One night while I was looking for a used longboard, I stumbled upon Craiglist. Yes, that community website where you can post ads for free. To my amusement, I noticed there was a personals portion and they even allowed advertisers to choose according to your sexual preference. So I posted an ad, a story (“About Last Night”) actually, and spent one month meeting those who responded.
- The Psycho – She will turn your world upside down. She knows she is the first woman you have been intimate with so she will play with your head. Why? Because you are a newbie – you still do not know what it is supposed to be like. You will willingly subject yourself to humiliation you would not usually not put up with. You will think it is part of her charm, but you will later realize there are people way better than her – and it would not even include a bed just to feel great.
- The Madame – She is the alpha bisexual that people who recently outed themselves would want to be like. She has the killer trifecta (brain, looks and career), which is why both men and women long to be with her. If you walk with her with your normal casual clothes and messy hair, you will look like a security detail. Her philosophy: “Carpe diem”, and that one is inked on her to remind herself and inspire others.
- The Curious Mother – She is a mother who could relate to my ad. Operative word – mother. She has been through failed relationships, but juggling her career and motherhood. Probably experimenting with her sexuality. She does not really care. The Curious Mother would invite you to her house, offer pastries and share her own stories.
- The Discreet – She would reply to your online ad with just “when?”, referring to a date when you want to meet her. You would be so curious and will immediately reply with a date. She is the one who can compartmentalize her life – there is a box for her lesbian life, for her business, and for friends from a conservative school. You will be amazed by her ability to do this.
- The Tattooed Woman – When you first see her you will imagine that she may use a name from a rock legend or some name with an umph! But no, she is in fact using a conservative, three-syllable Filipina name. She has flower tattoos and poetry all over her body, and you will immediately ask her “why did you get them?” Romance, passion and art.
- The Engineer – You will never meet her because she is working as a chemical engineer abroad and she is raising the flag being the only woman to be the boss of a lot of men in a plant. You will grow fond of her because you will think that working outside the Philippines will make her more liberated, but she will find your stories wilder than hers. She will be amused by your adventures until one day she will ask for your office address and send you lunch she ordered online. You will flirt with her until she drops the bomb: “I love my girlfriend.”
- The No-nonsense – “You do not have to explain yourself and you do not have to tell others that you are gay” was her major introduction. You will feel her confidence oozing out of your computer screen and that will automatically make you hit the reply button and invite her to have coffee whenever she is free. When you meet her, you will figure she is someone who has made it or close to making it.
- The Stalker – She is the resident private eye. She has one simple task: data mining a.k.a. stalking people. So, if you are not comfortable having people know about you, it is either you befriend her or avoid her.
I spent so much time trying to hide myself from people – afraid of being judged, until I found a group of people who are very comfortable with their sexuality. Their stories inspire me every time and make me hope that one day I could also be free as they are now. Well, it is a process.