Zooming bravely into the horizon

In to be OUT!

That is the tagline of GMA 7’s show OUT!, billed as the country’s first-gay-oriented program that premiered last Sept. 4.

The show was launched with a roaring street party at M. Orosa Street in Malate. It is hosted by JM Cobarrubias, Jigs Mayuga, and Avi Siwa. JM, who just turned 26, isn’t a newbie to TV. This UP Los Baños Dev Comm graduate had worked as reporter and documentary producer of The Probe Team. I was with Che-Che Lazaro at the launching of Nic Tiongson’s book, The Women of Malolos, at the historic Barasoain Church a fortnight ago. I had to bite my tongue because I was raring to ask Che-Che if she, indeed, knew JM was gay. Well, JM told me–his charming, college-boy aura intact–that his former boss knew of his sexual orientation. "People aren’t stupid so you can’t fool them about your sexual orientation. I was kinda soft when I was young and my brother and sister teased me about it. But only when I turned 18 did I feel I was leaning toward gayness." JM is the show’s poster boy; those penetrating eyes make sure the gays watch OUT! before they do their gimmicks on Saturday night.

JM’s coming-out segment to his sister during the first episode of OUT! is one of the show’s most memorable segments, so far. You could feel the pain like grains brushing against the skin of JM and his sister as they grappled with the fact that, indeed, the cute, straight-seeming brother is gay. I rapped JM’s wrist, though, for calling gays "binabae" and "third sex." We are men, period, who just happen to like other men. And please, there is no third sex, for that infers that there is a first sex (straight male) and a second sex (straight female). I also told them to steer clear of the simplistic line that only those who are out are true to themselves, that’s why we should be "magpakatotoo sa sarili."

As Roger said in the Side B yahoo group: "To be discreet is also an option. It is not true that discreetness means being a hypocrite and not having accepted one’s homosexuality. . . We should be more respectful and caring to the sensibilities of those whose choices are different from theirs." Also questionable is the segment where the viewers are asked if the boys on the screen are men or gays. Well, gays are still men, since not all gay men want to wear pumps and take banig-banigs of Feminal or Diane hormonal tablets.

Jigs Mayuga, 26, is the self-proclaimed parlorista in the group, although I am sure he will not take such hormonal tablets. This cute mestizo took a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management at UP Diliman, where he signed up with Amnesty International for his organization. Thus, he has been exposed to human rights advocacy. From there, it was just a smooth transition to advocating for equal rights for lesbians and gays. But life has not gone on swimmingly for Jigs. He was raised in a conservative family and found it hard to come to terms with being gay. He was the only son in the family, and was expected to carry the family name by having children.

Put this in the context of a mother who is a devout Catholic and a father who is a military general, and the time bomb begins to tick. He was even brought to a psychiatrist when he was a teenager. But this only toughened him. He finished college, worked with Northwest Airlines for four years, and did work in theater, with the musical Urinetown as his latest credit. With typical aplomb, Jigs tells me, "My mom and aunt support everything I’ve been doing, although my dad still doesn’t agree." Jigs is also studying to be a makeup artist and hair stylist at Franck Provost.

As my Ladlad co-editor Neil Garcia would put it, Avi Siwa, 24, is the only "genitally female" host of OUT! Known as the "ultimate party girl" in club circles, Avi impresses my gay friends for her sheer presence: those pleated short skirts and vavavoom sleeveless shirts made one of my gay friends admit, "I think I’m falling in love with her." Well, I think we should not go into that. Dear Avi studied at Sienna College, saw her father abandon the family, and has a brave mother who worked hard to keep the family together.

"I’m not exactly rich," says Avi in her breathless voice, like honey poured on sandpaper. "I just have friends who help me with my sports, such as wake-boarding, wall-climbing, and sports-car racing." Avi also likes to dance, and came out as a bisexual on episode one while dancing on the stage of a hip-hop club. She is a fashion model who also has a good head for business: she runs Kingpin, her own modeling agency and events-management company. She’s also an actress and has her eye on a career in the dream factory that is Hollywood.

Regular features of the show include coming out, a guessing game on who among the featured people are lesbian or gay, gayspeak, a gaydar text-in segment, makeover portion, and other aspects of the lesbian and gay life.

At first, it seemed to be too good to be true, especially for us who have been doing lesbian and gay advocacy for more than a decade. How did this historic show begin?

OUT! executive producer Melo Esguerra–who wears pearl earrings and has the gentle charm of a matron-next-door–tells me the idea began last year. GMA 7 had a feature on the Pink Peso–the big disposable income members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community have. Twenty-first century marketing gurus have zeroed in on the two most lucrative niches–the youth group and the LGBT group. After paying the rent, putting food on the table, and paying the bills for light and water, it seems the LGBT community still has some disposable income left. This income can go to lifestyle items, techno and gizmo toys, or impulse shopping. A godsend was what the Pink Peso feature turned out to be. Its ratings went through the roof, convincing GMA 7 top honchos that, indeed, there was something good brewing in the LGBT community.

And so one fine day, a group of men ("straight," Melo interjects, a wicked grin on his face) from the news and public affairs department began a brainstorming session. Then the Saturday, 11 p.m. slot became vacant. Thus was born the landmark TV show. "Although the core of the production is made up of gay men, we also have straight writers," Melo adds. "The hosts and the staff underwent a sexual orientation seminar (courtesy of The Library Foundation) to have a better understanding of the issues. Everybody worked hard and pitch in. Even our director, Monti Parungao, whose background is in advertising, works on this show without pay."

Aren’t they afraid of censorship? Melo says that since the show falls under the public affairs and not the entertainment category, it will not have a hard time facing the censors. "There is an unwritten rule in Philippine TV that a public-affairs show can tackle any topic, so we are doing this show under that category. The public– heterosexual and homosexual–have the right to know about this important aspect of our national life."

Target audience is both gay and straight viewers, 40 and below, middle class to upper. I think this explains the fast pacing, the gloss and the glitz, the youth and verve of the hosts. Melo says OUT! is "an easy program to produce, it’s not very expensive, and the station naman is aggressive and very supportive, so we’re OK. We’re hopeful we’ll go beyond 13 episodes, or one season. In the end, the show is a celebration of one’s free self."

OUT! is midway through its first season, and the hosts are having a blast. Avi says she likes being in the show because "it has affirmed myself. Moreover, I would like to stress to you guys out there that we don’t speak as if we’re authorities na on lesbian and gay issues, ha. All of us have our individual issues to battle with."

JM, ever the journalist, adds that "We have different stories to tell, and OUT! wants to gather as many stories as possible, and showcase them every week."

"Coming out makes for a powerful statement," Jigs says. "It is a political act. When you come out, the fear is gone. You feel you’re not alone anymore, and you begin to feel good about yourself."

Such words seem to echo in the groundswell of opinions the show has generated. My e-mail and gay yahoo groups, especially Side B and PKB, are bursting full with commentary.

The coming-out segment is a favorite topic since, as my friends in film and TV would tell you, the presence of a camera influences a person’s reaction to a surprise revelation. For example, when a son with arched eyebrows came out his mother, the sleeveless mama with dyed hair just shot back, "So?" It just goes to show that, ladies and gentlemen, our parents do know we are gay. They raised us, didn’t they? And now, do we have to go through what the characters in Philadelphia did, coming out to family and friends in a grand announcement like a press conference? Isn’t subtlety and indirection the Filipino norm in these things?

Melo counters this by saying they are featuring coming-out stories because they are the highlight of any gay man’s life. "All of us want to see that day when coming out will no longer be an issue, but as it is in the Philippines, I think it still is." Still and all, Melo welcomes commentaries, which can be directed to [email protected]

What about the lack of ads? Melo says all advertisers first sniff out a new TV show, looking at its ratings and feedback, before they plunk their precious monies into it. Indeed, from an advertising load of two products, the show now has four–with more to come.

The makeover sessions, too, were sitting ducks for the badings. One of them liked the fact that OUT! is going out of its middle-class frame, and including the lives of the poor. This was shown in "Queer Eye for Nanay and Tatay," its makeover of Mang Rodrigo and Aling Beng, a couple who sell fish at Nepa Q-Mart. Being busy, the couple forgot to celebrate their 20th anniversary together, and OUT! came to the rescue. Another said he didn’t like it because he would rather see unkempt, gorgeous men, "even kanto boys," go through the makeover. "After all, it’s a show for gays and lesbians, and not an extension of Wish Ko Lang." The last is an allusion to Melo’s other show, which rates highly because it grants the wishes of the seemingly hopeless in the land. Anti Pill bristles: "Stop being a charitable institution. Besides, the show is about homosexuality and it’s about the fabulous, colorful, exciting life we lead. Straight people won’t mind if we let them have a taste of it. Chin up, boobs out, it’s show time!"

For his part, Manila by Night says "I like the show because it presents to the masses a different view of what we are and what we can be like. . . that we aren’t the stereotyped image of the flaming, screaming fags, nor are we the typical parlorista types who are often ridiculed and jeered at. That there are educated, professional, masculine, and good-looking gays in society. That some of us can act and even look more masculine than the macho men and yet have the courage and dignity to declare one’s gayness in a respectable manner."

I also want to see more discussion of issues involving the community, i.e., the Anti-Discrimination Bill re-filed in Congress by Akbayan Party-List Rep. Etta Rosales, issues that prove the show is, indeed, a public-affairs show and not a mere lifestyle one. For after all, shoes, clothes and the latest hair dyes aren’t the only topics lesbians and gays talk about. You can deal with issues, but carry them with the unbearable lightness of being.

Be that as it may, the show is going on strong. My favorite segments are the ones where a straight man plays a trannie for one night, dressing up as a woman and painting the town flamenco-pink. Later, the straight man talks to his "trannie self," telling him to fight for his rights and not let people bully him. The other is the Hot Mamas on their Bikes, which showed my great friends in the lesbian movement ride their big bikes, rev them up, and zoom bravely into the horizon. Like this show.