Fridae

I am in Vancouver as I write this piece. It is peaceful, quiet and so unlike the busy hustly-bustly city of Manila. I came here for training in my field of work and attended an all-woman training forum.

The forum lasted three days and gave us participants a chance to get to know each other.

Contrary to what most people believe about lax and less conservative western culture, it turns out many lesbian womyn are marginalized and condemned here for their sexual orientations as much as in most Asian communities. I used to think that being lesbian in an Asian country is the greatest struggle a lesbian can undergo, but I was wrong.

It's true that it is against the law to discriminate against people with a different sexual orientation (read: lesbians and gays) but the work environment of some womyn I met seems to keep them from staying in some of their jobs.

The hiring is easy but staying in the office, interacting with officemates sometimes does not work out as well as they hope it would.

The misconceptions and prejudices are here too. It's difficult to be out and proud in an environment that seems to be misguided.

Many of my new-found friends told me that homophobia exists even in the most gay-friendly cities in America such as San Francisco.

I had long thought that life would be easier if I settled and stayed in a place where domestic partnership laws were applicable and where (I thought) the environment would accepting and supportive. Then again, I was wrong.

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They struggle as much as we do with issues such as better laws that will protect them from abuse, and discrimination, families that are unsupportive of their sexual orientation and choice of partner, and environments that condemn their lifestyles.

I did share much about my "Asian" experience and how we had to deal with those issues. Yes, it is true that they are more advanced and more vocal about their rights as human beings but bottom line is, we are fighting for the same things.

All of us are fighting for equality.

In some ways, I can safely say that we have found a way to wage our own battles and become part of a united cause.

Some of them who weren't exactly active in advocacy were surprised that there were organisations and groups in Asia that supported gay and lesbian causes.

Now I am tasked to send out information to these new womyn friends of mine about what's going on in Asia's lesbian scene. Aside from giving them information sites on the net (such as fridae.com), I am appealing to all of you reading to email me personally if you can send information about lesbian groups in your area.

I can be reached through firewomyn@iname.com and any information about your lesbian group, website or movement is most welcome.

Let's show them that we are doing something to uphold our dignity and rights too.