By Genno Gabriel Rabaya
In one of the episodes of Philippine reality television show Pinoy Big Brother (PBB), housemate Klarisse de Guzman bravely opened up to the other housemates about her identity as a bisexual woman. Conversations like these are imperative in breaking the stigma around the LGBTQIA+ community among the Filipino mainstream media.
Netizens took to social media to praise Klarisse for being courageous and open about being in a long-term relationship with her partner. Along with Klarisse is another fan-favorite housemate, Esnyr Ranollo.
Prior to entering the Bahay ni Kuya, Esnyr was a well-known online content creator notable for his creative skits that primarily featured personalities of typical Filipino high school students. Something he also carries with pride is his identity as an openly gay man.
Housemates like Klarisse and Esnyr come into the show with the intent to bravely tell their stories, including the pride they take as members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Representations like them help Filipinos better understand what being a part of the community is like and portray the real faces, names, and stories of queer people that the general Filipino audience might not be aware of. PBB has long paved the way to eradicate the stigma around sexual identities for Filipinos.
Even before the current PBB season, housemates of seasons past were also pioneers in telling their brave stories.
In 2006, BB Gandanghari, who went by Rustom Padilla at the time, came out to the general public about their identity as a gay man. Eventually, she found her true self as the trans icon that she is now.
Fifth Solomon, who came from a religious family, joined the show in 2014 with his twin, Fourth. During their season, he also came out as a gay man. Out of fear of his family’s rejection, he hid this part of him. It wasn’t until his twin, and eventually his whole family, embraced him with open arms when he realized he was loved and accepted.
The seventeenth PBB season featured the first LGBTQIA+ couple to enter the Bahay ni Kuya: Dingdong Bahan and Patrick Ramirez, or DongPat. Ready to face criticism and negative remarks from homophobes, DongPat told the story of how a couple like them are not any different from any other couple in the country.
These stories tell inspiring tales that help people normalize diverse identities because one thing’s for sure—the LGBTQIA+ community is not going anywhere. And it starts with reality shows like PBB.
Now in its eighteenth season, PBB has been an inspiring platform to promote the diverse stories of the Filipino, especially for those in the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. PBB has long been an avenue for people to be seen, be heard, and be represented.
