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An ongoing learning on trans issues for Earlene Almanzor

#Transgender woman Earlene Almanzor, 20 from Bulacan, always knew she’s different, wanting to be like her female relatives. But while her family accepted her, people in the community were not as accepting. As someone more aware of #LGBTQIA issues now, she sees the need to help #trans people transition, as they could put themselves in danger by self-medicating.

This is part of #KaraniwangLGBTQIA, which Outrage Magazine officially launched on July 26, 2015 to offer vignettes of LGBT people/living, particularly in the Philippines, to give so-called “everyday people” – in this case, the common LGBTQIA people – that chance to share their stories.
As Outrage Magazine editor Michael David C. Tan says: “All our stories are valid – not just the stories of the ‘big shots’. And it’s high time we start telling all our stories.”

Earlene Almanzor, 20 from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, always knew she’s different.

“I was assigned male at birth. But I realized I’m a woman,” she recalled, adding that she knew when she was maybe five years old since “I liked wearing women’s clothes. I wanted to be like my female cousins and my sister.”

In a way, Earlene – the eldest of two kids – was lucky. “My family is supportive because other members are also LGBTQIA.

But all the same, “in the province, the biggest challenge is to get discriminated against. To be discriminated against, and be misgendered. They call you ‘brother’, or ‘sir’. Lots of people there are homophobic. I was teased a lot in primary school. Even parents teased me. This continued in high school. Of course it pained me since that’s not my gender. I just justify this by thinking they committed an honest mistake. I don’t confront them; I’m not that brave yet.”

“I was assigned male at birth. But I realized I’m a woman,” she recalled, adding that she knew when she was maybe five years old since “I liked wearing women’s clothes. I wanted to be like my female cousins and my sister.”

Earlene is now a student at the University of the Philippines – Los Baños, and in a way, she now knows more about the LGBTQIA community. And so she knows there are numerous interconnected issues in need of attention – e.g. lack of health care services for transgender Filipinos.

“In the Philippines, not a lot specialize in trans health. And so a lot of people like myself do not know stuff about hormones. They just buy from Shopee, then consume it. There’s no knowledge about transitioning. No one guides us, so the young are put in danger,” she said.

Earlene, herself, self-medicated when she started to transition.

“I started to transition when I was 19 years old. I took birth control pills for women. I did not know it’s detrimental to the health of one assigned male at birth,” she said.

As part of the transgender youth sector, Earlene wants for the transnene (young transgender women) to have guidance.

Earlene is single now, but she’s aware of the difficulties faced by LGBTQIA people when looking for love.

“Looking for love isn’t hard when talking about foreigners. It’s difficult with Filipinos. Foreigners are open-minded. When looking for a partner, you could also become a sugar mommy. You give your partner money, so people think the man is just using you. This pains me because of how small they see trans women. That before you are loved, you need to pay,” she said.

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As part of the transgender youth sector, Earlene wants for the transnene (young transgender women) to have guidance.

“I also experienced how hard it is to transition. No one guided me. Let me say to young trans people that there are many trans people now. We will guide you as your ‘mothers’. Let me tell young trans people that it’s hard to transition. But once started and you persevere, it’s worth it,” she ended. – WITH ARTHUR ABAD NWABIA and ALBERT TAN MAGALLANES, JR.

“You give your partner money, so people think the man is just using you. This pains me because of how small they see trans women. That before you are loved, you need to pay,” she said.

The founder of Outrage Magazine, Michael David dela Cruz Tan completed BA Communication Studies from University of Newcastle in NSW, Australia; and Master of Development Communication from the University of the Philippines-Open University. Conversant in Filipino Sign Language, Mick can: photograph, do artworks with mixed media, write (DUH!), shoot flicks, community organize, facilitate, lecture, and research (with pioneering studies under his belt). He authored "Being LGBT in Asia: Philippines Country Report", and "Red Lives" that creatively retells stories from the local HIV community. Among others, Mick received the Catholic Mass Media Awards in 2006 for Best Investigative Journalism, and Art that Matters - Literature from Amnesty Int'l Philippines in 2020. Cross his path is the dare (guarantee: It won't be boring).

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