Straight males cross-dressing ‘for fun’? How Bicol’s Barakong Magayon pageant affects the LGBTQ+ community

Nestled with rich cultural identity, beliefs, and traditions, Bicolanos are known not just for their culinary treasures, vibrant festivals, and picturesque scenery but also for their contribution to the world of pageantry and entertainment.

Bicol’s modern twist on pageantry, the Search for Binibining Barakong Magayon, with versions from various host barangays and towns, has long been there since entertainment became a one-in-a-million moment for many. Embedded with their glitz and glam, their twist is a platform showcasing advocacies while also bringing them into the stage of controversies.

As Bicolanos embark on modernity amidst diverse calls for gender equality, the Barakong Magayon pageant serves as a platform for both purpose and entertainment, raising questions on how Bicolanos redefine the industry that advocates and celebrates beauty and divergences.

: Marcon Elegado

Unveiling Barakong Magayon 

The Search for Binibining Barakong Magayon has become a normal pageant in Bicol, similar to any other twist on pageantry in the Philippines. Often, Bicol’s Barakong Magayon has been used to refer to pageantry that is inclusive only of straight males. It is associated with straight males cross-dressing and acting as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly as gay men, or as women joining pageants to either express themselves, “experience what real women are experiencing,”  and amplify their advocacies or only as a form of entertainment. 

A Barakong Magayon candidate was brought up in his closet, as his masculine poise, firm and strong sex appeal, and a common stereotype in men like him—barako, a Bikol term for straight male stud—possessed macho qualities, and transformed him into a dazzling beauty queen, owning a female aura, and a true Bicolanang magayon, a beautiful Bicolana. From his shimmering long gowns that suited his high heels to his feminine appeal that manifested through his make-up and accessories, a candidate arises for this platform with either the purpose of entertainment and fun or a platform for advocacy.

Only for Entertainment: Organizers

As pageantry embraces modernity and diverse gender identities, it inevitably faces controversies, including accusations of mocking LGBTQIA+ individuals and women. With both having the intention of giving their audience a stage for entertainment and a platform for their causes and advocacies, the Barakong Magayon pageant for some is not just a pageant imposing mockery on those who are of another gender.

: Dandy Belleza

Hanna Broqueza, the host of the event and one of the members of the Sangguniang Bayan of Goa, Camarines Sur, as they organized their own version of Barakong Magayon that captivates the audience with its captivating displays of grandeur, showcasing the epitome of elegance and opulence, in line with the celebration of their town’s 216th Foundation Anniversary, had clarified in an interview, that their version of the pageant, the Barakong Magayon 2023 May Agom Pero Keri Magtakong (With wife, but can wear heels), has no intention of giving the LGBTQIA+ members and women mockery and humiliation since for a long time, in the town of Goa, according to her, the LGBTQIA+ members were well loved and provided with the rights they deserved.

“Actually digdi kaya sa Goa, dai kami itong garo iniinsulto mi itong side kan LGBT as a matter of fact talaga, digdi sa Goa mas pinapadaba mi itong members kan LGBT kasi talagang regular ang consultation and meetings mi sainda. (Actually, here in Goa, we weren’t the kind to insult the LGBTQIA+ community; as a matter of fact, here in Goa, we show much love to them since we have regular consultations and meetings with them,)” Broqueza asserted. 

She continued by saying that their pageant’s sole goal is to entertain and provide their target audience, the Goaeños, with a single enjoyable experience.

“Mas pinapangatamanan mi itong nasa side kan LGBT, kasi ini (the Barakong Magayon pageant)  one day lang siyang kaogmahan. Gusto mi lang maging maogma ang mga paradalan. (We took the most care of those who were members of the LGBTQIA+ community;  because this pageant, this is just a one-day event. We just wanted to provide happiness to our aaudience,)” she added. 

However, Broqueza then acknowledged the reactions of some Goaeños and Bicolanos who felt mocked by the pageant. But she maintains her stance that this should not be perceived negatively, reiterating that Goa is one of those municipalities having the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and gender expression (SOGIE) ordinance.

: Dandy Belleza

“Pero syempre ako, aram ko man na arog ka’to an pagmati ninda. Pero sakuya, garo dai man dapat sinda maging ano (ma-feel insulted) kasi talagang pinapadangat man sinda digdi sa satuyang banwaan. (But personally, I know how they felt. But for me, I think they should not be feeling that way because they are actually loved here in our municipality,)”  the municipal councilor who ranked second from the top said. 

Moreover, aside from Goa’s twist on Barakong Magayon—Binibining Barakong Magayon 2023 May Agom Pero Keri Magtakong, other versions of the pageant have emerged throughout the region of Bicol. Sangguniang Kabataan of San Jose, Pili, Camarines has also organized Miss Barakong Magayon 2023; Sangguniang Kabataan of Paolbo, and Burabod Calabanga, Camarines Sur, has Miss Grand Paolbo Barakong Magayon 2023 and Barakong Magayon 2023 (Transformational Beauty of Burabod); Sangguniang Kabataan of San Roque, Canaman; Bagong Sirang, Pili; San Isidro, Pamplona; Barangay Poblacion, Libmanan; Maangas, Presentacion; Mabca, Sagñay Camarines Sur; and Miluya, Castilla, Sorsogon has Search for Barakong Magayon 2023. 

It’s Okay

Despite serving as a platform for entertainment and one-night fun, Bicolanos, and LGBTQIA+ members from across Bicol have expressed their perspectives regarding this pageant both negatively and positively. 

Melard Bonde, a student and member of the LGBTQIA+ community from Camarines Sur, has shared his perspective by affirming that a pageant of this nature is acceptable as it simply serves as a platform for entertainment.

: Dandy Belleza

 “Feeling ko it’s ok din kasi nakakatao man entertainment. Kasi ang goal man talaga kang [Barakong Magayon] is makatao and magkaigwa nin marhay na trato [sa mga gay] then as well as entertainment. (I think it’s okay since it gives entertainment to the audience. Since the primary goal of the pageant is to provide good treatment to all gay men as well as entertainment.)”

He further explained that the pageant was not designed to put LGBTQIA+ members in a high stereotype or in a bad light, as it only provided entertainment.

Band Aid Happiness

The LGBTQIA+ community in the Philippines, particularly in Bicol, has been subjected to discrimination and misrepresentation and is only seen as an entertainment puppet. This type of pageantry— the Barakong Magayon—that is only exclusive for men cross-dressing and acting as gay men or as women repudiates the perspective of Jaune Jacobs, a student transgender from Sorsogon.

As LGBTQIA+ members face tons of struggles day by day, Jacobs addressed the fact that this pageantry had become just a stage for the laughingstock of the third gender; shedding light on the unfair treatment faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals with regard to their gender expression.

“How could they possibly even imagine the years of trauma given to the LGBTQ+ community who are being bullied, harassed or even killed just because they decided to express themselves differently? We wear dresses; we get mocked and beat up; but when straight people wear dresses, it’s “funny and entertaining? It is so incredibly insensitive,” a second-year transgender said. 

: Marcon Elegado

Jacobs then further said that the organizers of this kind of pageant must be sensitive enough to understand the struggles experienced by the third community, and should start educating themselves regarding SOGIE. Despite giving the audience a platform for entertainment, one should bear in mind that their gender is not a form of entertainment nor a source of fun. 

“The ‘it was just a joke’ excuse holds no water because it’s not a joke to the people who live through the discrimination on a day-to-day basis. There are people who are scared to be who they are or experience vile sh*t regularly for being themselves without harming anyone,” Jacobs addressed. 

As their barangay also hosts a similar pageant, Jacobs’ appeal to the organizers, particularly those who are also part of the LGBTQIA+ community, is: “Our reality is not a laughing matter.”

Barakong Magayon and Beyond

A single night of happiness and fun is a one-in-a-million experience for those who wear the sash as a candidate. And for people who are impacted by this pageantry; everyone holds different opinions and stances. As Bicolanos welcome a new age beyond traditional and conservative philosophy, traditional pageantry, which for a long time has been associated with showcasing and celebrating beauty while also empowering women, is undergoing a paradigm shift from traditional into modern pageantry in the midst of strong competition on what is trending and entertaining.  

With high prizes beyond trophies, sashes, and titles involved, being a title holder in this form of pageantry elevates a winning candidate into two-to-three days of poverty and unemployment.

Mister Grand Philippines 2022 top 15 semi-finalist and Bicolano pageant king, Paul John Dustin Mutya, took a firm stance against the pageant as “it mocked unfair treatments experienced by the third gender almost on a daily basis.”

: Dandy Belleza

However, Mutya believed that the said pageantry provided an “economic avenue” for those involved, but one should not take all the blame. 

The government appears to be failing to fulfill its “pledged to provide labor and employment opportunities for everyone and a well-developed curriculum that marries the past and modern teachings that will open for more understanding and compassion for the third gender.”

“The more the state fails to fulfill their duties, the more these conducts become irreversible and difficult to be dissolved from our culture, thus they ought to be held accountable,” he added. 

Meanwhile, David Con Rivero, president of the Bolangiwog Partido Organization, an LGBTQIA+ community in Camarines Sur, has stressed the importance of creating “a safe and inclusive environment that welcomes and respects diversity, and to promote the values of tolerance, acceptance, and understanding.”

Rivero also urged the organizers to “look for an alternative activity or event that will also provide the same fun and enjoyment to the people where everyone is being valued, respected, and supported,” to avoid conflict and controversies.  

“We should form harmonious relationships with each other, and create a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for everyone,” he concluded.

photos by: Danny Belleza and Marcon Elegado, banner by: @rosehagikure

The post <b>Straight males cross-dressing ‘for fun’? How Bicol’s Barakong Magayon pageant affects the LGBTQ+ community</b> appeared first on WE THE PVBLIC.

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