LGBTQ Rights

A position paper written by

Ritchel Grace E. Barba & Ann Margaret Enabe 11-HUMSS C

I. INTRODUCTION

The lesbian, gay, bisexuals, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community in the
Philippines have always made a stand for the equality and respect from our society. The
2011 Philippine National LGBTQ Conference official statement said that despite the
growing tolerance towards LGBTQ people, acceptance is still yet to be achieved.
LGBTQ persons in the Philippines still face violence and discrimination from the family,
from civil society organizations, from medical and health institutions, in schools, in
employment and from the government. According to (Ochs, 2005) studies have shown
that bisexuals lead a life in which they sometimes suffer from social isolation and their
lifestyle is affected. They lack any specific community accepting them, even lesbian and
gay communities have their pattern of life and socially accepted communities. This is
because today, cultural forces generally acknowledge a person as homosexual or
heterosexual and bisexuals do not fit in either category. However, besides their bisexual
feelings, they generally strive to live a normal life with similar lifestyles of a
heterosexual, gay, or lesbian. We all know that everyone is different and yet we are all
the same. Therefore, we should embrace the diversity, changes and gender status of
every individual.

The Philippines is ranked one of the most gay-friendly nations in Asia. The
country ranked as the 10th most gay friendly in 2013 global survey covering 39 countries,
in which only17 had majorities accepting homosexuality titled “The Global Divide on
Homosexuality”. The survey conducted by the Pew Research Center showed that 73% of
adult Filipinos agreed with the statement that “homosexuality should be accepted bay
society” up by nine percentage of LGBTQ acceptance in the Philippines are (1)
archipelagos historic point of view and respect to gender-shifting and none-based gender
roles before the 12th century which Christianization and the current public medium
(television, writing radios and social media) that have set a spotlight on the suffering of
the countless LGBTQ Filipinos in their own country due to colonial era and colonial-
inspired religions.

II. COUNTER ARGUMENTS

Historically, the terms "sex" and "gender" have been used interchangeably, but
their uses are becoming increasingly distinct, and it is important to understand the
differences. In general terms, "sex" refers to the biological differences between males and
females, such as the genitalia and genetic differences. "Gender" is more difficult to
define, but it can refer to the role of a male or female in society, known as a gender role,
or an individual's concept of their selves, or gender identity. Gender is not only what you
see in front of you, the sex you were born with, but also how you think, feel act and react
in some situations. It is how you were raised to be and how you shaped yourself to
become as you grew up. It is a fascinating blend of biological, psychological, and
sociological features. The biology part of this is easiest for most people. Those people
who were born unmistakably as male or female and developed normally as they went
through puberty. If you fall into this category we can define that there is some chemical
structure, some inbred instincts that make you psychologically male or psychologically
female.

The Philippines is the 5th largest Christian country in the world with about 90%
of the population being adherents. It is also one of two predominantly Roman Catholic
nations in Asia (the other being East Timor) and, as of 2010, was the third largest
Catholic country in the world. Regarding this, aligned with the beliefs and faith of the
Filipino people, there comes a ton of arguments against the LGBTQ community. Some
people are really naturally judgmental. Perfection will always be part of their criteria on
giving their respects.
Some of those arguments include:

a. Being gay is going against God's Plan

According to the bible teachings, there’s such no part in the God’s plan
that talks about creating third sex
b. God hates gays
God creating only man and woman simply implies that He doesn’t plan to
create a different gender
c. Marriage is a holy union of a man and a woman
Marriage is sacred and only serves a man and a woman since it is also part
of the religion specifically the Roman Catholic.
d. Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender, and Queers, other sexual minorities
are mentally ill
When the mind began to function it might cause thoughts which people
perceive what they want to be.
e. You choose your sexuality
It was people’s choice to choose their sexuality and they had no one to
blame for their decisions their selves.
f. Transgender people are only confused about their sexuality caused by the
liberal media
When the rainbow flag had its flat form on the social media a lot of users
claim their selves as one of the LGBTQ but the reality is they only want to
be in trend.
g. LGBTQ people need to be sent to a mental hospital by force.
LGBTQ community wanting too much rights and protections somehow
show that they do not only want acceptance and respect but superiority.
h. Gays are not natural
Thoughts of being a gay were only a thought. It didn’t start along with
man and woman. This orientation is only a product of an imaginative
mind.
 i. Children exposed to LGBT representation in school or children's
programming will be confused
Children are like hard drive which we have to feed with safe data. They
were too young to be educated about LGBTQ since they are only taught
two sex orientations.
j. LGBTQ are of no use
Some of the LGBTQ are not that useful. Some of them only spend time
idly. It was also difficult for them to find a job that suits them well.

These arguments have no scientific or historical basis and this type of intolerance
can lead to LGBTQ people to commit suicide or to major mental health issues. This
position will cover arguments against the LGBTQ community and refute them in
academic and scientific as well as somewhat religious manner.

III. MY ARGUMENTS

Whatever orientation do a person have respect must be put in line. As long as

there is no harm instigated manners and casualty should be instill. Living on the same
world means living with the same rights. Human Rights were also LGBTQ Rights. Below
statements are assertions regarding the counter arguments.

a. Being gay is not against God's Plan

If homosexuality were against God's plan, God would not have created it or
allowed it to exist in the first place. Things happen because God permits it and
it was part of his plan.

b. God does not hate gays

However, Jesus stated in (John 13:34), "A new command I give you: Love
one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another". This clearly
means that people are supposed to care about each other despite differences.
 Besides, He also hates shrimp, but plenty of Christians have dinner at Red
Lobster.

c. Marriage is a holy union of a man and a woman according to Christians

Marriage was around long before Christianity. Tribal people worldwide had
marriages and ancient empires such as the Mayan Empire in what is now
Mexico had marriages and those people formed unions before the Christian
religion. Before Christianity took over, in the Roman Empire, marriage was a
civic institution.

d. Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender, and Queers are not mentally ill
Being an LGBTQ does not imply being mentally ill. American Psychological
Association and the American Psychiatric Association have dropped
homosexuality and transsexuals as mental illness through up-to-date scientific
research and protests. Importantly, these attitudes are the reason these
minorities are correlated with mental diseases, so some self-reflection is
recommended. This is also not going into the further stigmatization of mental
illnesses by treating humans with these like subhuman freaks.

e. Sexuality is not only a choice

Sexuality is deterministic, by genes, epigenetics, and/or from hormonal
differences due to birth order.

f. Transgender people are not only confused about their sexuality caused by the
liberal media
At first someone may be confused but a person learns their gender identity
over time. This varies from person to person because gender identity has a
biological basis, while someone is physically male or female, in terms of
biochemistry a transgender person's brain is wired as the opposite gender (so
to speak). There is a long history of transgender individuals across many
countries and cultures, far beyond the reach of "liberal media"
g. LGBTQ people do not need to be sent to a mental hospital by force.
An extension of the first argument, more or less. First, being LGBTQ is not
considered mental illness any more (as per the current Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Second, being different does not
affect others in any way. Finally, that would be a civil rights violation
considering that the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
Article III Section 1 sated that, “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty,
or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the
equal protection of the laws.” Plus the Section 4 of the same article stated that
no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech or expression.

h. Gays are natural

This argument also gets mixed in with religious arguments saying, "God made
sex for procreation" or some variant of this. As for it being "unnatural",
homosexuality has been observed in many other animal species while
homophobia has been observed in only one subspecies (Homo sapiens
sapiens). Nature is not either a reference for morals, since murder is
ubiquitous, essential for survival for carnivores, and, thus, perfectly natural.
Sex is certainly not solely for procreation, as rape in other animal species
exists.

i. Children exposed to LGBT representation in school or children's

programming will not be confused
Children who are taught about LGBT issues tend to become more accepting
adults, are exposed to less homophobic bullying, and knowing what they are
into can cause less unhappy "incompatible orientation" relationships later in
life. In contrast, actively hiding information about entire groups of people
tends to confuse LGBTQ youth, who will not know why they are interested in
members of the same sex and think something's "wrong" with them.
 j. LGBTQ are of use
In the May 2016 polls, the country’s first transgender politician was elected to
the nation’s lower house. Geraldine “Geri” Roman came from a political
family in Bataan. At an early age, realized she was more of a woman than a
man. Vice Ganda is a comedian, TV host, movie star, endorser, recording
artist, performer, author, and, now, even a cosmetics maven. To say that he
has a lot on his plate might be more than just an understatement. But despite
having to wear so many hats, Vice has nothing but a spotless track record of
success. Singer, theater and film actress Monique Wilson brings home the
award for bravely defending the LGBT community with her stature as a
world-renowned artist. She brought attention to the plight of the community,
and she has been actively advancing issues that matter to the LGBTQs. Being
different does not mean being hopeless as well.

We should consider that LGBTQ is part of the society. We should respect them
because as what you can see LGBTQ community has a big contribution to promote our
Every one of us has a right of what we wants to do in our life as man or a woman,
LGBTQ was also a human, yes! They are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender but still
they are created to be respect and they deserve love and care.

IV. CONCLUSION

There is no reason why a LGBTQ should be denied the same rights and freedoms
as their straight counterparts. Whether it is same sex marriage on the right to adopt a
child, LGBTQ rights supporters believe that it is time to stop withholding basic freedoms
from any group of Filipino citizens. And the Bill of Rights allow of freedom of
expression, where considering of sexual orientation and gender identity of LGBTQ.
 Improvement of quality of life for their sexual orientation is no better than
denying them equal rights due to their race. It is time for people to ask themselves
whether they want to live in a society that marginalizes citizens and make them feel
unwelcome. LGBTQ might be able to help to restore their sense of belonging and allow
them to feel more comfortable.

LGBTQ deserves better society to live in. Prejudice is taught in the home.
Children do not emerge from the womb with the dislike for anyone; they are taught how
to hate others by prejudiced parents. If LGBTQ right become an accepted part of our
society, this reduces the chances that are children will discriminate against the LGBTQ
community. LGBTQ community gives our society a chance to grow and improve in ways
that simply over not available to previous generations.

LGBTQ people are of large help to our community, it is but fair that we let them
enjoy the same rights as we have because they are people like us. They should not be
denied of things that we enjoy, especially because these things will no harm us anyway.
Let us love our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. Let us be modern and think outside the box.
Let us be equal and fair to mankind. Let us stop the discrimination and violence to
LGBTQ community.

LGBTQ rights are human rights and equality is for all the people. However, there
are still some people who withstand with the cons, which argue with the pro side, who
refer to discriminate the LGBTQ community and remove their rights from being a
human. Equality is for all. No exception, just equal.