In the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, a baklâ (), bayot ( Cebuano) or agî ( Hiligaynon) is a person who was assigned male at birth and has adopted a feminine

gender expression Gender expression, or gender presentation, is a person's behavior, mannerisms, interests, and appearance that are associated with gender, specifically with the categories of femininity or masculinity. This also includes gender roles. These ca ...

. They are often considered a

third gender Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usuall ...

. Many bakla are exclusively attracted to men. The polar opposite of the term in Philippine culture is ''

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men ...

'' (natively the '' lakin-on'' or ''binalaki''), which refers to women with a masculine gender expression (usually, but not always, lesbian). The term is commonly incorrectly applied to

trans women A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may Gender transitioning, transition; this process commonly includes Feminizing horm ...

. Bakla are socially and economically integrated into Filipino society, having been accepted by society prior to Western colonization, many of which were held in high regard and performed the role of spiritual leaders known as

babaylan Filipino shamans, commonly known as (also ''Balian'' or , among many other names), were shamans of the various ethnic groups of the pre-colonial Philippine islands. These shamans specialized in communicating, appeasing, or harnessing the spi ...

, katalonan, and other shamans in

pre-colonial Philippines Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

. However, a minority group of Filipinos disapprove or reject the baklas, usually on

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

grounds. The stereotype of a baklâ is a ''parlorista''—a flamboyant, camp cross-dresser who works in a beauty salon; in reality, the ''bakla'' thrives in numerous sectors of society, from the lower to the upper levels.

Etymology

In modern

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

and Cebuano, the term "baklâ" is usually used to mean either "effeminate man" or "homosexual". Martin F. Manalansan, a Filipino anthropologist, has identified two possible origins of the term. One is that it may have been a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsbabae'' ("woman"), and '' lalaki'', meaning ("man"). The other is that it is derived from the word for the pre-colonial

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...

ess in most Filipino ethnic groups, the ''

''. However, the word itself has been used for centuries, albeit in different contexts. In

Old Tagalog Old Tagalog, also known as Old Filipino ( tl, Lumang Tagalog; Baybayin: pre-virama: , post-virama rus kudlit ; post-virama amudpod ), is the earliest form of the Tagalog language during the Classical period. It is the primary language of pre ...

, ''bacla'' meant "uncertainty" or "indecisiveness". Effeminate

homosexual men Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including ...

were instead called binabaé ("like a woman") or bayogin (also spelled bayugin or bayoguin, "infertile"), during the Spanish colonial period. The

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

poet

Francisco Balagtas Francisco Balagtas y de la Cruz (April 2, 1788 – February 20, 1862), commonly known as Francisco Balagtas and also as Francisco Baltasar, was a Filipino Tagalog litterateur and poet during the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He i ...

used the word ''bacla'' in reference to "a temporary lack of resolve", as seen in his popular works '' Florante at Laura'' and ''Orosman at Zafira''. This archaic usage is also seen in the 17th-century Tagalog religious epic '' Casaysayan nang Pasiong Mahal ni Jesucristong Panginoon Natin na Sucat Ipag-alab nang Puso nang Sinomang Babasa'' ("Story of the Passion of Jesus Christ Our Lord that Surely Shall Ignite the Heart of Whosoever Readeth"), which is chanted during

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, wh ...

. The passage narrating the

Agony in the Garden The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane is an episode in the life of Jesus. After the Last Supper, Jesus enters a garden where he experiences great anguish and prays to be delivered from his impending death on the cross ("Take this cup from me") ...

has a verse that reads "''Si Cristo'y nabacla"'' ("Christ was confused"). By the advent of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the term ''baklâ'' had evolved to mean "fearful" or "weakened" in Tagalog, and became a derogatory term for effeminate men. A common

euphemism A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...

for ''baklâ'' during this period was ''pusong babae'' (literally "female-hearted"). It wasn't until the 1990s when more positive discourse on queer and gay identities became more mainstream that ''baklâ'' lost its original derogatory connotation. Other native terms for bakla also exist in other

languages of the Philippines There are some 120 to 187 languages spoken in the Philippines, depending on the method of classification. Almost all are Malayo-Polynesian languages native to the archipelago. A number of Spanish-influenced creole varieties generally called C ...

, some of them now considered archaic. They are also called '' bayot'', ''binabáye'', ''bayen-on'' (or ''babayen-on''), or ''dalopapa'' in Cebuano; '' agî'' in Hiligaynon/Ilonggo; ''dampog'' or ''bayot'' in Waray; ''bantut'' or ''binabae'' in Tausug; ''bantut'' or ''dnda-dnda'' in Sinama; and ''labia'' in Subanen. In addition, there are numerous modern

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

s for bakla, especially within

swardspeak Swardspeak (also known as gay speak or "gay lingo") is an argot or cant slang derived from Taglish (Tagalog-English code-switching) and used by a number of LGBT people in the Philippines. Description Swardspeak uses elements from Tagalog, Englis ...

, with varying levels of acceptance. These include terms like ''badáf'', ''badíng'', ''beki'', ''judíng'', ''shokì'', ''shoklâ,'' ''sward'', and ''vaklúsh'', among many others.

Definition

Philippine LGBTQ+ protester during 2019 Pride March

''Baklâ'' is a

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...

characterized by the adoption of a feminine

by men. This includes feminine mannerisms and speech, use of make-up, cross-dressing, and long hairstyles; all are referred to with the umbrella term ''kabaklaán'' (

effeminacy Effeminacy is the embodiment of traits and/or expressions in those who are not of the female sex (e.g. boys and men) that are often associated with what is generally perceived to be feminine behaviours, mannerisms, styles, or gender roles, rat ...

). However, ''baklâ'' is not tied to

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied wi ...

and is not a

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generally ...

, thus it is not a direct equivalent of the English term "gay". ''Baklâ'' are usually homosexual men, but on rare occasions, they can also be heterosexual or

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...

men. Because the term ''baklâ'' specifically denotes effeminacy, it is traditionally not applied to masculine gay men. However, due to increasing

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...

and influence from the Western categories of

, ''baklâ'' has become incorrectly equated with the gay identity and used generally for homosexual men, regardless of the individual's

masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors ...

or femininity in presentation. ''Baklâ'' are often considered the natural "

" in Filipino culture. This is illustrated in the children's rhyme that begins by listing four distinct genders: "girl, boy, ''baklâ'', ''tomboy''." Like in English, the term ''

'' (archaic '' lakin-on'' or ''binalaki'') refers to masculine (usually lesbian) women, and is understood as the polar opposite of the ''baklâ''. ''Baklâ'' is also commonly used as a term for

, though this is incorrect and discouraged. This is largely due to the absence of modern local terms for transgender people, as well as the general public ignorance of the differences between homosexuality and

transsexuality Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...

. Some organizations have pushed for the adoption of new terminology that distinguishes transgender people from the ''baklâ'', to prevent the common derogatory misconception that trans women and

trans men A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that in ...

are simply ''baklâ'' and ''tomboy'' that have undergone

sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and al ...

. One such proposal in 2008 by the

Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

(STRAP) is ''transpinay'' (for trans women) and ''transpinoy'' (for trans men), both derived from the Filipino

endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...

"''

pinoy ''Pinoy'' ( ) is a common informal self-reference used by Filipinos to refer to citizens of the Philippines and their culture as well as to overseas Filipinos in the Filipino diaspora. A Pinoy who has any non-Filipino foreign ancestry is often ...

''". But it has yet to gain widespread acceptance. The difficulty of correlating definitions with western terminology is because of the fundamental difference in the cultural views on homosexuality. According to Filipino academic

J. Neil Garcia J. Neil Carmelo Garcia is a Filipino writer, professor, and cultural critic. He is currently a professor of English, Creative Writing, and Comparative Literature at the University of the Philippines Diliman and is known for his works on qu ...

, the ''baklâ'' would fall under the inversion pattern of homosexuality identified by American psychobiologist James D. Weinrich. This is the cultural view where homosexuality is seen as an inversion of the

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures us ...

and

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

binary. In Philippine context, this would be the binary of the ''loób'' (the inner self or spirit, lit. "inside") and ''labás'' (the physical form, lit. "outside"). Thus it is similar to the South Asian ''

hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...

'' and the Native American

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-varian ...

. This is contrasted to the other two patterns of homosexuality worldwide, namely age-biased patterns (like

pederasty Pederasty or paederasty ( or ) is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pubescent or adolescent boy. The term ''pederasty'' is primarily used to refer to historical practices of certain cultures, particularly ancient Greece and an ...

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

) and role-playing patterns (like in certain Middle Eastern and Latin American cultures).

History

Homosexual relations in both sexes were common and bore no stigma in

. There are numerous accounts of feminized men in early Spanish records. They were described as being dressed as women, worked in traditionally female roles, and were treated as women by the community. They were considered as comparable to biological women aside from their incapability to give birth to children. They were even recorded as being married to men. Some also married women, though this did not preclude homosexual relationships. Generally, these effeminate men were known as ''bayog'' (also ''bayok'' or ''bayogin''; spelled or in Spanish) in

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, ...

, and ''asog'' in the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, i ...

islands, both with meanings denoting "infertility" or "impotence". Due to their association to the feminine, they were regarded as having greater powers of intercession with the ''

anito ''Anito'', also spelled ''anitu'', refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associa ...

'' (ancestral and nature spirits) and thus commonly became

shamans Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...

(''babaylan'', a traditionally female role in Philippine cultures). This is not unique to the Philippines and was also common in pre-colonial societies in the rest of

Island Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Sout ...

; like the '' bissu'' of the

Bugis people The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawesi ...

, the '' warok'' of the

Javanese people The Javanese ( id, Orang Jawa; jv, ꦮꦺꦴꦁꦗꦮ, ''Wong Jawa'' ; , ''Tiyang Jawi'' ) are an ethnic group native to the central and eastern part of the Indonesian island of Java. With approximately 100 million people, Javanese people ...

, and the '' manang bali'' of the

Iban people The Ibans or Sea Dayaks are a branch of the Dayak peoples on the island of Borneo in South East Asia. Dayak is a title given by the westerners to the local people of Borneo island. It is believed that the term "Iban" was originally an exonym ...

. Shamans were highly respected members of the community as ritual specialists: healing the sick, keeping

oral histories Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

, performing sorcery, and serving as

spirit medium Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spir ...

s for communicating with ancestral and nature spirits. They were second only to the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

in the social hierarchy, and could function as a community's interim leader (similar to a

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

interrex The interrex (plural interreges) was literally a ruler "between kings" (Latin ''inter reges'') during the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Republic. He was in effect a short-term regent. History The office of ''interrex'' was supposedly created follo ...

) in the absence of the ''

datu ''Datu'' is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, especia ...

''. In ''Historia de las islas e indios de Bisayas'' (1668), the Spanish historian and missionary

Francisco Ignacio Alcina Francisco Ignacio (de) Alcina SJ (also Alzina, Alçina) (February 2, 1610 – July 30, 1674) was a Spanish historian and a Jesuit missionary in the Philippines. He served as parish priest in the Visayan islands for 37 years. Most of those years ...

records that the ''asog'' became shamans by virtue of being themselves. Unlike female shamans, they neither needed to be chosen nor did they undergo initiation rites. However, not all ''asog'' trained to become shamans. Castano (1895) states that the people of Bicol would hold a thanksgiving ritual called ''atang'' that was "presided" by an "effeminate" priest called an ''asog''. His female counterpart, called a ''baliana'', assisted him and led women in singing the ''soraki'' in honor of Gugurang, the supreme deity of Bikol mythology. Regardless, the majority of shamans in most Philippine precolonial cultures were female. During the three centuries of Spanish colonization (1565–1898), the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

introduced harsh measures to suppress both female and ''asog'' shamans. In realms and polities absorbed by the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

, shamans were maligned and falsely accused as

witches Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

and "priests of the devil", and were persecuted violently by the Spanish clergy. The previously high status of the ''babaylan'' was thus lost. The role of women and the relative

gender egalitarianism Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

of Philippine animistic cultures, in general, became more subdued under the

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...

culture of the Spanish. The most strongly affected by this religious shift to

Abrahamic religions The Abrahamic religions are a group of religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organiza ...

were the feminized male ''asog'' shamans. During the 17th to 18th centuries, Spanish administrators in the Philippines burned people convicted of homosexual relations at the stake and confiscated their possessions, in accordance to a decree by the president of the

Real Audiencia A ''Real Audiencia'' (), or simply an ''Audiencia'' ( ca, Reial Audiència, Audiència Reial, or Audiència), was an appellate court in Spain and its empire. The name of the institution literally translates as Royal Audience. The additional des ...

, Pedro Hurtado Desquibel. Several instances of such punishments were recorded by the Spanish priest Juan Francisco de San Antonio in his ''Chronicas de la Apostolica Provincia de San Gregorio'' (1738–1744). ''Asog'' shamans were leaders of several revolts against Spanish rule from the 17th century to the 18th century. Notable ones include the Tamblot uprising of

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It ...

in 1621–1622 and the

Tapar rebellion Tapar can refer to: ;People: *Muhammad I Tapar, a Sultan of the Seljuq Empire from 1105–1118 * Tapar, a Visayan shaman in the Philippines who led a native revolt against the Spanish Empire in 1663 ;Other: *Tapar, a trade name for paracetamol ...

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...

in 1663. Later rebellions in the 19th and 20th centuries were also led by male shamans. However, these later shamans (collectively known as the ''dios-dios'', "god pretenders") followed syncretic

Folk Catholicism Folk Catholicism can be broadly described as various ethnic expressions and practices of Catholicism intermingled with aspects of folk religion. Practices have varied from place to place, and may at times contradict the official doctrines and pra ...

, rather than pre-colonial ''

'' shamanism. Though they still dressed as women in rituals, they were married to women and were unlikely to be homosexual. Feminized men were also persecuted harshly in the (then recently) Islamized ethnic groups in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of t ...

. In ''Historia de las Islas de Mindanao, Iolo, y sus adyacentes'' (1667), the Spanish priest Francisco Combés records that their "unnatural crime" was punished by the Muslim peoples in Mindanao with death by burning or drowning, and that their houses and property were also burned as they believed that it was contagious. This was followed by American colonization (1898–1946), which though secular, introduced the idea that homosexuality and effeminacy was a "sickness". Despite this, the colonization of the Philippines did not fully erase the traditional equivocal views of Filipinos with regards to queer and liminal sexual and gender identities. Though there are still problem areas, Filipino culture as a whole remains relatively accepting of non-heteronormative identities like the ''baklâ.''

Culture

In the second edition of the now-defunct gay lifestyle magazine ''Icon Magazine'', editor Richie Villarin quoted one of the magazine's advertisers as saying "We cannot remain oblivious to your market". Baklâs have been instrumental in the opening of several night clubs in the Philippines and can also be found in service, retail, and both sexual and non-sexual entertainment industries. Despite their high visibility, acceptance of baklâs is limited, especially for gay professionals.

Beauty pageants

''Baklâ'' communities are renowned for staging beauty pageants, with Miss Gay Philippines being national in scope. Participants model swimsuits, national costume, and dresses, and showcase their talents, as in female beauty pageants worldwide.

Swardspeak

Baklâs have an

argot A cant is the jargon or language of a group, often employed to exclude or mislead people outside the group.McArthur, T. (ed.) ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (1992) Oxford University Press It may also be called a cryptolect, argot ...

, or secret language, called ''

''. It is used by both masculine and feminine baklâs and incorporates elements from Filipino,

Philippine English Philippine English (similar and related to American English) is any variety of English native to the Philippines, including those used by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos and English learners in the Philippines from adj ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

, spoken with a hyper-feminised

inflection In linguistic morphology, inflection (or inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, mood, animacy, and ...

. It was widespread and popular until the 1990s, but is now considered unfashionable in most parts of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

. Modern versions of swardspeak are generally called "beki language", "gay lingo", or "gayspeak". They commonly make their way into mainstream Filipino culture. One early example is the song "Bongga Ka, 'Day" (1979), the biggest

hit song A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

of the Filipino Manila Sound band

Hotdog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausage) or a fra ...

. The title of the song means "You're fabulous, Girl" and uses the swardspeak slang ''bongga'' ( "fabulous").

Babaeng bakla

Heterosexual women who develop deep friendships or almost exclusively associate with the native ''bakla'' LGBT subculture are known as ''babaeng bakla'' (literally "a woman who is a ''bakla''"). They stereotypically acquire the mannerisms, campy sense of humor, lingo, and fashion sense of the ''bakla''. They are also usually more extroverted and socially dominant. It is commonly perceived as a positive self-identification, and various prominent local celebrities (like

Maricel Soriano Maricel Soriano (; born Maria Cecilia Dador Soriano; February 25, 1965) is a Filipina film and television actress, occasional host and dancer. With a career spanning of over 50 years, Soriano is one of the most celebrated artists and popularly ...

and

Rufa Mae Quinto Rufa is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Rufa Mae Quinto (born 1978), Filipina actress, comedian, television host, and singer * Rufa Mi (born 1988), Filipina comedian, presenter, actress, and singer {{Short pages monitor

References

External links

Soft Minded Men
{{Sexual identities Gender in the Philippines Gender systems LGBT in the Philippines Third gender