Starting at his, excuse me, her arrival at NAIA Friday noon, the erstwhile Rustom Padilla, who is now "BB Gandanghari" has been on the airwaves. Startalk on Saturday, The Buzz on Sunday. Whew. And all the questions are the same: "Why do you say that you are now BB?" "Did you undergo a sex change?" "Does this mean you now have a boyfriend?"
\Sometimes, too, the questions were about Rustom Padilla's past, to which the answers were always the same-- "That was Rustom's past, not mine. How many times do I have to tell you, Rustom is dead. I am BB." Lolit Solis persisted in this vein of questioning to some degree, and was finally told "Ang kulit ni Manay Lolit... Nakukulitan na talaga ako kay Manay Lolit, ha. (Manay Lolit is so importunate... I am beginning to be annoyed with Manay Lolit.)" To which Joey de Leon quipped, "Paano kasi si Manay Lolit, walang sex yan. (Well, that's because Manay Lolit, she has no sex.)" (Take that at face value or a double entendre, haha.)
Reading over the coverage of the BB Gandanghari thing, looks like people are pretty much divided. Some laud her for having the courage to "be herself"; others put her down by saying that she looks ridiculous because no matter what she does, she will still just be a gay and not a woman. Still others ask what's with the BB thing? Why did she have to say that Rustom was dead and BB was alive? Isn't she one and the same person?
What does it matter, if she is gay and "not a real woman"? What looks ridiculous to some may not be so for others. (From this infer that I am in the "be yourself" category.) She is in the process of discovering what it is like to be herself... she did say that as long as she didn't do anything to hurt others, she believed she wasn't doing anything wrong. Gays don't choose to be gays; they are what they are. Why should we force them into molds that they do not fit? If she were, like, a doctor who realized she was happier as a fashion model than as a healer, or a singer who realized she liked teaching more than performing, we would probably be nodding and saying "follow your heart" or some such thing. Instead, because she is a boy who realizes that she is a girl inside, people get mad when she chooses to show what she really is as opposed to bottling it up within.
In the process of reinventing herself, perhaps BB needed to view her former persona as a separate entity. (It happens, I know it does.) Thus the insistence on Rustom being dead and BB being alive. But, be careful, BB... that smacks of MPD (multiple personality disorder), more commonly known as having a "split personality". Although two more different persons than Rustom and BB I can hardly find, and me a fan since Rustom entered showbiz in my high school days. (Yes, I watched "Sana Dalawa ang Puso Ko (I Wish I had Two Hearts)" and "Maruja", and I was one of those who thought Carmina and Rustom were just right for each other, both being upcoming young stars at that time.)
We shouldn't view her as a sideshow, or worse, a comic relief, laugh at the man who thinks he's a woman. "The lucky people are those who don't question anything," to paraphrase Olivia Goldsmith in "Fashionably Late". Perhaps some people may go through life not ever asking who they are and what they're supposed to be, but some do, and the process is often painful because there are never any pre-formulated answers. The least we can do is respect their feelings about it and not ridicule them just because they don't conform to what society thinks they should be. Don't you ever think that it might be hard for them to find their own identities? Yes, it takes guts to be yourself. And don't ever let anybody convince you otherwise.
What struck me, though, was that people automatically referred to BB as "she" and "her" without being awkward about it. Even the guards at the airport called her "ma'am", she said. Hmmm. What does that say about what she is? Looks like people think of her as female, anyway.
Basta, go lang, BB!
Nota Bene: Dyan dya raan!!! I found BB's Facebook (BeBe Gandanghari), Friendster (http://profiles.friendster.com/bbislove), and e-mail (bebe(dot)gandanghari(at)gmail(dot)com)!
Didn't watch TV over the weekend, so I just saw the news. One of the most promising young stars in Philippine entertainment passed away at age 20. In a world of mestizos and prima donnas, Marky Cielo was known for being one of the few --perhaps the first Cordilleran-- "indigenous people" in showbiz, and for being a sweet and good person. It hurts to know that "Bakekang", "Boys Next Door" and "Zaido" are the last we saw of him. *bursts into tears*
Goodbye, Marky... "I know, but I do not approve. And I am not resigned."
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Dirge without Music
Edna St. Vincent Millay
I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.
Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.
Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust.
A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew,
A formula, a phrase remains, --- but the best is lost.
The answers quick & keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love,
They are gone. They have gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled
Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.
More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world.
Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
Whew. Baptism of fire. Rookie assignment on the field: the 31st Gawad Urian, more so b
ecause "my" website, http://www.thepoc.net, (as in the one I work for and work on) is the home of virtual celeb Gandang Hari, who was to present the award forBest Actor. Nerves, nerves, nerves. Especially as I've never been actually that close to celebs before, and I do have a tendency to get starstruck (not good for my profession)!
But we got good seats (first and second row, corners) and could see all the action.
The list of winners can be found here.
Yes, that's me with Best Actor awardee Sid Lucero. Starstruck, as they say. I also got the opportunity to ask Natatanging Gawad Urian awardee Kidlat Tahimik for a few words (and his autograph). And a few words from Best Actor awardee Jason Abalos, and from Sid Lucero's dad Mark Gil... whew! Have I said it yet, I love this job?
Highlights of the evening: Kidlat Tahimik comes up for his award wearing a toga and delivering a monologue (about making a really good film vs a commercial film), launches into an Ifugao dance while beating a small gong, and takes off the toga at the end to receive the award while only in a bahag. Now that's making a statement. Now I know firsthand why he's such a multi-awarded filmmaker. (NB: I saw the ends of the bahag below the toga hem and realized at once what he was going to do. And yes he did. Mamisally's reaction: Aba day! In fairness, flawless ang lolo mo!)
Another highlight: Gandang Hari comes out to present the award in this pink top with floaty sleeves. The crowd goes wild and later on s/he is mobbed by reporters the moment s/he steps out of the stage door.
Ah! This is the life!
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