01841: Staying Proud Every Day

It's the last day of June and this year's LGBT Pride month is drawing to a close. But of course the calendar item is just a special reminder of the importance of the fight for LGBT rights and true equality. We have a very, very long way to go, but we have to keep the faith.

And just because LGBT Pride Month is ending means that we can relax and go back to our "regular" lives. We need to continue to keep in mind what needs to happen and how we need to remain vigilant. For those of us within the community we need to keep the fires of Pride alive each and every day.

Last night Tobie and I managed to catch the repeat run of GMA 7's "Out and Proud" documentary, which was an attempt to more clearly illustrate the true diversity of the Philippine LGBT community. And while they naturally focused on a lot of content that their channel had produced like the OUT TV show a few years back (which I had never heard of, actually), and of course some of their own talents and celebrites that identify with the community. But on the whole it was a rather nice piece and one that did more good for the community that most such efforts in recent history. And that's a good thing indeed. And to think that it would be inconceivable for that sort of a show to air on national television just a few years back.

We've made some progress in recent years, but we still have a long way to go. I cannot stress that enough. Obviously we don't have gay marriage yet, and that remains a highly contentious issue. But at a more basic level we have yet to get an anti-discrimination law passed in this country. I've yet to see a formal law on the national level that even recognizes the existence of LGBT community, although some fool almost tried to pass a law patterned around the GMA telenovela, "My Husband's Lover". We're so weird.

So yes, we're the geek house with a big Pride Flag hanging on our front door. We have shirts that proudly proclaim that we're gay. And we're open about who we are to all our friends and family as appropriate. This is who we are. And this is who we shall remain to be. And this is the basis for many of our future goals and aspirations - a life that Tobie and I can share together openly and proudly.

Happy Pride, everyone.

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