#PrideMonth: More Tomboy, More Bakla Than We Admit Book Review

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More Tomboy, More Bakla Than We Admit Insights into Sexual and Gender Diversity in Philippine Culture, History, and Politics is a compilation of essays published by Vibal Foundation, Inc in 2021 for its Academica Filipina category of books. 

Edited by Mark Blasius and Richard T. Chu, the book also features historians, academics, and writers who delved into the inner history, societal, political, and cultural aspects of the LGBTQIA+ in the Philippines. From the Pre-Hispanic to Colonial periods until the 21st century, how did Filipinos evolved when it comes to sexual and gender diversities?

Watch the video that I created sharing my review/insights about the book:



Comments

Unknown said…
From an historical point of view, the emotions associated with attraction and love, and the foci of those emotions, have been diverse for millennia. While male-female sexual dichotomy is still the norm worldwide, there are a rising number of alternatives. Those facts are interesting, but I find the ways in which individuals reconcile their preferred emotions with the range of cultural options they actually have, to be far more interesting. Where those options are not in accord with prevailing views, the customs and even laws of the prevailing culture may prohibit and inhibit exploration of emotions and desires beyond what that culture considers normal and normative—or maybe they do not. I would argue that sexual dichotomy has always been the prevailing view, but not all cultures are known to have been so disturbed as to enact laws or customs prohibiting differences. And even where they did enact laws, there does not always seem to be unfailing obedience and strict policing. For instance, England prohibited sodomy, but apparently not all known instances were reported, though they may have been mentioned in print. Other cultures seem to have taken a more laissez faire attitude, like the various American native peoples who seemed to have sexual categories between male and female that allowed dissenters to settle into at least female roles. I am not overly knowledgeable about this facet of being human, but I have noticed the many historical cultural adjustments made over the years to account for the fact that we humans have loved whom we have loved for a very long time. Thank you for reviewing this book, for alerting me to its existence, and for allowing me to comment.
January 2, 2023 at 5:31 PM
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