My 2 cents of thoughts about the recent "national issue" of a Transgender Woman not allowed to use female CR
I can actually point out 4 things about this issue as follows:
1. Quezon City's Ordinance to protect LTBTQ+
2. What Is SOGIE
3. Gretchen's Gender Identity
4. Our biases according to our religion and what is SOGIE Bill all about.
1. Quezon Cityâs Ordinance to protect LTBTQ
The Gender-Fair Ordinance of Quezon City was passed last November 28, 2014 by then-mayor Herbert Bautista. This is to prohibit discrimination  against LGBTQ+ members thus creating a safe space for everyone. One of  the provisions indicated in the ordinance is that all establishments are  therefore called to designate toilet rooms and lavatories labeled as  all gender CR.
Unfortunately, the Janitress who stopped Gretchen to enter the Female CR, does not know anything about the Ordinance and she simply followed the policy provided by the Farmers Cubao mall. As an  empowered Transwoman, Gretchen knew that there is something to be done  and she shouldnât simply look the other way. In order for her to call  out the Management of the said mall, she needed proofs thus took her  camera and started documenting the incident by asking again the  Janitress what CR should she use. By the second time, the Janitress was persistent that she should use the male bathroom. It was then that the latter reacted on the video that Gretchen took and the harassment  started. One thing led to another and the rest was history. You can go  and check it in facebook and decide whether it was handled  professionally by the mallâs management or what.
As  what the saying goes, ignorance of the law excuses no one. There you  have it, thatâs the real issue and thatâs where all these fuss began.
So may pinaglalaban ba si Gretchen?
A very fat YES.
May  nalabag na ordinance ang Mall mismo, and how the janitress and her  colleagues handled the situation was utterly repulsive. Calm your tits  mga ka-churchmate. Wag muna react dyan and please contemplate in your  heart the words used against Gretchen. If you are in her position, and  as  dignified individuals, would you say ahh okay lang na ganun sabihin nila sa akin. Okay  lang e-posas kahit walang crime na nalabag. Please review the video and discern again if it was all fair?
Besides,  whether youâre up or against her using the Female CR or not, you donât  have any say to that. Letâs refer on the Gender-Fair Ordinance passed by  their City. Â
So if youâll ask, bakit pinalalaki ang issue eh pag-ihi lang naman pala problema nya?
Answer:  Kung sakaling ang janitress at ang mall ay nagkaroon lamang ng  awareness about SOGIE, and that they implemented the Ordinance on  creating an all gender CR, Gretchen shouldnât need to go to Female CR in  the first place. The Janitress should have offered the PWD CR however itâs apparent that she was just following orders of the management  according to the mallâs policy.
If youâll review the VIDEO again, you should know what else happened, and why it became a national issue.
2. What is SOGIE?
Alam ba ng lahat ano meaning ng SOGIE? Sige nga, i-google mo muna.
Is  it applicable to LGBTQ+ members only?
Or is it something that we all have as a sexual being?
Our ignorance of SOGIE makes our  world more confusing and people to be judgmental. We thought we know  everything. And human as we are, we are always afraid of the things that  we donât understand. When we learned something, we stop learning and  thought that itâs enough. I am not yet talking about the SOGIE Bill by  the way.
I believe understanding SOGIE would be the answer to  all our comments and sentiments on the issue. I assure you, 9 out of 10,  who posted and commented in Facebook and even in twitter, doesnât have  any IDEA what the real issue was. As I read the comments of the people  and how they threw hurtful and under the belt words to a transgender  like Gretchen or to Sass Rogando Sassot and how they see LGBTQ+ in  general, I could say that we are so far from the society that embraces  diversity and inclusivity.
How can we know how to handle  situations or sentiments of our madlang people if we are still ignorant  about SOGIE. Even our elected officials like Senator Sotto, doesnât even  have the time to learn and know about LGBTQ+. An irony of what they  show in EAT Bulaga where he is part of. May pa-contest pa for Gays and  Trans yet he canât even understand the difference between the 2. So how  can he oppose something that he does not fully understand? So pag beki  ka, okay lang for comedy purposes. Pero if rights na ng mga LGBTQ+ wala  na syang alam. Hindi naman lahat kasi pang parlor lang ang mga beki, at  pang security guard naman ang ating mga tibo friends. Hindi lang po kasi  expertise ng mga bakla ang entertainment industries. We can be a  teacher, an engineer, lawyer or anyone as we can be.
So,  if you are not familiar nor ready to learn something else other than  you already know about our SEXUALITY, then I donât think you would  understand anything that are happening around you. MEMA lang. React lang  ng react, without being considerate that these people that you donât  fully understand holds a greater part in our society. These are people  whom you ask for help if you needed your hair and make up done. These  are the people you trusted to take care of your nails and toes, the same  people who organized bonggang Events, but most importantly, they are  your co-workers, common friends, close friends, church mates,relatives, family or even your kasambahay.
2. Gretchenâs Gender Identity
Let us establish first that Gretchen Diez is not GAY/Bakla/Paminta or any  derogatory names you use to ridicule gays like me. SHE is simply the  letter T of the LGBTQ+ which means Transgender. And when you say  transgender, they are individuals who identify their gender as oppose to  their assigned sex. Take note that GENDER and SEX are 2 different words  with 2 different meanings. Yes, may âotinâ pa po sya, but you cannot  determine a persons Gender Identity by just checking his or her hormones  and their birth sex. To those who successfully changed their birth sex  is called Transexual. Therefore calling or referring her to a bakla is  irrelevant and baseless.
Sadly most of us  Filipinos cannot even distinguish between GAY and Trans and we always  thought that they are just synonym words to describe crossdresser or mga  âfeeling babae na may otinâ. Clearly our world is not about BLACK and  WHITE. If you only base or classify our gender according to our birth  sex, what about those who were born with 2 sex organs? How about those  female who doesnât have matres o bahay bata? And if those female with  matres who canât bear a child, can we call them as half female or not  female at all? Ang kakulangan or ang differences ng ating physiological aspects canât determine our gender identity.  Sino ba may sabi na ang  pink ay pang babae, at ang blue ay pang lalake? May pekpek at titi ba  ang mga colors? Gender is simply the norms that our society projects in reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological  ones. Whether you are for or against her Gender Identity, who are we to tell otherwise? Ano ba pakialam natin kung ano tingin nya sa sarili nya?  Ikaw gusto mo ba pakialaman ng iba ang buhay at preference mo?
So  to those women, who uses their womanhood against the transwomen, who  insisted that only the biologically and genetically-given chromosome and  the God-given ability to give birth and be a biological mother is the true essence of a woman are the only one who can use a Female CR, please  stop and take a moment of discernment. Really? Is that the new  requirement now in using a PUBLIC Female Bathroom? So before ka papasok sa Female CR may DNA test muna at dapat pasok sa standard ng ESSENCE of a  WOMAN? Tinatanong ba kayo if you have both X and Y chromosome or if you  can bear a child, or if you have been a Biological Mother before  entering your cubicle?
NOW, a lot of my female friends in  FB uses the argument about certain men who may and can pretend to be  transgender by wearing a dress and use that as an excuse to enter a  ladies bathroom. If you will do some research, yes there were reports  about it and it is happening around the world and take note, not just in  the country that encourage all gender CR but even those conservative  countries. Meaning, it can happen whether we have the the All gender CR,  or not. There were always be perpetrators around, lurking and ready to  do vile acts and I understand if my female friends will be worried about  it, since there are also children we need to protect, but please you  also forgot that transwomen can also become a victim of the same  perpetrators you were afraid of. Imagine a transwoman coming in to the  Mens CR, and letâs face the physiological truth that men are stronger  and more aggressive. If youâre a mother and you happen to have a  transgender child, would you say itâs safe for your child to go to menâs  bathroom kasi may otin pa sya? I thought women are more compassionate than men, but what happened to these values if you are only selective?
Have  you been to PUBLIC CR? Especially malls, ang taas ng pila ng mga  Femaleâs CR. Do your math and check the probability of a pervert Man  concealing himself as a trans then naka linya sa females CR. Will he has  the chance to do it? Oh, sige paano yung mga not widely used na Public  Female CR? Teka, meron pa bang public Female CR na not widely used?  Okay, thatâs still a possibility. What should women do? The answer is,  itâs simply the establishments job to secure secluded spaces such as  Female CR to assign a person who will look after such important part of their building.
IS there a need for a 3rd CR for PUBLIC users? My answer is Yes and NO.
Yes,  if we are talking about establishments like malls, or even schools who  can afford to create a 3rd CR then that would be very beneficial to  everyone. Happy lahat, at no need for us LGBTQ+ to seek approval from a Janitress or Janitor as we will go directly to our designated comfort  room. Tapos ang Story. NO National Issue and no Gretchen needed to be  interviewed by Giant TV networks.
However, letâs face the  sad truth as well, that our government doesnât have enough budget to  even create a CR for PWD, how much more to create a 3rd CR? So what  should our LGBT members do especially the transgender, who simply needed  to do what a human being is expected to do inside a Comfort Room. So  sasabihin nyo na lang na magtiis kayo? Go, get your own room? Is going  to a preferred CR kasi gusto lang umihi a Special Treatment? Hindi po  SPECIAL Treatment ang pag ihi at pagJebs madlang pipz. So if dalawa lang  ang CR, then the sharing shouldnât be a big deal if all of are just  considerate and compassionate enough. Di ba sharing is caring?
4. Our biases according to our religion and what is SOGIE Bill all about?
Thousands  of years ago, people thought that the earth was flat. Anyone who  opposes the idea will be punished and ridiculed.  It was not so long  ago, that women were not allowed to vote or even be counted as part of  the society. Even in Jesusâ time, women were just part of mensâ  property. Not so long ago as well, black people were labeled as slaves  and you can even buy them in the market just like that.
Our  society is changing and improving and I am very much thankful that I  was born to this era especially in our country. Philippines is known to be more tolerant with LGBTQ+ compared to our neighboring countries.  However, based on our reactions on what happened to Grecthen, it turned out that Filipinos are still not open and hesitant to discuss and  discern on what and how we can live together peacefully without imposing  our own beliefs and judgments.
I always feel  cringe whenever I see memes or posts from my âfriendsâ in FB commenting  about the issue especially if I know the âfriendâ personally. Not  because I do not respect their opinions but because of the things they  pointed out which were irrelevant,baseless and their lack of sensitivity  and the fact that they have not even read the so called SOGIE Bill.
8  out of 10 of my friends I personally know in facebook posted about NO  TO SOGIE BILL. There is this post they shared and liked in which it was  talking about Section 4, particularly Article L and O. According to  them, it is going to incriminate the church and parents to go publicly  against Homosexuality. It was thought to be a revised bill filed by  known Congresswoman Geraldine Roman. I am not a law expert but I believe  what they were referring to was far from the exact bill that were  passed by the congress, and if you want to read the same bill that Iâve read, you can go tho this link congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/first_17/CR00101.pdf
I listed below some topics or memes that I usually get in my facebook newsfeed:
A. NO to SAME SEX MARRIAGE
Let  it be put to record that nowhere in the bill talks about Same Sex  Marriage. So mga kaChurchmate at pastors na nakasama ko sa Sexuality  Seminar, ano ang ipinaglalaban nyo po? Why do we always use SAME SEX  MARRIAGE topic sa pag against nyo po sa Bill? Clearly itâs a blatant  fearmongering. Gets na namin na mga LGBTQ+ na matagal pa ang laban na  to. Itâs just the same with RH Bill and Divorce na di nga natin  mapasa-pasa. Again, whether youâre for or against the Same SEX Marriage,  IT HAS NOTHING TO DO with the SOGIE Bill.
B. Insisting that the  likes of Gretchen Diez, Sass Rogando Sassot and even Cong Geraldine  Roman, is still a HE, and that whether they have otin or not, they were  born as MALE.
Both transphobic and homophobic comments  were thrown to the transwomen I mentioned above. It was so depressing  and it will make you think how bad a human can go just to prove their  ideas and impose their own beliefs and biases. If you have not  understood what SOGIE is nor willing to know about it, then it will be  useless to discuss this to a close minded like you. This is the reason  why we need to pass the SOGIE Bill as it will help us understand the  components of our Sexuality. Our Government should then be able to  provide programs and formal studies about sexuality to schools and  improve the Employment rate of our LGBT members. Just to clarify, hindi  po SEX EDUCATION kundi, SEXUALITY Education. Go and Google the  difference of the 2 madlang pipz and donât just react there. Donât rely  on hearsays.
C. I Am an LGBT and I am Against the SOGIE Bill
Well,  which part of the letters in LGBTQ+? Haha. So far, most of the LGBTQ+ who posted about it were simply Gays who crossdress or in other words  their Gender Expression is effeminate.  However they do not represent  the Transgender as they are not on the same Gender Identity. One known  example of an Effiminate Gay is our Unkabogable Vice Ganda. HE is not  Trans and he already confirmed it to his past interviews that he will  never be a transgender. Gets nyo mga pipz? If not then please educate  yourself about SOGIE.
Most of these LGBTQ+ who  commented and are against the Bill were simply ignorant and needs SOGIE  Awareness. See, even among the members of LGBTQ+, there are still  confusions. So, please lang, to my fellow LGTBQ+ âwag ka nang dumagdag.  Educate yourself please.
D. Itâs Against Godâs will.
If  you are Straight and a Christian at the same time, calm your tits, the  Bill has nothing to do with you. Passing the bill is a secular act and  it will not  affect your faith as a Christian and your church. I believe  this is where most people will react as if I am attacking them personally. And it will be an endless battle so I donât think I will  divulge more onto this topic. However I wanted to clarify some things  especially the post that I mentioned in which they were referring to  Section 4, particularly Article L and O that is going to incriminate the  church and parents to go publicly against Homosexuality.
Section  4 Article L is mainly about prohibiting anyone to malign, or publicly shaming any LGBTQ members like me simply because of my orientation.
I  remember when I was not out yet,  a member of my church (he used to be  my friend) uses the word MAYA( bisaya term of discreet gay) to  intimidate me. Along with his straight barkadas, whenever they post or  comment in fb especially if itâs referring to me, they will use âmayaâ  as a code word to openly discuss and insult me. Of course our common  friends who knew about it can see and, read  their post and comments. As  someone whoâs not out and was still discerning his or her own  sexuality, it never helped and it even added more confusions, shame and struggles to accept my true self.
So, as a Christian, are you saying that itâs okay to publicly shame anyone and uses my sexual orientation against me?
er
For  Section 4, article O, if you will read the whole thing, it is to  protect a child from abusive parents who inflict physical harm,  intimidation, harassment etc as a result of the bias against sexual  orientation or identity of a child.
For sure a  lot of us heard about children physically abused by parents or guardians  because of being so malamya and Bayot or even playing barbie dolls. We  even hear and sing it in âSirenaâ by Gloc9. Or have you even read the  lyrics of the song? We saw it in some MMK episodes, and we even voice  out in fb that any physical harm is not okay at all. But is it enough to  simply post it in fb? is it more helpful to have a law that will  directly punish parents and guardians who inflict harm in any forms just  to convert their unico iho to a straight and brusko man?
In some  Muslim families, there were lesbians who were allowed by their parents  to be RAPED as for them it will be an effective way to convert their  unica iha to a straight and become a true essence of a woman, the womb  of the earth.
If you are a parent reading this, do you allow  these things to happen to your child? You know your child well, and as  they grow older it will become apparent to you on how and what  they will  become in terms of  their sexuality. And what if you see some patterns  and behaviors and shit you realize, ohhh em geeeee my child is  CONFEEEREMED! What will you do? Is it okay if some people will ridicule  your child in public calling them names? Or harm them simply because  they are gay or lesbo?
Or are you that parent who insist and stick to the saying that God created Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve?
Fortunately  I am so blessed to have a family who respected and accepted me as who I  am. And our church, UCCP passed a policy statement on the matters of  LGBTQIA+ dubbed as, âLet Grace Be Totalâ. This is to affirm that the  grace of God is for everyone regardless of oneâs sexual orientation.
I  admit a lot of our church members and even pastors are not educated yet  and welcoming about the policy. And that we still needed open dialogues  about this.
So please lang, if you donât know  anything about SOGIE Bill, can you at least read the whole thing first? You can google and download it. And please, if you are straight and a  Christian at the same time, donât take it against you. Itâs not even  about you nor will it affect your membership on your church. If your  church is against Homosexuality, then do abide accordingly and insist it  to any of your own members. Trust me, LGBTQ+ like me would be very  thankful for not being part of your lot. Â
My Verdict:
According to Hans Urs von Balthasar, âWhat you are is Godâs gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.â
If  I quote one of the teachings of the Bible, we were taught that God  uniquely and wonderfully created us. I believe in my heart that anything  and everything that God created are for good including LGBTQ+ members like me. We may be different, but God makes no mistake. In fact most of  the amazing discoveries were actually products of the people who think  differently. Who see things in a creative ways with endless  possibilities.
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