25/06/2026
๐ Identity doesnโt always arrive in clarity. For some, it unfolds slowly through years of misread assumptions and the refusal to force oneself into definitions that never quite fit.
In this final week of our Pride Month special, ๐ด๐๐ shares a story of growing up, unlearning expectations, and arriving at a truth that doesnโt always need a label to be valid.
As we close this series, we are reminded that Pride is not just about understanding who we are, but about creating space where people can exist without fear, without apology, and without having to shrink themselves.
In that shared space of respect and recognition, we say it with full heart and full pride: ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐! ๐ณ๏ธโ๐โจ
_____________________________
Sinong nagsabing bading ako?
1. Supportive
2. Disappointed
3. Sarcastic
4. Flirty
Chz. Hello, Iโm Max, kasi wala lang, and I never had a phase. Growing up I always knew I was different from other kids, although I couldnโt explain why. At ๐ y/o, I thought people of the same s*x could simply be together, free from judgment. That was before movies, TV shows, and simba kada Sundays taught me otherwise. At ๐๐, I tried to fit in. I used to say I liked boys because everyone else did, even when I didnโt. . At ๐๐, I found myself looking up terms and definitions, trying to understand something that had always felt natural to me. At some point, I acknowledged one thing for certain: I am not straight.
But despite that, I never really felt the urgency to put a label on myself. I still donโt. If anything, Iโm unsure. At ๐๐, a friend once asked me, โDiba andaming flag sa LGBTQ+. Which one do you resonate with the most?โ Anteh, idk, hindi ito tarot cards. Maybe one day Iโll have an answer. Maybe I wonโt. And perhaps thatโs fine.
Of course, throughout those years Iโve experienced homophobia. From friends, familiesโฆ strangers din, ewan ko ba sa kanila. Later in life, I developed internalized homophobia. But, thatโs a story for another day. People come around. Iโll come around. Okay lang. Whatever, bahala na. More importantly, I came to a conclusion that surprised even myself: ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ is probably the ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ thing about me. Iโm more than what they think of me.
I realized that I do not have to come out. I do not have to label myself if I do not want to. I do not even have to know my ownโor better yet, yoursโif I could be prescribing you amoxicillin, inserting an NGT, or resuscitating you at 120 beats per minute. None of those moments ask for labels. They ask for ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
But perhaps what is truly interesting about being q***r is not s*xuality itself, but the ๐๐๐๐๐๐. There is a community that promises safety, one that has spent decades fighting for rights not just for itself, but for everyone. Oo, lahat. A Pride march is a form of activism, and activism is the act of taking direct action to bring about changeโpolitical, societal, geographical, racial, economic, and cultural. Being q***r has never been an isolated struggle. Oppressions have always intersected, at ganoon din ang pakikibaka laban sa kanila.
Meron tayong mga senador na ayaw lalo na sa mga tulad namin. Meron tayong mga lugar na lalo pang ipinagbabawal ang mga tulad namin. Meron kaming mga sariling kadugo na handang itakwil kami dahil โhindi ito normal at itoโy bawal sa Diyos.โ Merong mga trabahong ipagdadamot ang sweldo para sa pang-araw-araw mong ulam kapag nalamang isa ka samin.
Ang Pride ay uri ng laban para sa mga bagay na โyon. Para sa karapatang mabuhay nang hindi kinakailangang matakot. At sana, balang araw, hindi na natin ito kailangang ipaglaban pa.
Happy pride, people.
SO: basta
GI: cis woman
GE: feminine
Layout by: Mary Kathleen Auro
Caption by: Therese Anne Marie Sureta
