TO “COME out,” versus to languish “in the closet,” liberates lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) from the repression and denial of their chosen sexual orientation or gender identity.

While many people maintain a gender identity that conforms to their biological sex, others do not, notes www.thinkb4youspeak.com.

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For LGBTs in the country, the lifelong search for gender identity and expression is more fraught with challenges.

Aside from dealing with the homophobia fed by a conservative and macho culture, the LGBT community claims it is also up against institutions that deny their human rights.

Recently, a local group protested the discrimination of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for denying accreditation to “Ang Ladlad” as a party-list for the 2010 election.

According to the Nov. 20 Sun.Star Cebu article written by Justin K. Vestil and Princess Dawn Felicitas, the Comelec’s Second Division cited, as basis for the denial, “moral grounds and fear that the youth will be exposed to an environment that does not conform to the teachings of our faith.”

Split acceptance

Filipinos seemingly teeter over a split-level hypocrisy towards gays. Many tolerate, even admire, the LGBT’s participation in social and cultural spheres where their contributions are considerable.

But many also feel threatened by and become judgmental of LGBTs. Raymund, a corporate headhunter, automatically rejects a candidate he suspects of being a lesbian or gay. He thinks he or she is susceptible to mishandling funds because of profligate lifestyles and a tendency to purchase the affections of mistresses and lovers.

Ian remembers when he vied for a student leadership position.

After he lost to a female classmate, he was told by one of his teachers that the selection committee perceived that, though more than qualified, he would have difficulty asserting his leadership with other boys.

Gender stereotyping does not put blinders only on persons but also on institutions.

The political party, “Ang Ladlad,” anchors its platform on the civil rights of the LGBT community. It has been denied twice accreditation by the Comelec, first prior to the 2007 national elections due to a failure to prove national membership with sufficient regional and provincial representations.

For its 2009 decision denying the party’s application on grounds of morality, the Comelec cited the Bible and the Koran.

Struggle against sexism

The social tolerance shown to the LGBT community grates because of the condescension and hypocrisy that surface in other spheres.

If an LGBT member suffers discrimination in school, the office or while availing himself or herself of health care services, he or she has no legal recourse since the civil rights code of the country does not recognize sexual orientation. LGBT couples cannot avail themselves of the benefits and privileges granted to heterosexual couples by the state.

The Philippines is not a signatory of the United Nations Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gen-der Identity. This international accord “condemns violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatization, and prejudice based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

To correct blatant and hidden forms of inequality and discrimination, the LGBT community and other sectors campaign for the enactment of anti-discrimination legislation.

Senate Bill (SB) 165, also known as the Employment Non-Discrimination Bill; SB 1641, or the Anti-Discrimination Bill; and SB 1738, otherwise known as the Anti-Gender Discrimination Bill and perceived as the most comprehensive, were referred to the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development in 2006.

SB 1738 is the same as House Bill 634, already approved by the House of Representatives Committee on Civil, Political, and Human Rights.

The “Stop the Discrimination” campaign continues until gender equality and justice overtakes the hysteria and hypocrisy directed at the LGBT community.