Cover Story

Gay Celibacy, Anyone?
By Mikee dela Cruz

Here's what many (make that MOST) take as a (somewhat) fact: MSMs (including gays and bisexuals, and men who have sex with men but do not identify themselves as G or B) are sexually promiscuous. So much so that, for a while there, the spread of such sexually transmitted infections as HIV/AIDS was attributed to us. But, stresses Gayteens.about.com, “despite the association of gay people with sex, plenty of folks in the GLBT community choose not to have sex and instead be celibate." What does this mean? More importantly, can (or, for that matter, SHOULD) gays be celibates?

In Hindsight...
Top 10 Newsmakers in GLBTQIA RP in 2009
By M.D. dela Cruz Tan
Queer Pride
Yes, 2009 was a busy year for GLBTQIA Filipinos, with the continuing of stupid attacks of ELECTED (read: taxpayers including GLBTQIAs pay the food they put in their mouths) leaders on GLBTQIAs, e.g. COMELEC's judgments based on the personal beliefs of the commissioners (NOT the laws of the land); Uganda and Rwanda’s fool for politicians wanting to LEGALLY kill all homosexuals and HIV-positive people; and the Roman Catholic Church’s staying in the Dark Ages, e.g. saying the Anti-Discrimination Bill is also about gay marriages, when THAT is not even mentioned in the bill (AT ALL). Outrage Magazine’s Top 10 newsmakers in GLBTQIA RP in 2009 - though this is, by no means, a comprehensive listing of the highlights that happened in GLBTQIA living in the Philippines.

GLBTQIA Filipinos Unite!
Call to Action for Filipino GLBTQIAs
By M.D. dela Cruz Tan
GLBTQIA Filipino

GLBTQIs are, by the way, largely inexistent in the Philippine law – except as a “state” of being, used as a ground to legally separate from a partner, i.e. the Family Code states that “a petition for legal separation may be filed only by the husband or the wife, as the case may be within five years from the time of the occurrence of… (f) lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent.” While we do what other sources of Pinoy pride do, e.g. pay (often more than our heterosexual counterparts') taxes, abide by the laws of the land, contribute to the growth of the nation, et cetera, GLBTQIAs remain second-class citizens. The time is now to change all that.

PAST COVER STORIES

Unionized
Filipino GLBTQIA Relations in Focus
A closer look at loving (and being loved) in the GLBTQIA community in the Philippines.

Big 'X'
Ex-Gay Movements in the Philippines
Even if the founders, themselves, returned to being gay, the movement continues to exist.

Pink Peso
In Search of the Pink Currency
Other countries have pink currencies; in the Philippines, do we have the same?

Queer Sibs
On Fag Hags, Fag Stags and Dyke Tykes
By Mikee dela Cruz
GLBTQIA Co.
The term "fag hag," referring to a “woman who either associates mostly or exclusively with homosexual men, or is best or good friends with a gay man or men,” as defined by Reference.com, as well as by Wikipedia.org, is not exactly the most flattering term (read: hag). Ditto the male counterpart terms – men who have the same relationships with lesbians – dyke tykes, dyke dog, rug doctor, or Dutch boys, among others. And while generally accepted to be used now, the term (and many of its variations) was actually started as an insult. But as GLBTQIAs continue making headways to acceptability, friendships between hets and GLBTQIAs are now focused not on the addresses, but on the, well, friendships.

Drugged States
Drug/Substance Use/Abuse among GLBTQIAs
By M.D. dela Cruz Tan
GLBTQIAs in the Military
We know that no matter the dislike of alcohol, Ecstasy, Ketamine, Mescaline, GHB, Acid, Methamphetamine, Percocet, Oxycotin, Prosac, Riddlin, Valium, Soma, Cocaine, and many other drugs, they exist – and people, including GLBTQIAs, use them. And since no amount of scaring can dissuade them from doing so, anyway, Outrage Magazine is choosing a not-holier-than-thou stance – forget the name-calling, finger-pointing, blame-throwing, et cetera, and, simply, provide some enlightenment, relevant information, whatever, so that those who choose to use/not use actually know what they are getting themselves into.

Armed and... Gay
A Closer Look at GLBTQIAs and the Military
By Mikee dela Cruz
In a recent move, the Armed Forces of the Philippines declared that now, they are open to accepting homosexuals into their ranks. That is, of course, as long as they do not act the way gays are stereotypically believed to act. Is this acceptance - or more of discrimination?

Group Games
Outrage Magazine takes a closer look at GLBTQIA groups helping unite the largely segregated community, thereby providing an avenue for GLBTQIA expression.

Couples on Parade
Can GLBTQIAs form lasting relationships?

In Search of GLBTQIA Leaders
Outrage Magazine talks with GLBTQIA leaders advocating the community's issues.

Gay Entrepreneurship
By M.D. dela Cruz Tan
GLBTQIs are finding success in various industries.

Straight Up
Ex/Ex-Ex-Gay in the Philippines
Closer look at the destructive movement.

In Search of the Pink Peso
Looking for the monetary power of GLBTQIA Filipinos.

Finding the Gay Pinoy
What is it exactly that makes the Pinoy gay?

Brian Shane Gorrell
The Accidental Advocate

In 2007, the Australian landscape designer Brian Shane Gorrell started a blog, The Talented Mr. DJ Montano, which spilled the beans – so to speak – on everything about the socialites and social climbers of Metro Manila, from Celine Lopez to Tim Yap to, yes, Delfin DJ Montano, whose relationship with Gorrell served as the impetus to the whole story. Fast forward two years later, and the site has registered well over 30 million (and counting) hits, making it one of the most popular in the Philippines. It is this number that Gorrell is now tapping as he has become an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness.

RP HIV/AIDS Responses
Finding Ways. Still.
By Mikee dela Cruz
Support System
There are, according to the National AIDS Registry from the National Epidemiology Centre of the Department of Health, 3,589 reported cases of HIV infection as of end-December 2008. Nonetheless, a major source of concern is that, as of checking in 2008, “the annual newly reported HIV cases rose sharply from 200 in 2004 to 528 in 2008, and nearly tripled in 15 to 24 year-olds from 41 in 2007 to 110 in 2008,” states the UNICEF (UNICEF.org) in its summation of the HIV/AIDS profile of the Philippines. This is why knowing the very bodies taking charge in the fight against HIV and/or AIDS becomes important. And Outrage Magazine does exactly this.