The various colors of gay in Cebu

I have yet to see a hotel or establishment in Cebu with a rainbow flag installed on their facades. It is still hard to classify an establishment to be gay-friendly or not.  

I am thankful though that there are no records of bullying or some reports of sort in which the LGBT in Cebu are the victims. Perhaps, news about gays being fooled and swindled may have been passed on verbally but big news about the LGBT is about HIV cases rising in Cebu.

The LoveYourself program, which took place in February 23, 2013 in Cebu City is an event I missed. I would have gone to the event with my special someone at that time but opted not to because of conflicts in schedule.

The LGBT community in Cebu is not yet that obvious, but with the rise of bloggers in Cebu who identify themselves as belonging to LGBT can help in providing awareness about the community. With the rising of HIV cases in Cebu, more gays should be alarmed about it.

I belong to a blogging community in Cebu in which almost half of the population is LGBT. Others are still discreet of their orientation, and I am afraid I belong to that sub-group. However, I am honest to the LGBT's in this blogging organization.

But it is not about me that I intend this article to write about. I would like to share things concerning the gay community in Cebu in which HIV crisis is looming.

Gays in Cebu are as varied as the colors of the rainbow. It has taken me days and even months to research this community. And even now, I am not still done with it. I still have to show the statistics that would support my findings. But being gay myself, I can safely assume that the gay community in Cebu has been steadily rising.

Just today, I read a sub-forum about the  "straight-natured gays" in Cebu. Most of the comments are funny. There is even one that provided a list of characteristic that can be indentified as 'mayas' or straight-acting gay. 

The funny thing about having straight friends who are open-minded is that they even know better about LGBT than you. In that case, I was educated by a male friend who is married about gays in Cebu.

Bayot is the term referred to the gays in Cebu. It has a general tone to it. But this is more applied to gays who are effeminate. It used to be a derogatory remark about being homosexual, but many get used to this label. However, not all gays accept this term as it can be demeaning.

Bayeet is another term of bayot, but it is mostly applied to trannies or gays who look like girls or ladies.

The term 'gay' is more preferred to gays who are discreet. That's why I find it okay when I am regarded as 'straight-acting gay'. The prevalence of English in Bisayan lifestyle has become quite normal now that using a borrowed language is more acceptable.

Maya is another term referred to gays who are vain. I am still unsure of the origin of this term as this originally refers to the bird. But I think the association of the bird being vain has made this term part of the gay pop culture in Cebu. 

Metrosexual Visayans are regarded as 'mayas'. Hence, this is not only applied to gays, but also to bisexuals and those who are supposedly straight. 

Ninja is another term that has been recently sprouted in the gay Visayan language. It refers to the straight-acting gay guys who are really apt in cloaking their orientation. Paminta is another term referring to the sporty male homosexual but this is derived from Tagalog.

I am still learning the terms of gay Visayan culture. If you know other terms referring to the LGBT in Cebu, then please share them on the comment section.