Gay

(Inside the office pantry)
Ma'am Alav: "Bayot ka Pao (Pao, are you gay)?"
Me: "Unfortunately, no."

It still humbles and amazes me how my perception of homosexuals has morphed over the years. I can still remember my FYCF (First Year Christian Formation) class in college when I perceived homosexuality as a deficiency in self-esteem and vigorously argued this point against my classmate, Pamela Bitang.

My argument then was that gay people were ironically unhappy about their bodies and must learn to accept their sex and the gender requirements attached to it. In hindsight, it was a classic mistake of mine, equating homosexuality with transsexualism but back then, nobody ever rebutted me about this.

Then I entered the Cheer Dance competition. Almost all of the male dancers were gay guys. Perhaps, that was the threshold that changed my opinion on homosexuality. I practiced almost every night with people I presumed to be "unhappy" and, in turn, was surprised to find out they weren't.

After my college years, I worked in Manila for a year and a month while living with, viola!, two gay guys. By then, I had already accepted homosexuality as it is, a peculiar but valid sexual orientation.

Now, I can hear my sister sometimes exclaiming out loud, "Ngano naa may mga bayot uy (Why are there gay people)?", in a frustrated, intolerant tone reminiscent of my earlier voice against "gay-ness".

My response? Well, I just smile and let her vent out. She'll learn eventually. Just as I have learned my lesson over the years.