Gay misrepresentation in the guise of values preservation

Progay-Philippines statement of concern, 9 December 1997

WE are the out, loud and proud gay men of the Progressive Organization of Gays in the Philippines (Progay-Philippines) expressing deep concern about yet another misrepresentation of homosexuals in the print ad series issued by the group Couples for Christ (CFC).

At a time when bishops and lay leaders in other countries are coming to terms with homosexual orientation as what we are and not as a free choice and therefore cannot be condemned, local religious groups chose to reverse this tiny victory with an overkill of media impressions that bombard Filipinos with simplistic reductions lumping gayness together with birth control and value-loaded terms such as perversion.

The print ads in question pose an image of girlish innocence being threatened by an ability to talk about sex once the government compels school teachers to teach the Enhanced Population Education Program.

This is another senseless struggle not between Church and State, but rather between two kinds of fundamentalist mindsets which disempower politically weak interest groups, namely homosexual persons and women. On one hand, religious fundamentalism dictates that women's right to be informed of safe methods of birth spacing be curtailed in the name of preserving virtue and values.

However, it unwittingly exposes the demographic fundamentalism propagated as gospel truth by international monopoly traders who see the need to control rapid population growth in the poor countries. Their governments and think tanks in the United Nations bodies such as Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) and international forums as the UN Conference on Population and Development and the Earth Summit all consistently reinvent the overpopulation panic for deficits in food and welfare resources, in an effort to mask the real culprit which is the plunder and profiteering by the world capitalist order of the Third World peoples.

The movement of progressive gays can reassure CFC and like minded persons that we indeed need to be aware of mindless campaigns to coerce peasant women and tribal minorities into accepting high-risk contraceptive pills, implants and sterilizations. We are also alarmed that the government is focusing prevention efforts against HIV and sexually transmitted diseases in areas it has alloted as high-traffic tourist enclaves, commercial depots and even entertainment centers for foreign armed forces. We are aware that both population and HIV/STD programs may be redesigned out of their proper contexts to pacify or coopt grassroots opposition to the massive farmland-grabbing and land-use conversion of the Ramos regime.

We may differ in our support for the struggles of Filipino women and men against the control by both institutional church and government of their rights to their own bodies and their own reproductive rights. Nevertheless, we enjoin you to seriously address the real problems of our land—jobs, food, potable water, land ownership and free education for the masses.

Progay-Philippines deplore the HOMOPHOBIA intensified by belief systems that demonize and devalue human rights of homosexual persons to partake in openly workable relationships. The outdated moralistic and patently unbiblical condemnation by some churches of homosexuality as perversion betray their ignorance of the genuine love that can exist in families that are nurtured by single and paired persons who are homosexuals or bisexual in orientation, behavior and belief. The historical Jesus has extended compassion and liberation towards gays, lesbians, bisexuals and all sexual people, unconditionally, having had purveyed love and justice in His time, and He was free of the homophobia and sexist bias of powerful leaders in both state and church.

We call on all gay, lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual persons, sensible Christians and health workers to unite and speak out in defense of our true families and communities, against the coercive forces of institutions that reduce our control over our own destinies.

Progay-Philippines rallies Filipino gay men in particular to participate in open discussion, direct actions and community-building to reclaim the historical open social roles and rights accorded to people regardless of their sexual orientation. To our families, relatives, friends, schoolmates, employers and church leaders, we call you to affirm your love and support for your homosexual fellow persons.

Attachments

ATTACHMENTS from the Phil. Daily Inquirer, pages 20 and 21 (Picture of girl standing with back to the blackboard on which is scrawled in chalk :There will soon be 4 Rs in the preschool curriculum: reading, 'writing, 'rithmetic and reproduction. SEX)

Your children, as early as kindergartern, will soon be learning a lot more in school under the Enhanced Population Education Program of the Government, subjects like the genitalia, contraception, premarital sex, abortion, even homosexuality. These are intimate matters best left between parent and child. Sex education is your right and responsibility as parents!

(Picture of girl blowing a soap bubble with a shape that suggests a stretched condom. Text inside photo: Condoms will sson be in the mouths of babes)

If your child comes home one day talking about sex, don't wash her mouth out with soap. She'll most likely have learned it from her teacher, under the mandate of the Enhanced Population Program of the Government. She'll probably also be talking about condoms, premarital sex, contraception, abortion, even homosexuality and other perversions. And sooner or later, try to find out firsthand what they're all about! Teaching sex education is the parents' responsibility.

KNOWLEDGE DOES NOT BEGET RESPONSIBILITY. VIRTUE DOES.

A values preservation program by: TEODORA / In defense of the Authentic Woman.

CFC Angkop Foundation Inc.
CFC Educational Foundation, Inc.
CFC Medical Mission Foundation, Inc.
Flame Ministries, Inc.
CFC Kids for Christ
CFC Youth for Christ
CFC Singles for Christ
CFC Handmaids of the Lord
CFC Servants of the Lord
COUPLES FOR CHRIST

Assert your constitutional right to form your children according to your faith. Write to your lawmakers.

Clip this ad and post on bulletin boards, etc.,