Biyuti and Alterity: Understanding the Bakla Performance in the "Miss Gay Universe of the Ugly" Pageant

Date of Award

5-1-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts major in Sociology

First Advisor

Jose Jowel P. Canuday, DPhil(Oxon.)

Abstract

The performance of participants in the Miss Gay Universe of the Ugly, colloquially referred to as Miss Gay Muchakang Pangkalawakan, reflects characteristics of the flamboyant and effeminate bakla. These stereotypical depictions may not always be consistent with how participants view themselves. While the bakla encompasses gay male identity, transgender identity, and effeminized gay identity, the term also goes beyond such identitarian constructions. This study argues that an introspective understanding of how participants make sense of their identity work reveals slippages that can liberate them from existing oppressive stereotypes.

By utilizing the personal narrative, I deconstruct the participants’ performative stories. Deconstructing narratives reveals identity-making that may reinforce or resist dominant discourses on the bakla under which these narratives are produced. Philippine gay studies, particularly with regard to queer performance, lack intersubjective research. In this study, I bring in dialogic interaction as I connect my voice with the voices of participants and treat the latter as co-narrators. Taking into consideration the deep affectional connections among the bakla, I contend that the obscure pageants of the ugly are not merely sites of gender self-discovery and the contesting of local stereotypes; these are also geopolitical spaces and postcolonial arenas that resist the homogenizing and globalizing views of gay identity and beauty.

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