Rica with her. Rica is the most interesting pick among the PBB cast mates. I am sure that she will make the swap very memorable. Anyway, welcome to Manila Katlin! I hope you enjoy your week on PBB!

I adore Adam Lambert!

I am so loving the cover of Adam Lambert's new album called For Your Entertainment (see pic below). Already it is generating some buzz, good and bad, which is great if you are in show business. Of course, it will not please everybody. But for me personally, I think it is great because it puts the idea of difference or diversity right in the middle of things, which is something transpeople do on a daily basis.



I hope Adam's new album's cover will spark discussions about gender that some people are afraid to touch. What do you feel when you see someone like Adam looking all dolled up and androgynous on his album cover? If you think it is different, does it mean it's bad? What is it about the cover that makes you feel uncomfortable? What does this discomfort say about your own understanding of gender and what it means to be a man or woman?

STRAP girl wins prestigious Queen of Cebu pageant

It seems like STRAP is on a roll this year. After the entry of Rica Paras, a true-blooded STRAP girl, into the hit reality TV show Pinoy Big Brother comes another feather in STRAP's cap. I just learned today that a STRAP girl by the name of Rain Villagonzalo (see pic above) has won the first edition of Queen of Cebu, a new and prestigious pageant for Cebuana transpinays. Rain, who is Cebu-based, was Miss Philippines and she bested 20 other beautiful Cebuanas representing different nations of the world for the title of Queen of Cebu Universe. Days before the pageant night, Rain emailed the STRAP e-group announcing her participation in the pageant so everyone was overjoyed upon hearing of her win. Completing her court are Miss Lebanon, Queen of Cebu World and Miss Spain, Queen of Cebu International (See pic below).



Cebu, which is also known as the Queen City of the South, is home to some of the Philippines' most beautiful transsexual women. This Saturday night, 24 October 2009, the coronation night of Queen of Cebu proved this all the more. Queen of Cebu (see poster below) was organized by a group of fashion designers called Clothes For Life and it promises to rival the biggest and most prestigious pageants for trans women in the Philippines like the Miss Amazing Beauties. Incidentally, the coronation of the Amazing Philippines pageant happened on Friday evening, 23 October 2009. Because I was busy, I missed it. But I was told that Bem Bem May Razada, Candidate No. 13 holds the crown this year. Congratulations Bem Bem!



Of course hats off to our very own Rain Villagonzalo! Her win proves that this year or the next is indeed the year of the transpinay!

We Dare We Care campaign launch

Last night, 24 October 2009, Saturday, I along with other STRAP girls, attended the launch of We Dare, We Care (WDWC), a campaign that seeks to mobilize and unite the local TLBG community and raise Philippine society's awareness of the issues facing TLBG Filipinos. I was with (from left to right) Victoria Rivera; one of our new members; Gia Nolasco, our Membership Coordinator; and Joy Cruz, our Treasurer.

The dress code was black and white which explains why I was dressed like I was last night (see pic below).



It was a well-attended affair and many people showed up (see pic below). WDWC was originally conceived by various organizations including Single Guys Online, Metropolitan Community Church Quezon City, Iftas (which means light and is a TLBG coven), Rainbow Bloggers Philippines, Gay, Transgender and Bisexual Advocates for Youth (GABAY),and OutPhilippines. Last night other organizations and networks showed up in support of the launch like Task Force Pride Philippines, OneBacardi, TLF Share Collective and of course STRAP.



The organizers created a video of selected people who embodied the spirit of daring and caring for the TLBG community and they showed it during the program. I was one of those selected. After the video presentation, we were called in front to give a solidarity message (see pic below). My message centered on STRAP as a group which DARES to exercise their right to define their gender identity because they CARE about a person's right to self-determination. I said that STRAP is the bravest group of women that I know of and a good example of that courage is Rica Paras who is now bravely showing the entire nation what a trans woman is and can be on the hit reality TV show Pinoy Big Brother. Upon the mention of Rica, the whole room exploded into applause.



I have high hopes for this campaign because the launch is just the start. The TLBG groups involved in the campaign have an exciting goal they want to reach next year. I want to surprise you all with that if it does push through. In the mean time, congratulations to all the groups that have come together for the good of all TLBG Filipinos. After the ceremonies, the girls decided to cap the night off with coffee and pastries at a nearby Starbucks where we discussed what happened during the launch and what more needs to be done in terms of pushing for greater trans involvement and visibility in the campaign. It was agreed that it will be a good idea to hold Trans 101 workshops for free with all the organizations involved in the campaign. I hope we will be able to find the time and resources do this soon. I am really glad that STRAP has new members like Victoria who are stepping up and helping make things happen for us. Because of them, the future looks ever so bright!

New STRAP website is up

The new and improved STRAP website is now up and running. Click here to see. While some of the links are still under construction, much of it is now accessible. Of course, like any project it is a work in progress. We strive to have a very high-quality web page though and our web administrator, Sass Rogando Sasot, with the help of the other STRAP girls is working overtime to ensure that. Happy browsing!

Outrage is at it again

Outrage the only online magazine for TLBG Filipinos has just released its 10th issue. Although much of the issue is devoted to HIV/AIDS , its very supportive editor-in-chief did not forget to include articles with a trans slant.

One is a feature on one of STRAP's founders, Sass Rogando Sasot and the other is an article on a Filipino transman that Sass wrote. Click here to see the article on Sass and here for the article by Sass entitled Boy, (Un)interrupted. This issue also has a review of the movie The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela and the usual column by the magazine's resident trans writer, Kiki Mura.

Happy reading everyone. Thanks to Outrage once again for proving itself to be a true ally, friend and supporter of the transgender liberation movement in the Philippines.

STRAP girl enters the Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) House

10 October 2009

Dear Friends, Allies & Supporters,

We, the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), a transgender rights advocacy organization and support group for girls and women of transsexual experience, are very proud to announce that one of our very own, Ms Rica Paras, is now a Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) housemate. Housemate Rica, the Math Goddess of Bacolod (although she is really from Iloilo, entered the PBB house tonight, 10 October 2009, Saturday, and we believe that given the dearth of positive and empowering media images of transgender Filipinas or transpinays, her addition to the cast of PBB housemates marks a significant milestone both in the history of Philippine TV but as well as in the local transgender liberation movement. Rica is the first out and proud transpinay who will ever enter the PBB house and be watched by millions on national TV.

This is perhaps just rightly so as Rica’s story, indeed, is one that needs to be told. Growing up in a lower middle-class household in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo, Rica at a young age displayed an affinity for science and mathematics. This led her to attend the prestigious Western Visayas campus of the Philippine Science High School where she was a consistent A-student. Later, Rica won a scholarship to study Mathematics at Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) where she graduated with honors. The last six years, Rica has been working as a globally certified IT consultant for a multi-national company training people in sales, product distribution and finance.

That Rica’s story may serve as an inspiration to people who are dealing with difficult gender and identity issues at a young age is not lost on us. Many of us, her sisters in STRAP, know all too well how it is like to grow up with no one to look up to, deprived of role models on TV who look like us and are going through the same things in life. We would therefore like to invite you to watch Rica on PBB so that she can tell you her story in her own words. There is so much more to know so watch and see the amazing person that we have all come to love and cherish. More importantly we hope that you will join us in supporting our dear sister and ensuring that she emerges the Big Winner of this season’s PBB.

Add Rica Paras on Facebook, Multiply and Friendster. Do not forget to text in your vote for her also so that she can stay in the PBB house until the Final Four. Help us bring Rica’s story of succeeding against all odds and breaking stereotypes and barriers to the millions of Filipino households that watch PBB every day and every night. Remember that a vote for Rica is a vote for our desire for change—change in the kind of people we see on TV and change in the way people will see people like us. A vote for Rica is a vote for the dreamer in us—that anyone, regardless of gender, religion, social status, ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc. can dream big and work hard for a better life. A vote for Rica is a vote for self-determination—that ultimately we are the masters of our fate and the captains of our souls. Only we can decide for ourselves who we want to be and who we really are!

In love and peace,
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP)
www.tsphilippines.com