Abstract:

Key political events in late 2009 and early 2010 brought to national consciousness the marginalization and ongoing struggle for equality and rights of Filipinos who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. We argue that one pathway to achieve legal empowerment and equal human rights for LGBT Filipinos is collective action that leads to social change and the reduction of inequalities. Using analytic perspectives from critical citizenship studies, social psychology, and LGBT studies, we examined collective action in the form of advocating for LGBT human rights in the Philippines. Using a peer-nomination procedure with participating organizations in the 2009 LGBT Manila Pride March, we identified key actors in the pursuit of social justice and equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Filipinos. In-depth qualitative interviews with nine LGBT human rights defenders delved into their pathways to participation in advocacy work, subjective experiences in and motivations for LGBT activism, and reflections on the meanings of LGBT activism in the Philippines. Our findings highlight key themes in the personal narratives of Filipino LGBT human rights defenders, including actions for LGBT human rights activism, the perceived benefits and costs of being an LGBT activist in the Philippines, the centrality of self-identification as an “activist”, evolving motivations and commitment for engaging in LGBT human rights work, and constructions of future selves in and out of activism. These narratives were lived out in the context of dominant human rights claims pursued by the Filipino LGBT movement in relation to Philippine law and legal policy, particularly freedom from discrimination, political representation and participation in the legislative sphere, and marriage equality.

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