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CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

The rights of LGBTQ community has always been a feud of different opinions,

perspective and views of most Filipinos. It is a matter of morality, humanity, and

religious beliefs. LGBTQ community are composed of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,

transgender, and queer or people who are questioning their identity. These people have

fought for their rights for a very long time. Living normally is a dream for most of them,

they had to face discrimination and judgement.

Philippines is indeed a religious country, most Filipinos ought to follow and

believe the word of God, and a lot of them believe that man is for woman, and woman is

for man. That is why most of Filipinos oppose to the idea of giving the rights for LGBTQ

community, it become a social stigma in the Philippines, which adds up to the hardships

that the people who are part of this community has been facing. They say that the

Philippines is the most gay friendly country in Asia, but living in the streets lies the

experiences of the people that are part of this community. They often hear mean

comments, some experience sexual abuse, and a lot of our fellow Filipinos degrade them.

This had been studied by different researchers to propose different rights that the

community should receive, still it had failed the attempt to educate most of our fellow

Filipinos.
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With regards to this, this research aims to answer the following questions: How

did the Social Stigma affect the lives of fellow Filipinos who are part of the LGBTQ

community?, What are the social stigma circulate about the community and how did it

started in the Philippines?, What are the ways to prevent this social stigma?, and How can

we educate fellow Filipinos?

The researchers conducted this study to enlighten our fellow Filipinos that they

should fully accept the people that are part of the LGBTQ community. At present, half of

the population in the Philippines are an ally of the community and fully support them and

the other half continuously discriminate and are attached to the Social Stigma that are

circulating in the country. Though it is hard to acculturate thousands of Filipinos,

especially when they are entitled to their opinions. The researchers hope that this small

research can encourage them to detach themselves to the social stigma that are affecting

the people who are part of the LGBTQ community.

Statement of the Problem

The study sought to find out the ………………………

Specifically, it attempts to answer the following questions:

1.

Theoretical Framework
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Theoretical framework focuses on the theories which are formulated by expert.

There are some theories which will be related to the present study. These theories attempt

to explain and support the possible meaning of the study.

Conceptual Framework

(the figure)

Fig. 1. Conceptual Framework

Illustrated above was the input-process-output approach utilized by the

researchers in conducting the study.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this study could provide useful insights to the respondents,

teachers, researchers and future researchers…………..

The findings of this study will be beneficial to the following people.

 To the Students-

 To the Teachers-

 To the School-

 To the Parents-
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 To the Future Researchers- this study will give reference to some future

researchers that can help them relate this topic to their study.

Scope and Delimitation

This study is primarily concerned with the ……………

This study required respondents with a number ………………

The data were gathered within the time period of 2019. In accomplishing the study,

the researchers used an instrument. Related Literature was the primary bases of

establishing questions for the respondents.

Definition of Terms

For the clear understanding of the study, the terms below are conceptually and

operationally detailed.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND RELATED STUDIES

This chapter presents the background readings undertaken by the researchers on the

variables to be focused in the study. Moreover, the chapter includes readings from the

materials as well as unpublished literature.

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Related Literature

This sub part of the chapter 2 presents the review of related literature related to

the topic, Social Stigma experienced by the members of LGBTQ Community in the

Philippines. This chapter supports the concepts in the previous chapter. There are three

key topics that this part focus on, the first one is the Gender, Sexuality, and Opinions. It

discusses how this three are interconnected and how do they affect each other. The next

one is the religious beliefs of Filipinos. This discusses how this beliefs affected how

people who are part of this community lives. Lastly is The Social Stigma, this focus on

what it really means, how did it influence the way Filipinos are thinking, and how did it

alter on the lives of the LGBTQ community in the Philippines.

2.1(a.) Gender , Sexuality, and Opinions

Basically, sexuality or sex, and gender have huge difference when it comes to its

purpose and meaning. Sex is a biological term, it tends to relate to biological difference,

for instance male and female genitalia which is both internal and external different.

Meanwhile the WHO define gender as, “Gender refers to the socially constructed

characteristics of women and men, such as norms, roles, and relationships of and between

groups of women and men. It varies from society to society and can be changed.”

Base on the explanation above, the researchers agree that the condition of the

gender of a human when he or she is born can change or can be change in the future. As

time relatively pass by, different opinions were regulated not only in the Philippines but

also in the world. From the means of colors, through the behaviour and language, there
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are different speculated opinions, in different definition, this comes from the trade

publication called Earnshaw’s infant’s Department published in 1918 quoting “The

generally accepted rule is pink for the boys and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink,

being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which

is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.” end quote.

Another definition for gender is an individual view of themselves or their gender

identity,“One’s internal, personal sense of being a man or woman. For transgender

people, their own internal gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at

birth. Most people have a gender identity of man or woman (or boy or girl). For some

people, their gender identity does not fit neatly into one of those two choices.” stated by

GLAAD( formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)

A lot of Filipinos stated their opinions regards to this, for instance, “In the bible,

God created Man for woman, while woman were created for man only.” stated by a

Catholic devotee of God, another one is that “Everyone can love whoever they want to

love.” stated by an ally of an LGBTQ community. Statements that were given indicates

that one’s opinion can affect someone especially in their gender and their sexuality.

Different opinions are important because this opinions can tell if you support the LGBTQ

community and respect their choices as a human.

2.1(b) The Religious Beliefs of Filipinos

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In the Philippines, lesbian, gay, transgender, and people who are part of the

LGBTQ community, still receives criticism and discrimination and still continue to

endure injustice and bias. Thus LGBT Filipinos still receives and experience inhumane

treatments, prejudice, and stigma since most Filipinos doesn’t accept third gender

orientations as a normal variant of human sexuality.(Psychological Association of the

Philippines [PAP], 2011)

This perceptions of most Filipinos are significantly influenced by early religious

beliefs of Filipinos. Roman Catholicism and Evangelicalism are Christian denominators.

They maintain traditional views such as heterosexuality is normal while homosexuality is

deviant and therefore sinful. They hold the value of fundamentalism,- the literal

interpretation of The Holy Bible(Bassett, Smith, Newell, and Richards, 1999;,

Kirkpatrick, 1993). Altemeyer and Hunsbeger define this as “the beliefs that there is one

set of religious teachings that clearly contains fundamentalism, basic, intrinsic, essential,

inerrant truth about the humanity and deity”(p.118)

Evidence shows that religious fundamentalism and some religious beliefs in the

Philippines is consistently associated with sexual prejudice and hostility towards the

LGBTQ community. Furthermore, Vincent et al. (2011) noted that religious

fundamentalism serves as a huge risk factor for both negative attitudes towards to the said

community. Filipinos who belong to different religions shows apparent differences in

their level of homonegativity, but in general, people who are a devotee of the church and

is religious are more homonegative.(Jackle & Wenzelburger, 2015)

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The relationship between religious beliefs and attitudes toward the LGBTQ

Community is highly connected not only in a group of people but in communities. Their

beliefs and the way they are thinking affects how LGBT Filipinos live and how they

adapt to our country. This beliefs are not wrong nor right but still it doesn’t hurt to be a

human and to have courtesy towards their gender and sexuality.

2.1(c ) The Social Stigma

The most established definition of Stigma is written by Erving Goffman,in his

seminal work: Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Goffman

(1963) states that stigma is “an attribute that is deeply discrediting” that reduces someone

“from a whole and usual person to a tainted, discounted one” (p. 3).  In the social work

literature, Dudley (2000), working from Goffman’s initial conceptualization, defined

stigma as stereotypes or negative views attributed to a person or groups of people when

their characteristics or behaviors are viewed as different from or inferior to societal

norms. Due to its use in social work literature, Dudley’s (2000) definition provides an

excellent stance from which to develop an understanding of stigma. It is important to

know that stigma doesn’t focus on specifically on metal health and disorders, it is also

relevant to other context such as individuals with different race, beliefs, gender, and

sexual orientation.

Stigma, homophobia, and discrimination against the LGBTQ community still

exists in the Philippines and can negatively affect Filipinos who are part of the

community in the means of their mental health and their well being. Stigma is a powerful
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social process of devaluing people. The discrimination that follows stigma is the unfair

and unjust treatment of an individual based on this stigma.  All too often, people living

with viral hepatitis in the Philippines face this stigma and discrimination. a further

adverse effect on their health., stigma and discrimination has both a psychological and

physical impact on people living with hepatitis. Stigma related stressors can mean people

are afraid to live their normal lives, socialize with friends and even become reluctant to

seek medical care, which can have further adverse effects on their health (YWSP

Organization).

This stigma and discrimination towards the Filipinos who are part of this

community can lead to rejection of friends and family, discriminatory acts and violence,

and laws and policies with negative consequences. There are a lot of repercussions that

the LGBT Filipinos experience, especially when it comes to their religious and

conservative family. Another example is Gretchen Custudio Diez, a transwoman who

was arrested after being blocked from using a woman’s restroom in Cubao City,

Philippines. Her ordeal opened the feud over the Sogie Equality bill pending in the

congress. Regards with this issue thousands of Filipinas were worried of using public

bathrooms where they have to share with a transgender. There were also some Filipinos

who called the attention about a Biblical lesson about Sodom and Gomorrah,  The Bible

story says that God sent two angels to rescue Lot and his family before the two cities

were destroyed. Although homosexuality was common in the two cities, those who

warn against the lifestyle of Sodomites share this belief: Sodom and Gomorrah were
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destroyed not because the people there were homosexuals, but “because they engaged

in immoral, homosexual acts in total abandon.”

This stigmas spread easily in the Philippines, some believe and live unto it,

some are opposing with it. They alter to the lives of the LGBT Filipinos, a lot of them

receive discrimination in schools, in malls, in their jobs, and even in their homes.

Amid all the challenges LGBTQ people face, the pursuit of equality among all

Filipinos regardless of gender orientation is paramount. 

Related Study