This is part of #KaraniwangLGBT, 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 LGBT 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.”
Mark, 23, laughed with his friends when they teased him how – as a young gay boy – his father used to palo (hit) him.
“Concerned lang siya sa akin (He’s just concerned with me),” he justified, adding that he feels no bitterness towards his father now as an adult.
In fact, having graduated from college already, he wants to find employment overseas “so I can look after my parents.”
“Is it hard having strict parents?” he was asked.
He was quiet for a while. Then: “Hindi ako masyadong gala (I choose not to go out often),” he said, thinking his choosing not to leave the house won’t aggravate his parents.
“Pero dito sa kalsada, naging siya siya (But here in the streets, he becomes the real him),” a neighbor butted in.
Mark laughed again, and then said: “True!”
