TRANSGENDER woman Kate Montecarlo Cordova, a Bacolodnon, shared how it feels good and healthy to be with men who treated her like a lady.
“Such a feeling makes me beautiful and worthy. People are beautiful if they are surrounded by good people. But being with men who make you feel less of a person because you weren't assigned female at birth can be damaging to your well-being, thus, people like me should avoid them because they will only make me sick,” she said.
Cordova is the founding chair of the Association of Transgender People in the Philippines and previously served as co-chair of the Asia and Pacific Transgender Network.
She has been advocating transgender rights and equality.
She believes that being a woman is not defined by what's between her legs.
“Love and relationship are not about one's sex assignment at birth or gender. It is about the compatibility of personality, the capability to understand and care for each other. Each person deserves to love and to be loved. Relationships are sustained by love mutually shared by both persons. The gauge is not always on the ‘gender markings’ but as to how two persons love and understand each other,” she said.
She thanked all men whom she had meaningful pasts.
“To those men who loved, adored and had illusions on me, those who understand my choice and those who continue to love me, thank you so much. You have played a big part in molding me to become a fine person, mature enough to understand my whole being and of others. And because of it, it has instilled in my heart the love that I share with others and the love that will sustain me in my lifetime. It also taught me to be strong and fight for my feelings without a doubt. The burning passion in me mirrors your deepest love and sincere support for me. I believe that the way a person handles or shares his or her love to others reflects his or her past and the character of the person/s whom he or she had relationships,” she said.