OPINION | 𝙇𝙖𝙗𝙖𝙣-𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙖𝙣 𝙤 𝘽𝙖𝙬𝙞-𝙗𝙖𝙬𝙞!

Why do religious people who campaign about “correcting people’s sexuality” always lose in the court of public opinion? The answer: because everyone else is queer. In the last few days, the message Sexbomb dancer Izzy Trazona-Aragon had penned for her son Andrei had been making rounds in social media and national news outlets. Andrei had earlier come out as the drag queen Sofia.

She said in the lengthy message that she is “putting [her] hope on Jesus” and that as a mother, she prays for her son’s deliverance from everything not Christ. This message earned a lot of mixed reactions from its readers. Some were touched because they saw a mother protecting her son from “the things that will harm him”. Some were disappointed because they saw a mother being the first one to harm him. In this divided nation of important opinions, we need to examine these two spheres of thought and ask ourselves why we, persons not involved in this fight between a mother and her son, feel the need to make “𝘴𝘢𝘸𝘴𝘢𝘸”.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱? Many people did not like the passive-aggressive tone of Izzy’s post. But then again, it was inevitable that the message gained traction among the conservatives because it represented their worldview. And they love that someone finally says what they have in mind. Nevertheless, this is not the first time this has happened where being queer was labelled as being anti-Christ or anti-human. Remember Manny Pacquiao with his “worse than animals” comment? Remember JIL Church founder Eddie Villanueva with his strong opposition to the SOGIE Equality Bill because, according to him, it discriminates against the straights? These inexorable displays of bigotry are justified by a significant portion of the religious society because truth be told, the fundamentals of their religion revolve somewhere around conservation and correction.

This is the problem. The conservatives believe that the metaphorical interpretation of their Christian beliefs means they renounce the truth of their religion. Or that they fail to defend its dogmas.

But if they meant conservation, what had happened then to our male 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘢𝘯 or our female 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘮𝘢 who were all once highly dignified in our pre-colonial society? Or that if they meant correction, what exactly did the queer people do against them and their beliefs?

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀 A 2009 study by Konrad Waloszczyk revealed that the ordinary faithful are not independent in resolving their issues. It is what it seemed when Izzy decided to post her message online when she could have directly messaged her son instead. The moment she clicked ᴘᴏsᴛ, she incidentally—no, intentionally—brought their mother-son drama under public scrutiny. It surprised me how a mother, the archetypal parent who usually understood her children and loved them despite their choices in life, became the subject of the public’s unrelenting reproach. It suddenly put a strain on the saying “Mother knows best.” But was it her fault? I sincerely believe it is not. She was lonely and she knew there was a part of the society that would understand her and condole her. To prove my point: she even released a message of appreciation to the people who reached out and told her that what she had to say was valid.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗿 But everyone else is queer—at least those that came in to defend Sofia and offer her the assurance that in this fight, she was not alone. It is important to note that being queer means repelling traditional beliefs, resisting structures that oppress people, and showing up differently from societal expectations. That is why Izzy is losing her own show. First, this fight is seen by the public, at least by the progressive sector, not as a reality show but a platform to address the war they have been in for ages. They are driven by their desire to be seen and acknowledged, a simple request that conservative heteros find so hard to give.

Second, she contradicts her own statements. She says she loves her son but she offers a condition. She offers a plethora of Bible verses but she for sure forgets one important part of the scripture: 1 Corinthians 13. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” And finally, it is because she tries to win people’s hearts with her message, when all this time, Sofia just wants to win her mother’s heart. ★

ᴍᴏʀᴛᴀʟ ᴅᴇsɪɢɴ by Kent Joshua Nagutom Illustration by Juan Viktor Fidelino Pubmat by Kent Joshua Nagutom