ego-boosting

a few moments to boost my fragile ego...

ehem ehem...






there. finished.

a reaction

after a misjudgment, i made it a point to send an official apology to my egroup for causing some negative vibes in the group. here is my letter:

to my soulmates, sisters and brother,

firstly, i would like to apologize for my misjudgment in posting here the links where obviously ignorant people have been commenting negatively about our vice chairwoman and member rica paras. i did so at the time because i was hurt that people were reacting negatively to a person i consider a sister, who is just being herself, on national television. i felt, by posting the links and letting you read what these ignorant haters posted, you would share my hurt feelings and tell me that everything would be better. again i apologize.

this egroup was formed essentially so that strap members can have an outlet for their discussions and stories, their experiences and of course, so that we can tell each other of relevant issues that concerns our shared experience.

rica's experiences inside the pbb house is a relevant issue for us girls because she is now representing our ideals and our goals, and of course, because rica is firstly our friend and sister. however, there are other relevant issues that we also need to discuss, for example, there is the upcoming pride march. these issues will be discussed in the upcoming SGM this saturday, oct 17. and our secretary will take care of publishing here on the egroup the minutes of our meeting so that our online members will be able to read about them.

i know everyone is talking about rica and we can't help ourselves as well. but let us not dwell in negative vibes. we should celebrate that our very own rica is now well on her way to celebrity. i personally feel that we do not need to answer each and every negative comment, however, if you as an individual member and friend to rica feels that you should answer the comments you have read about, then feel free to do so. what i can do on my own is write about rica on my blog. and i personally believe rica will make sure she expalins things while on national television, just wait and see.

now, let me share my thoughts about some of the concerns raised. correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe STRAP was formed because there was a lack of representation of transgenders and also a means of sharing information as well in the local lgbt community. sass, vee and dee wanted to have an organization that took care of the needs of transgirls.

i really don't know what strap is all about and why it was formed, but let me share what strap is for me. i joined strap because i wanted to know more about who i truly am, what i am, and what i could be. strap gave me just that. strap gave me my identity. because of strap, i knew i was a woman, regardless of my assigned sex at birth, and i felt whole. my first moments with strap was my rebirth. this is one of the things i am most thankful for all because of strap. and strap has been an extended family of sorts for me. i also remember my first time marching and representing transpinays in the pride march.

so, what can strap do to address these unknown issues? what are our issues to begin with? i know we will discuss it in the SGM and we will post them here. how will we address them? i know we don't have to list what strap has done, but never you worry miss cam, though we won't stage any protests or anything, but if we need to speak to anyone we will. i really don't know how things are done in the states, but i'm proud to say strap has its own way of dealing with issues like this. we will take care of it with elegance, grace and finesse, for we are beautiful, intelligent empowered women, just like rica.

and so, i'm urging these 70+ members miss cam has counted to stand up and attend the sgm. so that we can talk about what we can do for transpinays. your mere attendance means so much. since we are moving forward to a more formal organization, let's make sure we do everything we can to make it happen. it's like this, what we do for strap, we are also doing for ourselves and the next generation. let us think about the future transpinays, let us make sure they will be more informed, and more represented. let us reclaim our identity.

be inspired, be involved. be TRANSPINAY.

hoping to inspire and be inspired,

, membership coordinator

*~ i only hope that i am able to stop these vibes.

in other news, the new and rebooted strap website is now up and running! view it yourself:

STRAP

and lastly, i hope you're supporting ate rica on pbb!!! go go go rica paras! make us proud!

Rica Paras, the housemate

yup, that picture is evidence that i, the infamous tg-girl, does know the future celebrity and face of transgender in the philippines, RICA PARAS. lol. no, this is not a shameless attempt to ride on a friend's new found celebrity. well, maybe it is. haha.

actually, i am writing this so that once the masses, the intelligent masses i mean, those who have the privilege of searching online in their offices or homes, start typing that name that will be synonymous to educated, empowered, and inspiring transpinay: rica paras, in that search bar, this article will somehow show up. *crossing fingers*

this is my attempt to tell you about a very good friend of mine (honestly) and a very inspiring, empowered and brilliant woman i know. this is for you ate rica.

before i met rica paras, i first read about her in one of the issues of ICON magazine that showcased filipina transsexuals, then still unknown by transpinay, and one of them was this girl named rica paras. this article, of course, was written by none other than that sassy girl. this article was my first preview of that wonderful person and lovable girl. from it i read her story, as she has also told us. she strove ever so hard to become what she is today, from her humble roots, she chose to show that despite some 'imperfections' if you will, she can let her incredible credentials speak for her. she is truly one of the transpinays that can show anyone what a transpinay can do if she set her mind to it. and what we are capable of. and when i finally met her, i was blown away. i knew i had a new sister in her. and everytime we saw each other, she always had that embrace and smile for me, just like a big sister. and she was to me, as all my strap sisters. and i have to admit, i always attended sgm's so i could see her again, and be inspired because of her achievements, to show and tell myself that i too can be like her.

but one of the things about ate rica that inspired me a lot is that, she, being transgendered like me, is loved by none other than a filipino boyfriend. i know i shouldn't put that much stock in filipino boyfriends and prize them as such, but ate naomi, you have to understand, i want someone whose face is mine, whose heart is mine, whose culture is mine. i want a partner i can speak to at the end of the day in my own language, and tell him 'mahal na mahal kita, mahal na mahal.' in pure tagalog. that's all. and so, with ate rica, having a filipino boyfriend, it gives me so much hope that i may find my own jay. that despite being transgendered AND filipino, i am too entitled to a happy ending, just like her.

with her entering big brother's house and well, pinoy media, i feel we have taken one big step. i believe that she will be our face, our voice and our flag bearer. ate rica is an intelligent and brilliant woman, and i know she will change the filipino view of what a transpinay is: that we are not gay men who feel they are trapped in the wrong body, that they want to become women; rather, we ARE women. we are women and ate rica will help us reclaim this identity.

with her own words, we just need to show a little more RESPECT.

to the world this i shout: SUPPORT RICA PARAS!!! brava!!!

to read about the official strap statement regarding this, please click here

and to visit strap's website, either click on the strap logo, or this


be inspired. be involved. i am transpinay and damn hell proud of it!

transphobia rearing its fugly head

i am saddened that two of my sisters, naomi and sass, were victims of a recent hate mail. you can read more about it here.

why does hatred like this still exist? is it to remind us that the battle is not yet over?

i believe that this is an opportunity for transpinays to uphold what STRAP is here for: to inspire. let us take this hatred and use it to show how beautiful transpinays really are.

we can get affected by it, but what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. i pity this simple minded ignoramus. much he doesn't know. he is stuck to the bigotry and blindness that he is still believing to be true. and we should pity such a person, despite his efforts to bring us down.

to you my sisters naomi and sass, i will always always be here for you, in the moment you can no longer take the pain, the ignorance, the hate, i will be there to embrace and comfort you. that time may never happen, but when it does, my arms are always here.

to transpinays everywhere: keep the flame burning!

TRANSPINAY

“Words,” as George Bernard Shaw said, “are only postage stamps delivering the object for you to unwrap.” There are words that lead us to better understand a concept, a phenomenon, an experience, a person. Some promote either clarity or confusion. Others have offensive connotations; their negligent use unwittingly supports disrespect or disregard of someone’s deep-seated truths…

The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) is standing up not with pride but with courage to name an identity for ourselves. An identity that closely, if not fully and ultimately, describes the unique expression of human diversity our lives embody. An identity that rings politeness. An identity that would initiate an enlightening public conversation and awareness about our realities. An identity that we hope can forge a sense of community among Filipinas who were assigned as male at birth. An identity with dignity. This identity is TRANSPINAY.

A combination of the words transsexual and Pinay, TRANSPINAY means a female human being of Philippine descent who was given a male sex assignment at birth. This was proposed during one of our support group meetings and was voted upon by our membership. Other proposed terms were transbabae and transfilipina.

As compared to local terms such as bakla and bayot, transpinay doesn’t include homosexual males. Transpinay isn’t about sexual orientation nor preference. A transpinay can be sexually/romantically attracted to other females (in that she is a lesbian), to males (in that she is straight), to both males and females (in that she is a bisexual), or to none at all (in that she is asexual).

As compared to the nascent term ladyboy, transpinay doesn’t maliciously or unwittingly call a girl/woman of transsexual experience a “boy/man”. Calling a transpinay a ladyboy is no different from simply calling her a “boy/man”, an offensive act.

A transpinay is not a homosexual/gay man nor a boy/man who is ladylike. A transpinay is not a crossdresser - she is not a boy/man who just likes to dress. A transpinay is not a variation of male but a variation of female. A transpinay may be pre-op (have not yet have sex reassignment surgery but desires to undergo it), post-op (have already had sex reassignment surgery), or non-op (does not desire to have sex reassignment surgery). All the same, no matter what their genital surgery status is, they are all females. A transpinay is not a boy/man wanting to be a “real” girl/woman - she is already one.

We acknowledge that TRANSPINAY, just like any other word, cannot adequately stand-in for what we actually are. Nonetheless, TRANSPINAY symbolizes our right to define our gender identity: A movement to reclaim that right from other cultural forces.

Our deepest gratitude,
The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP)


*~obviously, this is a repost. i felt this blog should have this, its owner being a part of what sass aptly describes as the experience. i am a transpinay and proud of it.