the link that binds us: a cultural approach in the study of the

i
THE LINK THAT BINDS US:
A CULTURAL APPROACH IN THE STUDY
OF THE LGBTQ SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE DOWNELINK.COM
JOHN PAUL LUBONG DE LUNA
Submitted to the
COLLEGE OF MASS COMMUNICATION
University of the Philippines Diliman
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the degree of
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN BROADCAST COMMUNICATION
April 2011
ii
THE LINK THAT BINDS US:
A CULTURAL APPROACH IN THE STUDY OF THE LGBT SOCIAL
NETWORKING SITE DOWNELINK.COM
by
JOHN PAUL LUBONG DE LUNA
has been accepted for
the degree of BACHELOR OF ARTS IN BROADCAST COMMUNICATION
by
Professor Fernando A. Austria, Jr., M.A.
and approved for the
University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication
by
Professor Rolando B. Tolentino, PhD
Dean, College of Mass Communication
iii
BIOGRAPHICAL DATA
PERSONAL DATA
Name
John Paul L. De Luna
Permanent Address
10 Phase M1 Block 1, Francisco Homes 1
City of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan
Telephone Number
(+63-44) 815-7358
Date & Place of Birth
21 January 1989, Quezon City
EDUCATION
Secondary Level
With Honors, Francisco Homes College
City of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan
Primary Level
Salutatorian, Francisco Homes Learning Academy
City of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan
ORGANIZATION
Exchange Participant, AIESEC UP Diliman
Vice President for External Affairs, UP-CMC Broadcasting
Association
WORK EXPERIENCE
Researcher/Writer, Channel [V] Philippines, February –
May 2010
Trainee, Monster Radio RX 93.1, October – November
2009
iv
Customer Service and Sales Associate, APAC Customer
Services, Incorporated, May – October 2008
ACHIEVEMENTS
College Scholar: 1st Semester, Academic Year 2006 - 2007
CHED Regional Scholar
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Allow me to express my sincere gratitude first, to the Almighty for giving me the
energy and wisdom in carrying out this Herculean task. Second, to my loving parents for
always believing in me and for bearing with me every time I have mood swings due to
lack of sleep. To Sir Jun, for his brilliant mind that blows me away and for his kind heart
which inspires me to work hard. Thank you for all the insights, patient guidance and for
opening the doors of your home to my last-minute consultations. Without a doubt, you
are the best adviser.
Let me also thank my respondents, for sharing me their valuable time and private
lives. To my sister, for buying me gifts which motivated me to finish this study. Thank
you also to my brother, for running me errands. To my batch mate in UP Broad Ass,
Dawnavie, for assuming the role of checks and balances every time I share the arguments
I want to raise in this study and for patiently proofreading my work. To Prida, for helping
out in the painstaking process of proofreading. To Frau and Ian for sharing me their
insights about gay culture in the country.
And lastly, to all the Assers, for motivating me to push my capacities to the limit,
for listening to all the intellectual insights I found out of this study, and for inspiring me
to undertake this endeavor with passion, glory and excellence.
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ABSTRACT
De Luna, John Paul, L. (2011). The Link that Bind Us: Cultural Approach in the Study of
the LGBT Social Networking Site, Downelink.com. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis,
University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.
The study examines the role of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and
questioning (LGBTQ) community, social networking site Downelink.com both as a
representation of the shared beliefs of selected gays in Metro Manila and as a
representation that shapes these shared beliefs. As a social networking site,
Downelink.com assumes the role of two agencies of socialization—peer groups and mass
media.
Textual analysis and online interviews, therefore, were used as methods of the
study to provide a thick description on they make use of the website to perform their
rituals which intend to celebrate their culture.
More importantly, James Carey‘s ritual view of communication was used as a
lens to understand how these cultural patterns contribute in the creation, maintenance,
and transformation of their culture while J.Neil Garcia‘s Gay theory was used as a guide
to identify which aspects of this culture had been repaired by their participation in the
website. The data gathered presented various views of homosexuality existing in online
community that supported the argument that their cultural landscape had already been
transformed. Furthermore, the study provided insights about Philippine gay culture that
intends to break the dichotomy of overt/covert that was posed by Garcia more than a
decade ago.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Title Page
i
Approval Sheet
ii
Biographical Data
iii
Acknowledgements
v
Abstract
vi
Table of Contents
vii
List of Tables
ix
List of Figures
ix
I. INTRODUCTION
1
A. Background and Rationale
1
B. Review of Related Literature
4
C. Statement of Problem, Purpose and Objectives
II. METHODOLOGY
17
20
A. Theoretical Grounding
20
B. Research Design
23
C. Concepts and Indicators
24
D. Units of Analysis and Sampling
28
E. Research Instruments
31
F. Data Gathering Procedure
32
G. Data Analysis Procedure
33
viii
H. The Researcher
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
34
36
A. Downelink.com
36
B. Gay Theory Concepts in the Social Networking Site
44
IV. ANALYSIS
73
A. Created Culture
73
B. Maintenance of Overt/Covert Homosexual Culture
75
C. Transformed Culture
79
V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
82
A. Summary
82
B. Conclusion
85
C. Implications
86
D. Recommendations
87
References
Appendices
APPENDIX A – Textual Analysis Form
APPENDIX B – Interview Protocol
APPENDIX C – Budget
APPENDIX D – Timetable
APPENDIX E – Textual Analysis Transcripts (in CD)
APPENDIX F – Online Interview Transcripts (in CD)
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LIST OF TABLES
Number
Title
Page
1
Online Interview Respondents
31
2
Names of Member Profiles were Analyzed
32
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
Title
Page
1
Home Page of Downelink.com
36
2
Default view of the ‗Home‘ tab
37
3
The Message tab
40
4
Flirt Tab‘s Browse Users
41
5
Missed Connections
41
6
Downelink.com‘s Chat Rooms
43
7
The Researcher‘s Profile in Downelink.com
44
8
Similarities in Style of Members
46
9
‗Decent‘ Photos of Selected Members
47
10
Effeminate Fashion
48
11
Photos that Exhibit Being Buff
50
12
Photos of Athletic Members
51
13
Photos of Members Who are Characterized as ‗Hipon‘
52
14
Vanity in Photos
53
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
The gays of the new generation are now living in a wired world. In an age when
Facebook is almost a household term, it seems impossible for anyone not to be aware of
the Internet. This technological advancement has transformed from a military tactical
device invented by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1969 to an information
dissemination medium used to resist human rights abuse (Hoffman, 1999). But other than
being a popular research medium, its role in the lives of people around the globe has
drastically evolved as it has become a powerful source of entertainment and a venue for
building communities.
A. Background and Rationale
―The Internet is becoming more intricately woven into our everyday lives‖ (Ray,
2007), allowing such technological advancement ―define and redefine how we
communicate‖ (Ray, 2007). From the experience of the researcher, he had realized that
the Internet has become a very important and undeniably popular mass medium for
people of all ages. Human beings have been incorporating it in many aspects of their
lives, which does not only serve as a source of information but also offers an array of
activities like widening ones‘ social network, ―thus increasing interpersonal connectivity
and organizational involvement‖ (Wellman, et. al, 2001). This fact holds true in most
nations around the globe including the Philippines. On a typical day by the end of June
2009, 24.5% or a total of 24 million Filipinos use the Internet, making the Philippines
rank 6th among the top 10 Asian nations using this technology (Internet World Stats,
2009).
2
In 2004, there are already an approximately two million Internet users in Metro
Manila alone, belonging to classes A, B and C, ages ranging from 13 to 30 years old.
This group is considered to have broken the rules of common Internet usage as they have
engaged in a plethora of online activities which includes sending e-mails, blogging,
uploading and downloading pictures and videos, researching and joining social
networking sites. Among these activities, joining online networks has become one, if not
the most popular, activities for the group. In fact, statistics confirms Facebook, a social
networking site first introduced in the United States, as the most visited website in the
Philippines (Alexa.com, 2010).
Online social networking websites have exploded in the computer-mediated
communication (CMC) scene over the past few years. Ray (2007) defined these sites as
websites that ―offer a combination of CMC factors like IM, blog, classified listings,
interest groups, music, public comment, image, video, ranking, and email.‖ Members of
such sites are given the opportunity to create their own profile, search for friends (or
networks) thus ―creating a complex virtual network of communication.‖ A social
network consists of users and the relations between them, where ‗relations‘ can be
described as collections of connections between members of the group. It is seen as an
entity capable of mediating between the individual and society. The social networking
genre of websites promotes the growth of a network of mutual friends that has potential
for massive expansion.
As a college student whose lifestyle predominantly relies on the web, the
researcher has participated in most of the above-mentioned online activities. Other than
Facebook which records 500 million users worldwide, the researcher also joined a social
3
networking site for the members of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and questioning
(LGBTQ) community known as downelink.com. For years, he has shown his curiosity on
the site by becoming an active member. He regularly checks his account, adds contacts
within the network, sends messages and even participates in site-wide Internet chats.
As an Internet user for more than five years, the researcher have noticed that there
have been a number of social networking sites around the globe but only few of these
networks are especially designed for the members of the LGBTQ community, most do
not even offer free membership. Although there have been groups formed within large
communities like Facebook for LGBTQ users, there is still a small number of members
who have chosen to be part of such public groups. Among these sites is downelink.com
which was first introduced in the United States in 2004. The website has become popular
in the gay community reaching almost all parts of the globe, including the Philippines,
where it ranked 555th among the top sites visited by the Filipinos (Alexa.com, 2010).
Although relatively far from Facebook and other social networking sites in terms
of numbers of members, Downelink.com is slowly becoming a familiar term in the
Philippine gay scene. Statistics show that the Philippines ranked second to the United
States in the list of the countries where downelink.com users came from. Ten point three
percent of downelink.com users around the globe are Filipinos, making the Philippines
the Asian country with the most number of site members (Alexa.com, 2010).
From around 10,000 members when the researcher joined the network in 2006,
the site already records more than 800,000 Filipino members in 2010 (Downelink.com,
2010). Most of his gay friends have also joined the network, making it a very useful tool
4
for communicating. This propelled him to study the relationship between the Philippine
gay culture and the website.
Studies about social networking sites for the past years have slowly been
increasing, that is why the researcher wants to contribute in the growing number of
literature about it by studying a website which caters to the interests of gays like him. The
study also aims to present a perspective different from the uses and gratifications
approach which had been used in the past to explain the Internet usage of gays. It intends
to discover how gays use the website as a representation of the existing culture they are
part of and to explain how they create, maintain and even transform this community,
which is, uniquely Filipino.
B. Review of Related Literature
This chapter discusses the various literature that helped in establishing the
research niche. To support the problem posed by the researcher, this section tackles
insights on culture and how it is acquired, scholarly works that describe the gay culture in
the Philippines, the Internet lifestyles of Filipino gays in Metro Manila and the theory
that may provide an alternative view of the relationships between the three.
a. Culture and Cultural Acquisition
1. Culture
To understand the existing gay culture of gays in Metro Manila, it is important to
define first what culture is, how it is formed, and acquired. Since anthropologists,
sociologists and psychologists have varying description of culture, the researcher relies to
Sir Edward Tylor‘s definition of the concept. According to him, culture is that ―complex
whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other
5
capabilities acquired by human beings as members of society‖ (in Fernandez, 2001). It
encompasses all the things we think, do and have as members of society. Fernandez
(2001) also suggests that it is inherited, although the choice is ours to make whether to
reject or accept it. Moreover, culture is ―transmitted by the older generation to its
offspring, or transmitted in some portion by any member of one group to a member or
members of another group‖ (Kluckholn, 1962, p. 12).
Some scholars have used the term ‗pattern‘ to refer to the concept as it is
deterministic in nature. Fernandez (2001) pointed out that culture‘s prime significance is
to determine our lives since birth and to provide a set of behaviours called norms which
are expected to be followed by the members of that culture. Though humans have
significant contribution as to what makes up this set of behaviours, still, the construction
of culture ―was a privilege afforded only to the first peoples to inhabit the earth‖ (p. 8).
Cultural formation might have not been a privilege for people of newer
generations but they have the capability to maintain and even alter it. Sociologists Berger
and Luckmann discussed the ―three-dialectical moments in social reality‖ which argues
that ―culture is a human product‖, that it is an objective reality and that humans who are
the creators of the culture, are also its products (in Fernandez, p. 10). This therefore
suggests that culture is dynamic and that it can be transformed when the set of
behavioural expectations (norms) are no longer deemed relevant by the members of the
group.
2. Subcultures
Since not all members of a given culture adhere to the norms of the group, within
each culture are smaller groups whose some traits are different from the mainstream
6
culture. Such groups who challenge majority of the norms make their own set of
standards, thus, considered to be deviants.
Among the most popular subcultures is the LGBT community, although recent
studies have been considering them a culture in its own right. Because a subculture
―shares much of the overarching culture of the larger group within which it occurs, but
also has characteristics that are unique and identifiable both to itself and the larger
culture‖ (nccc.info, 2002), the argument that the LGBT community is a culture itself has
been emphasized. In the Philippine context, a male homosexual might be identified first
as a homosexual rather than a Filipino, making his role as a member of the LGBT
community more highlighted than his identity as a Filipino.
This, therefore, tells us that not all people inherit an entire culture. Instead, we
normally inherit only aspects of it. Fernandez (2001) used the metaphor of the coin to
give us an idea how one‘s personality type go hand-in-hand with one‘s subculture to
create his entire being. In the metaphor, he shares that one side represents a human‘s
personality while the other side represents the subculture where he belongs. The point is
that, although the two sides project different images, they still make up the same coin (in
this case, the coin is the culture itself).
3. Cultural Acquisition/Socialization
As previously discussed, a culture is acquired since birth but forces surrounding a
person help shape his identity. Since the sociological coin introduced in the previous
paragraph tells us that one‘s personality structure and his subculture make up his culture,
it is important to find out the factors that shape one‘s personality. Culture has been
argued to be a pattern of behaviours but the process through which these patterns are
7
enacted and internalized in the social system is known as socialization (Fernandez, 2001).
While culture determines how a person acts, several socialization agents contribute in the
decision-making process of an individual whether to accept or reject it.
4. Agents of Socialization
There are four known agencies of socialization and these are the following:
family, school, peer groups and mass media. The family is considered to be a primary
agent of socialization while the other are considered being secondary agents (Fernandez,
2001). Although considered to be secondary, the socializing effects of the school, peer
groups and mass media has drew a considerable amount of attention from scholars as
they, especially the peer groups and mass media, are said to have considerable amount of
influence in a person‘s view of the world.
Socialization is very important as it contribute immensely in the formation of the
first side of the sociological coin (personality structure). In the process of cultural
acquisition, we, humans acquire culture ―consciously and unconsciously, throughout our
lives, though most of our basic cultural understandings are acquired early on from our
parents and other intimates, schools, and religious teachings‖ (nccc.info, 2002). By the
time a child is attending pre-school, most of the cultural foundations have already been
internalized while these foundations have been thoroughly elaborated upon in teenage
years through the process of socialization (nccc.info, 2002).
The agencies in this age of Internet can no longer be categorized separately as
there are peer groups that do not necessarily have personal contact with each other. The
popularity of social networking sites has allowed people to build relationships over the
Internet, which is a mass medium. Such cross-over of the agencies can be considered a
8
new viewpoint in studying the life-long process of socialization since during the time
when mass media was introduced as a new agent, the technology of television and radio
are still new. Relationships built through those mediums are still non-existent, unlike
today when the Internet poses a new form of interaction different from what the older
mass media had offered. The cross-over also introduces the question: ―are peer groups
built through another socialization agent more influential?‖ Would this mix create a new
primary agent of socialization? How will it help shape one‘s viewpoint of the world?
Such questions have been deemed relevant by the researcher on the culture of gays in
Metro Manila. In order to understand how such agency of socialization, introduced just
recently, contributes in shaping the behaviours of selected male homosexuals in key cities
in the Metro, the next part of this section will provide a description of the views of
homosexuality in the country that emerged in different decades since the 1970s to the
1990s, as proposed by Garcia.
b. Philippine Gay Culture
Most people might argue that the Philippines is a haven for gays and unlike
Western societies, Filipinos are more tolerant of them. Garcia (1998a) pointed out that
this is not true. He argues that the people who believe in this claim are precisely the
people who are not gay (p. 77). He substantiates this argument by pointing out that in our
country, gays and lesbians are not successful ―in sustaining any viable movement that
would militate for the upholding of their rights‖ (1998a, p. 77). For him, this proves that
the oppression to members of the LGBT community is so pervasive that there are no
liberation movement to take root in such a context.
9
Although recent groups like Ladlad went on very aggressive in securing a post in
the parliament, the first decision of government institutions like the Commission on
Elections to disqualify them on the basis of moral standards, is a relevant testament of
Garcia‘s claim. And though the Supreme Court turned the decision, the party‘s defeat in
the party-list race might be another proof of the prevalence of our ―macho, heterosexist
culture‖ (Garcia, 1998a, p. 77).
Garcia (1998a) also points out that a person does not necessarily have to be a
scholar on gay studies just to realize the oppression of homosexuals in the country.
According to him, the presence of gays in almost day-to-day living of Filipinos (i.e.
entertainment and fashion) may not suffice to their current status. In fact, he argues, the
concentration of these gays in those industries even highlight the fact that they cannot
penetrate in other fields which is dominated by heterosexuals (1996, p. 10). He also noted
that gay bashing happens and it is real. In today‘s context, there may not be numerous
reports on gay violence but simple teasing is still a form of bash. It is also interesting to
observe that there are still parents who tolerate their children who bash homosexuals. In
my experience, there were even instances when the parent calls the attention of the
homosexual being bashed to tell him to act decently rather than disciplining his own
child.
Another important argument that Garcia raised is the notable difference on how
Filipinos define a homosexual. According to him, if westerners define a gay based on his
sexual orientation, Filipinos‘ classification of homosexuality is gendered (1998a). In
western societies, if one is satisfied by sexual activities with a person of the same sex, he
is considered homosexual but in the Philippines, the concept of ―economic necessity‖
10
exists where ―straight guys‖ are forced to do ―pagpatol‖ to ―bakla‖ just because he has
financial needs (Garcia, 1998a). He questions this concept of ―real man‖ by arguing that
―it is completely unthinkable that the ‗real man‘s‘ desire structures possesses their own
homoeroticism as well, granting that he undeniably gets pleasurably aroused–even to the
point of orgasm–by another genital male in what is, techinically speaking, same-sexual
intercourse (1998a, p. 88).
Another remarkable differences Filipino gays have is the complex and dynamic
use of sward speak. And though there are different terms used to classify homosexuals in
the country, most derive the uniqueness of the terms from gender performance rather than
sexual orientation (Garcia, 1998a). For example, terms like pa-mhin, pa-mentol and
closeta were used to describe a straight-acting gay based on how he acts rather than his
sexual preference. Another notable observation is that, while the term ‗gay‘ has its
Filipino counterpart, which is ‗bakla‘, the meaning of the terms entirely differs since the
latter is used oftentimes, to refer to the cross-dressing Filipino homosexual rather than the
entire community of guys who engage in (and enjoys) same-sex activities.
Garcia (1998a) suggests that this distinction mainly is the reason why a mardigras inspired gay liberation movement was snobbed by many straight-acting Filipino
gays. He emphasized that in our country, ―gender distinctions–here, macho and
effeminate–prove to be a more powerful force that has prevented the formation of a
genuine gay liberation movement‖ (1998b, p. 91). This may also be the reason why
within the circles of Filipino homosexuality, gays discriminate each other as to who
among the discreet and effeminate are the real gays.
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The varying degrees of gayness in the Philippines as presented in the preceding
paragraphs have proven that as time passes by, alterations on the different views of
homosexuality in the country are present. These changes are reflective of the dynamic
nature of culture where some of its aspects are altered as generations change. Thus, the
technological advancements that have been proliferating today may have a role in
shaping the behaviours of people who use it. Gays of the Internet age are among these
people who rely on the technology for a plethora of purposes, making its role in shaping
their behaviours, beliefs, and practices intensified. To further understand this, the
following section of this study will discuss the correlation between gays and the Internet.
c. Filipino gays and the Internet
The age of the Internet has brought a tremendous impact on the generation of
people who are enjoying its benefits. The Internet, a worldwide network of networks,
grows at a phenomenal rate that its exact number of users is almost impossible to
estimate (Silva and Breleaux, 1995). More and more people have been depending on this
supranetwork. It has already been considered to be a mass medium, thereby considering it
as one of the socialization agents. Laudal highlighted the importance of cyberspace in
attaining public space, which then creates ―community spirit‖—a collective notion of
being bound together by commonalities in language, music, religion and other cultural
manifestations (1995). Moreover, it promises to open more communication channels than
ever before, stimulates more intensely than any other medium and offers more means of
participation in public space than ever before (Laudal, 1995).
With the features the Internet has, more and more people are engrossed with the
activities they can do in front of the computer. There is now the so-called ‗virtual reality‘,
12
which is, according to Mirzoeff, is ―a new form of reality generated by the extreme
specialization of computer technology‖ (2000). Robins postulated that people rely on
cyberspace in the hope that this time around, a new technology will finally deliver them
the limitations and the frustrations of their imperfect world (in Featherstone & Burrows,
1995).
Among the notable online communities that exist is comprised by members of the
LGBT community. Aside from using the medium to gratify personal and social interests,
the entire community of homosexuals also benefit from the medium, as the Internet serve
as ―a venue where gays revolutionize the way they think about themselves, their
interpersonal relationship and their community‖ (Austria, 2006a, p. 3). Advocates of gay
rights use the medium to solicit support and to disseminate information to people whose
geographical locations seem to hinder them from asserting those rights.
In the Philippine context, Sy localized the notion of virtual community by coining
the term ‗cyber-barangay‘ to refer to these communities. According to him, cyberbarangays, especially in forms supported by the Internet, tends to foster autonomy as well
as localized, in-group management of social affairs. These are localized public spheres
against the background of issues on globalization and nationhood. He also added that the
creation of new virtual communities, as facilitated by the increasing access to the Internet
and with other media, empowers the Filipinos (in Austria, 2006a).
Austria (2006a) also emphasizes the role of Internet as a venue for the
homosexual community to empower themselves through online communities fostering
friendship, social and even political discussion (p. 7). He claims that since Internet
Revolution is empowering, the cross-over of gay rights movement or Rainbow
13
Revolution on the medium will pave the way for a more powerful call for gay rights
(2006b, p. 51). ―It is in the hands of the active master of this medium to engage others in
rational debate, emphasize human rights, encourage participation, form communities, and
eventually build stronger democratic societies‖ (Austria, 2006b, p. 51).
The formation of communities in the Internet may be considered a springboard to
a more important role of the medium and that is, to empower the gay rights movement.
Social networking sites that have been gaining popularity all over the globe may even
perform this task by offering a venue to discuss prevailing issues which are relevant to
gay communities anywhere in the world. Relationships built online may contribute on the
sharing of information which might break the gendered definition of homosexuality in the
Philippines. As information is made available to everyone who has access to the World
Wide Web, the breaking of cultural barriers may be possible. This may then allow a
global concept of homosexuality which may either produce a global gay culture or may
just highlight the uniqueness of Philippine gay culture.
The Filipino gays‘ usage of the technology therefore poses a perspective that
highlights the role of the Internet in shaping the cultural patterns existing within their
community. To fully grasped how a social networking site like Downelink.com play a
part in the cultural processes of selected gays in Metro Manila, James Carey‘s ritual
approach in studying communication was employed as a framework in this study. The
following section will discuss how this alternative view would integrate the relationship
of culture, gays, and the Internet.
14
d. Ritual View of Communication
Among the most important breakthroughs in the study of communication is John
Carey‘s ritual view of communication. By bringing a cultural studies perspective to his
work, he re-located mass communication as a subset of human communication and
created a wider understanding of how participation in the act of communication was an
essential part of the human condition. Covering topics from technology to the telegraph
and from democracy to community, Carey carved a niche for himself in communication
studies at both an applied and academic level.
For Carey (1989a), communication can be viewed as ―a process and a technology
that would sometimes for religious purposes, spread, transmit, and disseminate
knowledge, ideas, and information farther and faster with the goal of controlling space
and people‖ (p. 17). But in ritual view, he suggests, communication is linked to terms
such as ‗sharing‘, ‗participation‘, ‗association‘, ‗fellowship‘, and ‗the possession of
common faith‘ thus it is directed ―not toward the extension of messages in space but
toward the maintenance of society in time; not the act of imparting information but the
representation of shared beliefs‖ (p. 18).
Carey also pointed out that in a community, rituals representative of its ideals
―creates an artificial though nonetheless real symbolic order‖ which provides ―not
information but confirmation, not to alter attitudes… but to represent an underlying order
of things, not to perform functions but to manifest an ongoing and fragile process‖ (p.
19). Communication, through language and other symbols, is the rituals which comprise
the ambience of human existence. There is a real world and the fact that we have
15
accounts of it. These accounts are the symbols or representations in which purpose is to
express the simplicity of things and not its possible complexity (Carey, 1989a).
He also argued that representations are intended to help people understand the
reality easier as it projects an easier lay-out on how the reality works (1989a, p. 29). This
is the reason why symbols have the ability to be ―representations ‗of‘ and ‗for‘ reality‖
(Carey, 1989a, p. 29). This dual aspect of communication suggests that in one mode, its
models inform us what the process is and on the second mode, ―they produce the
behavior they have described‖ (Carey, 1989a, p. 31). In a given community, there may be
different ways on how communication can be modeled but these also correspond to
different ethical implications for they produce different social relations (Carey, 1989a).
People in a given community have the ability to produce reality but it does not
stop there. Over time, this reality has to be maintained and even transformed ―for there
are always new generations coming along for whom our productions are incipiently
problematic and for whom reality must be regenerated and made authoritative‖ (Carey,
1989a, p. 30). It must continuously be repaired as it constantly breaks down. In order to
cope with the dynamic culture, communication has also to be relevant to its members.
Just like the culture of Filipino gays who are deemed to be reinventing themselves over
the last decade, communication process within it should also reinvent itself. But as a new
platform of communication is produced, a new form of social reality might also be born
out of it. We have to understand communication through its implications in the dynamic
cultural process. This is why a ritual view of communication is important. For in this
ritualistic take, according to Carey, we not only firmly grasp the essence of this
16
‗wonderful‘ process but we also are able ―to rebuild a model ‗of‘ and ‗for‘
communication of some restorative value in reshaping our culture‖ (p. 35).
e. Conclusion
Downelink.com as one of the things offered by the Internet, a mass medium, can
be considered one of the agents of socialization but unlike traditional mass media like the
television, radio, and print media, the social networking site is a combination of two
agencies—peer groups and mass media. The technology offers a venue for its users to
communicate with other members, thus, allowing them to build relationships regardless
of location and distance.
Since culture has been argued as patterns of behaviors, beliefs, and practices
acquired over one‘s lifetime through the process of enculturation, venues like the social
networking site where communities are built play a very significant role in shaping the
cultural patterns of its members. The LGBTQ community, as one of the groups that is
now being considered a culture in its own right, has been deliberately using the medium
as a tool to communicate with people of the same interests. Downelink.com, which was
founded based on this purpose, has found its turf in the Philippine gay community
leading the researcher to take an in-depth look of the phenomenon.
Using the ritual view of communication which seeks to see communication as a
cultural process provides a very good framework in understanding this phenomenon.
How does a communication model like the website play a part in the performance of
rituals of its selected gay members in Metro Manila? And how does this venue pave the
way in creation, maintenance, and transformation of these gays‘ culture? These questions
emerged as the niche of this research upon the review of the related literature.
17
C. Statement of Problem, Purpose and Objectives
a. Research Problem
How does the LGBT social networking site downelink.com play a part in the
performance of rituals of selected Filipino gays in Metro Manila?
b. Research Purpose
An analysis of the LGBTQ social networking site Downelink.com using James
Carey‘s ritual view of communication was employed to understand how it serves as a
representation of the culture of selected Metro Manila gays and to find out how this
cultural representation shapes their shared behaviours, beliefs, and practices. It also seeks
to understand how the selected male members make use of the website to perform
symbolic rituals that contribute in the creation, maintenance, and transformation of their
shared culture. The researcher aims to do this by identifying the shared patterns of
behaviours, beliefs, and practices that is created by the gays‘ participation in the site.
These created cultural patterns have been utilized to identify what parts of the dominant
view of homosexuality, posed by Garcia more than 10 years ago, has been maintained
and transformed by the members who participate in the website.
c. Data Gathering Objectives
The objectives of this study were derived from James Carey‘s ritual view of
communication. He argues that as an alternative to the transmission view, the ritual
approach sees communication as a model where symbolic rituals happen, thus
contributing to the creation, maintenance, and transformation of reality. To find out how
Downelink.com plays a part in the culture of selected gays in Metro Manila, the
following objectives were set by the researcher:
18
1. To discover what kind of gay culture does Filipino downelink.com users in
Metro Manila create.
2. To find out the gay culture that is maintained by Filipinos in Metro Manila
who use the website.
3. To know the type of culture that is transformed from users‘ participation in
the LGBT social networking site.
d. Significance of the Study
If the objectives set in this study were met, it will pave the way for a deeper
understanding of social networking sites (SNS). It will provide a new perspective on the
role of SNS in the creation and maintenance of the gay community. This would augment
the previous researches about gays‘ Internet usage that employed the uses and
gratifications approach, by providing a ‗culturalist‘ approach in interpreting this
technology and its users. It will help people understand how a cultural process happens in
this new communication model and how it impacts not only the individual who uses the
medium but the entire culture from where he belongs. Since previous studies about the
homosexuals‘ use of the Internet have focused in the entire medium and not on specific
features like social networking sites, the study will present an in-depth explanation on
how a gay subculture is being created and even cultivated by the use of SNS.
The researcher sees the study as a helpful scholastic work in understanding the
gay culture existing in the Philippines. This will, therefore, strengthen the assumption
that the Internet, just like the television and other more popular mass media, plays a very
important role in a person‘s socialization process. The study will also attempt to provide
19
a clear picture of how Filipino male homosexuals celebrate their sexuality through a
social networking site like Downelink.com.
20
CHAPTER II. METHODOLOGY
A. Theoretical Grounding
The study used James Carey‘s ritual view of communication as a lens while J.
Neil Garcia‘s gay theory in the Philippines was employed as a guide. The ritual view
provided a framework in analyzing the participation of Metro Manila gays in
Downelink.com and its implications in the creation, maintenance, and transformation of
their shared culture. The gay theory, on the other hand, was used to identify the concepts
that helped in classifying the view of homosexuality which exists out of the members‘
use of the website. This will help determine the type of culture these gays, through
participation in Downelink.com, have created, maintained, and transformed.
1. Ritual View of Communication
Carey in 1989 introduces a cultural approach in studying communication. For
him, it is important to have a ritualistic view of it, where one should see it as a symbolic
process where reality is ―produced, maintained, repaired and transformed‖ (1989a, p. 23).
It is more concerned with the replication of culture over time than the expansion of
cultural norms over distance. Carey saw the ritual model of communication as one that
had potential to build the community he sought because of its ability to create shared
meaning for a group of people.
He also pointed out that as cultures transform itself into something relevant to
new generations who practice it, communication should also do its part in coping with the
changes. This view of communication was grounded in a background of religion,
economic expansion, and eventually, imperialism.
21
Communication is composed of rituals which can either be expressed in language,
images, music and even dance. These symbols or communication models have the ability
to be both representations ‗of‘ and ‗for‘ reality–first, to tell people what the process is and
second to produce the behavior they have described. Carey (1989a) also argues that since
communication can be modeled in several ways, these models might also have different
ethical implications since they produce various forms of social relations.
Symbols are intended not to complicate things but rather to present a simple
representation of and for the existing reality. According to Carey, these models are not
―merely representations of communication but representations for communication:
templates that guide… concrete processes of human interaction, mass and personal‖
(1989a, p. 32). A ritual view of communication therefore is directed not towards
controlling space and people but toward the maintenance of society in time; not the act of
information sharing but the representations of shared beliefs (Carey, 1989a).
There have been limited amount of literature which have used the ritual view of
communication in their studies. This mainly can be attributed to the fact that the cultural
approach to communication is also relatively new. In the field of Philippine gay studies,
the researcher was not able to find studies that employed the cultural approach but several
scholars abroad have used the framework in studying fields like community radio and the
relationship management theory in the field of public relations.
2.
Gay Theory in the Philippines
J. Neil Garcia has been known for his works aimed at describing the cultural
landscape of gays in Metro Manila. In his works, he provided not only a vivid description
of the various views of homosexuality that had existed since the 1970s but also a review
22
of significant literature about Filipino homosexuals dating back from the pre-colonial
Philippines.
Garcia also proposed characteristics of gay theory in the Philippines. According to
him, there should be three features of this theory in the country: first, it should explain
how come there are no native equivalents to the homo/hetero sexual distinctions of
western societies. Second, it has to ―establish the sites for intervention within the
dominant macho culture, and map out the points at which issues of sexuality overlap
issues of gender‖ (1996, p. 11). And third, the theory has to provide a ―material critique‖
of the class system since gay issues that involve oppression, discrimination, and
prostitution are linked to ―local class-supremacist ideologies‖ (p. 11). Although he
presented these three features, he did not provide an in-depth discussion on the last
feature of this proposed theory.
Garcia (1996) argued that the dominant view of homosexuality can be
characterized by the cross-dresser, effeminate gay otherwise known as the bakla.
Although these kinds of gays can be found almost virtually anywhere, he never dismissed
the existence of the bakla‘s counterpart, the covert homosexual. This dichotomy of the
Filipino homosexual has started proliferating in the 1970s when homosexuality in the
country has been identified not only through gender identity but through sexual identity
as well. The stereotypical homosexual in the person of the bakla back then started sharing
the homosexuality with other flamboyant males who engage in same-sexual activities but
do not acquire the cross-dressing characteristics of the bakla (p. 52)
Decades have passed and the terms that label the covert homosexual varied from
silahis to MSM (men having sex with other men), consistent with the changes on their
23
perspectives of their sexuality. The bakla, also reinventing himself through labels that
serve as alternative to the somehow derogatory term bakla, continues to be the dominant
view of homosexuality in the country up to the 1990s (Garcia, 1998a).
Garcia‘s work also highlighted how the process of coming out in the Philippines
has been characterized as the acquisition of the characteristics of the bakla. With this, he
cited how Filipino gays treat homosexuality as a process of embracing cross-dressing,
effeminacy, and loudness which is totally different compared to the western notion of the
concept. He emphasized this difference by citing concepts labas/appearance, demeanor,
loob/sexual desire, language, and occupation as identifiers of homosexuality.
Several undergraduate studies have already used the works of Garcia to
understand the culture of gays in the country. Given the limited amount of literature
which deals with homosexual culture in the country, his works have been considered very
useful in understanding the gay landscape in the Philippines. His writings may have
focused on the homosexuals in Metro Manila but he had also reviewed related literature
about gays who live outside the national capital.
B. Research Design
The researcher had chosen to conduct a study focused more on depth and
qualitative data using the methods textual analysis and online interviews. The purpose of
this basic research is ―to contribute fundamental knowledge and theory‖ (Patton, 2002,
p.150) by studying the dynamics between gay culture and the social networking site using
the concepts derived from Garcia‘s gay theory as identifiers of culture. The ritual view of
communication posed by James Carey was used to analyze the data collected out of the
two methods.
24
The textual analysis, which was defined as a ―data-gathering process – for those
researchers who want to understand the ways in which members of various cultures and
subcultures make sense of who they are, and of how they fit into the world in which they
live‖ (McKee, 2003, p. 1), was employed to gather as much information that will thickly
describe the culture of selected gay members who engage in the activities offered by
Downelink.com. The profiles of selected members and the activities in the chat feature of
the website were treated as texts in which meaning was derived from (McKee, 2003).
The online interviews, meanwhile, were conducted to find out things that the
researcher was not able to observe in the textual analysis (Patton, 2002). Feelings and
emotions that are not observable in the profiles of selected members, which include the
respondents‘ views of their sexualities, were sought by the researcher through the
interviews. It employed the interview guide approach where topics and questions were
outlined but the order of questioning varied depending on the flow of each conducted
interview (Patton, 2002). The approach proved to be very useful as some respondents had
been multi-tasking during the time of the interview.
The results of the second method were used to add credibility to the analysis by
providing additional insights related to the key concepts that emerged in the textual
analysis process.
C. Concepts and Indicators
1. Ritual View of Communication
In Garcia‘s study, he pointed out that swardspeak serves as evidence that gays
have been reinventing themselves throughout the last three decades (1998a, p. 79). This
suggests us that over those years, there is great deal of variations on the type of gay
25
culture that had existed at least in Metropolitan Manila. Along with the changing of times
are the technological advancements that have started proliferating all over the globe,
including the Philippines. Using James Carey‘s ritual view of communication, this study
examined how the concepts posed by this alternative take on communication explains the
phenomenon of Filipino gays in Metro Manila who uses the social networking site
downelink.com.
The reality being studied is the culture of Filipino gays in Metro Manila where
the form of symbolic representation is the social networking site downelink.com. As the
culture of gays in the regional capital evolves over time, the ritual view of
communication will tell us what kind of culture does this new form of communication
model creates. It will also help us discover what part of the Philippine gay culture is
being maintained by the social networking site, thus helping us understand what have
been the changes brought by the Metro Manila gays‘ participation in the website.
Also included in the role of communication is its ability to repair reality. In this
study, this framework will seek to point out what shared beliefs of Metro Manila gays
have been repaired and even transformed by the social networking site. Would this
include the gendered definition of homosexuality in the Philippines which Garcia
reported more than a decade ago?
Finally, the framework will help out in understanding how the website which was
introduced more than a decade ago have contributed in the type of gay reality that has
now been existing in the country. It will then provide an understanding as to how the
features of Downelink.com which is being used by Filipino users in Metro Manila serve
as a representation of and for reality.
26
2. Gay Theory in the Philippines
The writings of Garcia indeed provided a rich and vivid description of selected
Filipino gays‘ cultural landscape. The gay theory in the Philippines he proposed cited
concepts which played very important roles in determining the views of homosexuality
present in the country (Garcia, 1996). The concepts identified in the study were derived
from the writings Garcia, where he provided descriptions of different views of
homosexuality based on the following: labas/appearance, demeanor, loob/sexual
desires, language, and occupation (1996). Such concepts are vital in understanding the
unique homosexual view Filipinos have vis-à-vis its counterpart in western societies. And
so, it is important to identify the concepts introduced in the previous paragraph as it will
enable us to identify what culture of selected male homosexuals in Metro Manila has
been created, maintained, and transformed out of their participation in the website.
The concept of labas/appearance will indicate the physical and visible attributes
of selected male members of the website. . The way a homosexual dresses is reflective of
how he perceives himself. There are those who cross-dress, there are those who just wear
clothing that has feminine touch while there are those who really has a fashion statement
of the macho. The indicators of Labas/appearance are the selected members‘ fashion
statement, self-description and projected image of self
Although each gay differs on how he carries himself through clothing, his entire
being can‘t be judged simply by looking on how he wears. This leads us to the next
concept, which is demeanor. Demeanor pertains to the gays‘ way of acting as evidenced
by his gestures, mannerism, and manner of speaking. The way these selected website
users perform acts is a very important attribute which can help in the identification of the
27
view of homosexuality as presented in the website. It can help determine what cultural
aspects are formed by these users‘ participation in the website, and how this engagement
in Downelink.com activities contributes in the maintenance and transformation of their
culture. This concept can be indicated by the gay members‘ range of effeminacy and their
self-description as well.
Loob/sexual desire comprises the sexual identity of Filipino male homosexuals
since it confirms their sexuality. This is a concept that has been argued to be inexistent in
the 1960s since gays were then identified through their gender identity alone (Garcia,
1996). A boy may be labeled a gay if he acts flamboyantly although he has no sexual
attractions to the same sex. It was in the 1970s that the bakla and covert homosexuals‘
sexual identity was considered to be an integral part of their being. While some cultures
in western societies define homosexuality solely on the basis of one‘s sexual desire, the
gay culture in Metro Manila, at least more than 10 years ago, defines it on the basis of
one‘s gender and sexual identity. This concept will largely contribute in understanding
the selected members‘ perception of their own sexualities and it will emphasize the role
of sexual object choice in the determination of their sexual identity. In the course of this
study, the concept is evidenced by the sexual object choice of the users, the qualities they
seek in an ideal partner and their view of sexuality.
Another cultural concept of Garcia‘s gay theory that has been employed in this
study is language, which, in the context of Philippine gay culture, can be considered very
distinct. The use of swardspeak by gays in the country is very influential, as it had even
penetrated the dominant macho culture of the society.
28
Language, meanwhile, can be indicated by the use of swardspeak, which Garcia
considered to be a unique characteristic of the culture of Metro Manila gays since the
1970s. Music is another indicator of this concept. In his works, Garcia (1996) argued that
Filipino homosexuals, bakla or covert, have undisputed admiration for pop superstars,
citing Madonna and other female singers of the 1970s to 1990s as the icons whom gays
of their generation had looked up to.
Lastly, the gay theory in the Philippines had also posed occupation as a concept
indicative of the culture of selected homosexuals. The dominant view of homosexuality
characterized by the bakla has been stereotyped on occupations within the fields of
beauty, entertainment, and fashion.
Most people has this notion of the cross-dressing bakla as someone who may
either be working as a hairdresser in a beauty parlor, a couturier, or probably as a standup comedian. Popular homosexual personalities like Bambbi Fuentes, Mama Rene Salud,
and Vice Ganda are living proofs of this stereotype being imposed to Filipino gays.
Garcia (1998a) argues that such stereotype reflects oppression and discrimination as this
boxing out of gay occupation limits the bakla on other fields of opportunities. The
participation of gay members in Downelink.com is expected to break this stereotype as
some gays, cross-dresser or not, have already been making names in fields beyond those
mentioned. Thus, the concept of occupation can be indicated by the relatedness of the
members‘ work to any of the three fields mentioned.
D. Unit of Analysis and Sampling
Textual analysis and online interviews were conducted by the researcher in this
study. The profiles of selected members of the social networking site, the chat feature of
29
the website, and the online interview respondents are the units of analysis employed in
this research. The 30 profiles were selected using criterion sampling in which location
was chosen as a criterion in the ‗flirt‘ tab to filter the users who will appear in each list.
The profile to be selected should indicate a city in Metro Manila as the member‘s
location and his profile should be fully accessible by the researcher. For every click of the
‗search‘ button five profiles were accessed to check if all the information can be viewed
or not. For every private profile accessed, the researcher proceeds to the next in the list
until he came up with five fully accessible profiles. This was repeated for six times to
obtain the 30 member profiles.
The online interview respondents, on the other hand, were selected using
snowball sampling conducted by asking the researcher‘s friends both within and outside
the online community if they are willing to participate in the interview or if they know
friends who may be willing to participate (Patton, 2002). With location and availability as
primary considerations, eight respondents agreed to participate in the online interview.
Table 1 shows a list of the eight respondents while Table 2 shows a list of the nicknames
of the members whose profiles were analyzed.
Table 1. Online Interview Respondents
NAME1
Nick
1
LOCATION
Katipunan, Quezon City
OCCUPATION/
COMPANY/
SCHOOL2
College Student/
UPD
SEXUAL
ORIENTATION
LABEL
Downe
The complete names are the real names of the respondents while the first names serve as aliases.
UPD stands for University of the Philippines Diliman while UST stands for University of Santo
Tomas
2
30
Continuation… Table 1. Online Interview Respondents
Jhong Garcia
(Jhong)
Ortigas, Pasig City
Nick
Katipunan, Quezon City
Jhong Garcia
(Jhong)
Ortigas, Pasig City
Marco
Timog, Quezon City
Paolo
Manila
Thy
Makati City
William
Manila
Dune
Sampaloc, Manila
Bernard Gatus
(Bernard)
Makati City
Online English
Tutor
College Student/
UPD
Online English
Tutor
Fresh Graduate/
BS Nursing
College Student/
UST
Fresh Graduate,
BS Nursing
Naval Nurse
College Student/
UST
College Student/
UPD
Bisexual
Downe
Bisexual
Bisexual
Bisexual
Bicurious
Bisexual
Bisexual
Gay
Table 2.Member Profiles Analyzed
PROFILE
NAME
Henry
Kirk
Filipe
dani boy
Emer
Panda
Treb
Justine
Jeh
3
LOCATION
OCCUPATION/
COMPANY/
SCHOOL3
1st Click4
Manila
Student
Sampaloc, Manila
Teacher
QC, Manila
Med Student
Makati City
Life Saver
Manila
Student
nd
2 Click
Quezon City
Student
Quezon City
Unemployed
Mandaluyong
Researcher
Sampaloc, Manila
Nurse/Call Center
Agent
SEXUAL
ORIENTATION
LABEL
Gay
Downe
Bicurious
Gay
Bisexual
Bicurious
Gay
Downe
Queer
The member indicated in his profile that M.A.N. stands for Master of Arts in Nursing, while
TSR is an acronym for Technical Support Representative. NARS is the tagalong spelling of nurse
while SAP stands for System Application and Program (all-acronym.com).
4
Signifies each click of the ‗search‘ button. The method was used to sample the 30 profiles
analyzed.
31
Continuation… Table 2. Member Profiles Analyzed
Jojo
Quezon City
Call Center
3 Click
Paranaque City
Educator, Chef
Pasay City
Student
Taguig City
FULL time
M.A.N, PART
time WOMAN
Fairview, Quezon City
Supervisor
Ortigas, Pasig City
TSR
th
4 Click
Las Piñas City
Designer
Makati City
Student
Manila
Service Crew
Manila
Student
Manila
Student
5th Click
Quezon City
Research Associate
Quezon City
Graphic/Fashion
Designer
Sampaloc, Manila
Employed
Quezon City
Student
Taft, Manila
NARS
6th Click
Quezon City
SAP Slave
Manila
Student
Pasay City
Cabin Crew
Taguig City
CSR
Makati City
writer/editor/journa
list
Bicurious
rd
Francis
Owen
xyriL
Jaygermesiter
Migz
AzHaYhUrI
Imagine
gerald carlo
Carlo
Donatello
Paul
Arjay
Marcky
Adrian
Rain
Ryan
Tonton
Lio
mynameisking
Gibbs
Gay
Not Sure
Bisexual
Bicurios
Bisexual
Gay
Not Sure
Bisexual
Downe
Not Sure
Gay
Downe
Gay
Gay
Downe
Queer
Bicurious
Gay
Gay
Downe
E. Research Instruments
A textual analysis form (attached as Appendix A) was used as a guide to interpret the
profiles of the 30 criterion-selected members. The subjects for analysis were the
members‘ sexual orientation labels, primary photos, ‗About Me‘ section, ‗Who I Want to
Meet‘ section, Info box, and friends‘ photo thumbnails. These categories were derived
from the indicators of the concepts of Garcia‘s gat theory. A separate table attached in
this study shows the accomplished textual analysis form (see Appendix E).
32
Concurrently, an interview guide (attached as Appendix B) was used during the
online interview. A set of 12 open-ended questions covering the membership
background, motivations for using downelink.com, online connections/networks, site
activities, notion on sexuality, and offline activities of the members were asked to the
respondents. This is to achieve the basic thrust of qualitative interviewing which is to
―minimize the imposition of predetermined responses‖ (Patton, 2002, p. 295) during the
data gathering.
F. Data Gathering Procedure
The researcher started by doing a text, Facebook.com and Downelink.com
message blast to his contacts. After obtaining a reasonable number of possible
participants, the researcher started double-checking if they qualified as respondents.
Since location and availability are the primary considerations in the selection process,
eight members emerged as respondents for the online interview.
The online interviews were conducted from January 17-22, 2010 mostly in the
evening when most of the respondents were already at home. Each interview lasted an
average of 60-90 minutes, and since it was conducted online, several interruptions caused
the interviewees delays in answering the questions. Some even admitted forgetting that
they were participating in an interview as they have also immersed their selves in other
online activities.
The textual analyses, on the other hand, were conducted from the time when the
researcher realized that the results of the online interview failed to provide adequate
information. The results of the interview were not neglected though, as these have
33
provided insights which were not observed in the textual analysis. It provided in-depth
information that was not seen in the texts.
The researcher started the profile analysis by using the ‗flirt‘ tab of the website
which allowed him to select the profiles viable for the method. As what have been
discussed in the previous subsections, the profiles were selected based on the sampling
method employed in the research. To make sure that the necessary details were observed
and analyzed, the researcher provided in the textual analysis form, detailed descriptions
of all the things he read and saw in each profile, in relation to the concepts and indicators
set in this study. The process was repeated for all the profile samples.
Finally, to augment the information found on the profiles of the selected users,
the researcher also conducted analysis of the website‘s chat features which provided a
thicker description of other important concepts relevant to the gay culture of selected
gays. Screenshots of the chat room conversations were used to provide more in-depth
analysis of the chat activities.
G. Data Analysis Procedure
The data gathered out of the methods were analyzed according to James Carey‘s
ritual view of communication. The concepts identified by Garcia‘s gay theory were used
as a guide to find out what parts of the cultures of selected gays in Metro Manila have
been created, maintained, and transformed by their participation in the LGBTQ social
networking site. The profiles and interview transcripts served as notes which were used
as bases for the analysis.
Phenomenological analysis approach was also employed ―to grasp and elucidate
the meaning, structure, and essence‖ (Patton, 2002, p. 482) of the lived experiences of the
34
selected members of Downelink.com. Epoche as what had been discussed by Patton
(2002), became the significant first step that the researcher made so he could be aware of
the prejudices, viewpoints or assumptions he had towards the phenomenon (p. 485).
Phenomenological reduction became the second step in the analysis. The experiences of
selected gays who joined the website were taken out of their world to uncover, define,
and analyze the significant elements and essential structures present in it (p. 485).
The data gathered were also horizontalized and organized according to meaningful
clusters which helped in eliminating the irrelevant, repetitive or overlapping information
collected. After such clusters were organized, a textural description of the phenomenon,
through verbatim examples from the respondents and the users‘ profiles were written to
describe the experiences they had in the phenomenon (Moustakas in Creswell, 2003).
Structural description of the website was also created to understand how these selected
members‘ participation in the website activities creates a culture, which also shapes their
cultural patterns. Lastly, ―a synthesis of the meanings and essences of the experience‖
(Moustakas in Patton, 2002) was produced to integrate the textural and structural
descriptions made.
H. The Researcher
The researcher is a senior Broadcast Communication major at the University of
the Philippines in Diliman. He is a self-confessed gay and his family is aware of his
sexuality. He actively participates in online activities such as joining social networking
sites, writing blogs, and simply surfing the internet. He has been using the technology for
seven years now, and since then, he has seen the change on how users like him use it. The
idea of using the website as the subject of his study first came to his mind two years ago
35
when he started noticing a change on the behaviour of most of his online friends. Most of
his gay friends have significantly chosen the ‗bisexual‘ label as their sexual orientation in
the website although in reality, they really are not.
The researcher has also been exposed in different social environments. He has
worked in a BPO company where most of his colleagues are young straight-acting gay
professionals. Most of them are also part of the LGBTQ social networking site.
As a gay, he is actively participates in the activities of other Filipino homosexuals
which include socializing. He regularly joins other gays every year in celebrating the
much-awaited White Party at Orosa-Nakpil Street in Malate.
36
CHAPTER III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
A. Downelink.com
1. Brief Background
Downelink.com was founded in 2005 in the United States. The term was coined
out of the American slang downe, which literally means gay but not as out as those crossdressing homosexuals (Urbandictionary.com, 2011) and link or connection. The idea of
the website is ―to provide a space for Downe people and their friends to exchange ideas,
build friendships, and utilize local and nationwide services‖ (Downelink.com, 2011). A
screenshot of the site‘s home page can be seen below (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Home Page of Downelink.com
37
Similar to more popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace,
Downelink.com also offers an array of features which include ―networking, blogs,
internal emails, bulletins, forums, video/audio chat and instant messaging, and video
profile” (Downelink.com, 2011). But unlike the two, the website limits its market by
catering only to the needs and wants of downes and downe-friendly people.
With this description from the website, its main intention is to attract members of
the LGBTQ community from all over America alone. But from the time it was first
introduced in the American market, the website unexpectedly gained membership in key
cities of Latin America, Europe, and even Asia. The Philippines has become second to
the United States in terms of number of members, making its name buzz-worthy in the
Filipino gay community. Since 2005, the number of its members in the country alone
grew to more than 800,000. In fact, as an active member, the researcher had also noticed
that the number of chat rooms in the website created by Filipinos had already
outnumbered those that are created by Americans.
2. Main Features
The features of the website can be summed up by 11 main tabs: Home, Message,
Blogs, Flirt, Chat, Forums, Groups, Photos, DowneTV, DowneRadio and Contests.
Although the researcher‘s observation, backed-up by the results of the online interview
he conducted, showed that among these tabs, there are only selected features which
appeal to the Filipino market. The Home, Message, Flirt, and Chat tabs emerged as the
most popular and most frequently used features of the social networking site. The
following sections will briefly describe these relevant features for selected Filipino
members of Downelink.com.
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2.1 Home
The Home tab welcomes the user as he logs on his account. This tab consists of
summaries not only of the recent activities in the user‘s account but also of the updates of
his friends accounts. Direct link to messaging, status, notifications, pending friend
requests, and other features that enable the user to connect with his friends can be found
in this section. This tab may be considered as the users‘ gateway to other features within
the site since all the links that lead them to almost all the remaining site features,
including the viewing and editing of profile and account settings, can be found here. A
screenshot of the default view of the home tab can be seen on Figure 2.
Figure 2. Default view of the ‗Home‘ tab.
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2.2 Message
Since the purpose of a social networking site is to build networks out of the
members of the site, Downelink.com has an internal messaging feature. The Message tab
comprise of links that lead the user to check his inbox, compose message, and see the
texts he already sent to other members of the website. The tab also allows a member to
compose bulletins which can be viewed by people within his network and to view other
bulletins posted by his network of friends. Also inside the tab are links that lead to
testimonials about a user written and posted in his profile by the people within his
network. This tab, just like the ‗Home‘ enables members to check the pending friend
requests sent by not only of the user but also those sent by other members to him.
‗Message‘ therefore is used as a tool to communicate with other people of the website. To
give us an idea on how this part of the website looks like, figure 3 shows a screenshot of
the default view of the message tab.
2.3 Flirt
A very helpful tool in building networks within the site, the ‗Flirt‘ tab enables members
to reach out to other users anywhere in the globe. Similar to ‗browse‘ and ‗search‘
features of other social networking sites, this tab provides a tool that can view a list of
members based on the criteria chosen by a user. The ‗Flirt‘ tab is unique though, because
of the criteria used to filter the list to be displayed. Categories which include ‗last log in‘,
‗photos‘, ‗age‘, ‗sexual orientation‘, ‗relationship status‘, ‗ethnicity‘, and ‗location‘ are
available for users to further filter the search. Another thing that makes this feature of the
website different from other sites is its capability to save a list of search, in case the user
deems the people within the list interesting but has no time to check their profiles.
40
Figure 3. The Message tab
He can therefore go back to the page once he logs back to the website.
Another interesting feature of this tab is the ‗missed connections‘ link which
allows members to check announcements posted by other members outside their
networks. The idea of this feature is to provide ―a way to seek someone that caught your
eye at a bar, gym, restaurant, etc‖ (Downelink.com, 2011) thus, the name. Members may
post announcements in this part of the tab and at the same time view the posts of other
members. Just like in the search option, users may filter the location of the posted missed
connections. To give us a better idea on the lay-out of these features of the tab, Figures 4
and 5 shows screenshots of the pages where missed connections and browse users
features, respectively, can be found.
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Figure 4. Flirt Tab‘s Browse Users
Figure 5. Missed Connections
42
Another unique feature of this tab, which is relatively new in the website, is the
‗secret crush‘ where members may click a button to signify their interest to someone. The
‗crush‘ may then guess who among the Downelink.com users has a ‗secret crush‘ on him,
and if right, then the user may send an Instant Message (IM) or message to the one who
admires him.
2.4 Chat
One thing that makes a social networking site stands out among other Internet
features is its ability to combine all the other ―computer-mediated communication (CMC)
factors like IM, blog, classified listings, interest groups, music, public comment, image,
video, ranking, and email‖ (Ray, 2007). Downelink.com, just like its more popular
counterparts, also offers these features.
Chat is among the mentioned features which have been considered by most
Downelink.com users as one of the ―frequently used‖. It includes different chat rooms
where members can join to in just a click. There are no required passwords to gain access
to each room although only a maximum of 50 members can join in each room. Users may
have the option to create their own room, subject to the approval of the site
administrators. Figure 6 shows us a screenshot of the chat tab which includes the
displayed chat pane once a user had already joined a room.
Inside each chat room, there is a panel where one may view the videos of all the
other members who have joined. One does not need to ask permission in case he wants to
access the video and audio of the chatter since everyone inside the room is entitled to
have access. The ‗dock‘ option, meanwhile, allows users to view cameras and listen to
the audio of chatters simultaneously.
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Figure 6. Downelink.com‘s chat rooms
3. Downelink.com Member Profile
Upon signing up, each member has the option to update his profile. He can add
his photos, edit the information box, and fill-out other details about him. A
Downelink.com profile is almost similar to those of other social networking sites. The
default profile has a white background with accents of orange and blue but the
researcher‘s profile in Figure 7 had already been customized according to his color
preference.
A default profile in the social networking site displays necessary information
about a member like his name, age, location, and interests. Members also have the option
to customize their ‗About Me‘ and ‗Who I want to Meet‘ spaces by putting either words
or file embeds, although they also have the option to leave it blank. Each profile have the
44
information box which bears other facts about a user i.e. sexual orientation label,
occupation, relationship status, and his interests. Photo thumbnails of a member‘s friends
and a link of the blogs he had written can also be found on the default view of each
profile. Figure 7 shows a sample profile of the researcher.
Figure 7. The researcher‘s profile in Downelink.com
The lay-out of each Downelink.com website is characterized by minimalism and
simplicity. A user may be able to see the necessary information about someone simply by
viewing his profile.
B. Gay Theory Concepts in the Social Networking Site
As what had been discussed in the previous chapter, Garcia cited several concepts
that may help in distinguishing the bakla/covert dichotomy of homosexuality.
45
Labas/appearance, demeanor, loob/sexual desire, language, and occupation are the key
concepts that had been indicated in the social networking site Downelink.com
1. Labas/Appearance
Garcia (1998a) had given emphasis on the gender identity of the dominant view
of homosexuality which is the bakla. The stereotypical homosexual can easily be
identified by simply looking at how he looks. It has been once perceived that the labas or
appearance of a male homosexual is reflective of how he thinks inside but decades have
passed and gender identity had been replaced by sexual identity. This subsection of the
study discusses the themes that emerged from the profile analysis vis-à-vis the concept of
labas.
1.1 Fashion Sense
The photos and self-descriptions of selected members in their profiles indicated
how these gays give extreme importance to fashion. Although unlike the bakla, these
men do not supply what the market needs but rather play as consumers of fashionable
products. The photos also imply that they have the purchasing power to buy the latest
trends and to be part of this trendy market.
a. Stylish
Some members of Downelink.com define their sense of fashion by being stylish.
For them, this can be defined by wearing the trendiest clothes available in the market.
Clothes that are deemed aesthetically beautiful in the eyes of other people prove that a
trend exists. In Downelink.com, the similarities in clothing style of some members
suggest the trend that exists.
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Such similarities can be manifested in the following photos (see Figure 8) of
members, which showcase one important feature—similar style.
Figure 8. Similarities in style of members
Similarities in style, just like the use of polo shirt is evident on the profiles analyzed.
b. Decent
Another notable definition of some members of their fashion sense is being
decent. For them, this can be exemplified by wearing clothes that do not give any hint of
homosexuality—clothes that will prevent them from getting bashed by other people.
Words such as ‗professional-looking‘, ‗discreet‘ and ‗respectable‘, visible in some users‘
profiles, have become synonymous to the term decent.
In fact, the photos of some members that project themselves as straight guys
through men‘s clothing, defy the stereotypical Filipino homosexual. Emer, for example,
47
indicated in his description of self that he is ―well-educated –Decent‖ and defined the
theme by uploading a picture of him where his clothes do not adhere to the cross-dressing
characteristic of the bakla. Treb, on the other hand, chose a profile picture that is not
stereotyped to be bakla, to serve as his own definition of a ―respectable, decent,
discreet‖ gay (see Figure 9).
Other members‘ use of corporate clothing also defines decency as looking formal
and respectable. The members‘ use of long-sleeve polos and three-piece suits with neck
ties in profile pictures served as evidence of this recurring theme (see Figure 9).
Figure 9. ‗Decent‘ photos of selected members.
The use of corporate or formal attire has been classified by members as ‗decent.
c. Effeminate
While there are members who express their love of fashion by projecting clothes
that do not give any hint of homosexuality, there were still outfits worn by some
members that have touches of effeminacy. Effeminate clothing, as projected by the
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images of selected users, has been defined by them through clothes that have design
details associated with softness and femininity. The use of colors that has been
stereotyped to women indicated this effeminate fashion. Rain and Lio, for example, have
used feminine-colored tees in their profiles (see Figure 10).
Figure 10. Effeminate fashion
(Clockwise from the center) The colors of the clothes of Rain and Lio (center, second
photo from the center) characters effeminacy while the fashion sense of AzHayHuri, as exhibited
in these photos, have obviously characterized his effeminacy.
But the profile that exuded the quality of the bakla through his way of dressing,
has been exemplified AzHaYhUrI, who uploaded an image of him wearing clothes
which signify femininity And though his hair is not long enough to completely associate
him with a gender-crossing homosexual, the style, design and colour still gave the
49
researcher an idea about his sexuality (see Figure 10 above). This tells us that despite the
domination of the covert homosexual appearance of most members in the website, there
are still those who have the bakla attributes.
1.2 Built
The photos and other information visible in some of the profiles analyzed
suggested that there are Downelink.com users who considers their built as a very
significant aspect of their appearance. The researcher found out the immense value these
selected members give to their figures. The selected members have different definitions
of this theme and these will be discussed on the following paragraphs of this subsection.
a. Buff
Built has been defined by some members by being buff. For a person who does
not have the capability of ―smelling‖ or detecting the users‘ sexuality through their
profiles, one may not be able to believe that the members are indeed, homosexuals. The
textual analysis suggests that the members define a buff person as someone who has big
and lean muscles, and perfectly shaped chest and abdomen which serves as products of
his regular workout.
Profiles that showcased photos of members flaunting their well-structured built
evidenced to this theme that relates to the concept of labas or appearance. (see Figure
11).
The profiles of the online interviewees also support this claim as Paolo and Thy
shares that, they regularly hit the gym to shape up. In fact, during the interview, Paolo
even shared with the researcher that he had just arrived home from his regular work-out
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session. Selected members descriptions of self, which include ―am gymfit‖ (Gibbs),
―toned‖ (Justine) also supports this claim.
Figure 11. Photos that exhibit being buff.
b. Athletic
Built has also been defined by the athletic nature of some members. For these
users, athletic had been defined by engagement in sports and other recreational activities
that require strength and agility. The photos and information visible on the profiles
analyzed served as proofs of this theme.
‗Justine’ for example, shares in his page that he is fond of physical activities like
―hiking, trekking, mountain climbing, swimming… kneeboarding, gym, badminton,
running‖ which he backed-up by showing photos of himself while doing some of the
activities (see Figure 12). Henry, just like Justine also uploaded his photo while in his
51
varsity uniform playing volleyball. Such images tell us that the built projected in their
profiles can be attributed to their love of sports.
Figure 12. Photos of Athletic Members
c. Hipon
Filipinos usually eat Hipon or shrimp by removing its head, leaving just the body
or meat to eat. Thus, gays consider the term as the best description for guys who have
great bodies but unappealing looks. This can also mean that these guys want to hide their
identities. This theme of appearance has been significant as two of the members whose
profiles were analysed have flaunted their well-sculptured upper torso in their primary
photos but not their faces (see Figure 13).
1.3 Looks
a. Vanity
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Another interesting observation made by the researcher is that, usually, the
primary photo is the image that best projects the member‘s masculinity. For the selected
members, being vain can be defined by their clamour to perfectly project themselves.
There are different ways on how vanity had been expressed in the website and the
following subsections will thoroughly discuss these subthemes.
Figure 13. Photos of members who are characterized as ‗hipon‘
The profiles which were analysed also imply that some primary photos appear to
be deceiving, which means, some members tend to portray themselves as macho and
masculine although a look on their other photos suggest the otherwise (see Figure 14).
Vanity is also one consideration of the covert homosexual member in selecting
what images to display on his profile. Browsing through their other photos also suggests
that most of the members give so much importance in always looking at their best. This
can be supported by the responses of the online interviewees. Nick, for example,
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describes himself as ―neat, clean and decent-looking‖ while Paolo and Thy, as what
have been mentioned earlier, share in their profiles that they regularly hit the gym to
shape up. Paolo even expounded on his profile that aside from what his body gets out of
the work-outs, he already considers it a habit and a ―part of‖ his weekly routine.
Figure 14. Vanity in Photos
Vanity in the website has been evidenced by photos that projecs that best possible image
of a member. Pictures taken in front of a mirror signify that members always make sure of
looking at their best.
William‘s album, on the other hand, is mostly comprised of photos taken by him
in front of the mirror. Jhong‘s photos, just like William, also used reflection as a very
important element of his self-photographs. The photos that reveal his sculptured
abdomens and chest also signify how he takes vanity seriously. A comparison of the
primary pictures to the other photos uploaded by the users would reveal that the main
photos of them indeed, projected their best possible image. There are many reasons as to
54
why the members do that but a good assumption would mainly be because they want to
create a good first impression from the users who visit their pages.
Neatness is another theme that emerged from the theme vanity. The perfectlylooking skin of some members, some users‘ shaped eyebrows, and well-presented outfits
are just some of this proof but information available in the About Me page of some users
obviously implied such theme. Gibbs, for example, indicates in his profile that he is
―gymfit, but not obsessed with appearance, except hygiene and personal cleanliness.‖
b. Masculine
Another theme that describes the concept of labas/appearance of selected
Downelink.com users is being discreet. Some of them considers themselves discreet
because they are ―hindi obvious‖ (not obvious) (Gerald Carlo) and that they prefer guys
like them so they would say ―no to effems, cd‖ ([sic], cross dresser) (Lio).
Members, who defy the traits possessed by the stereotypical bakla, have shown
images of homosexuals atypical to that of the macho Filipino men. This theme is
different from being buff as being macho focuses on traits and activities by members that
project such image (details will be discussed on the preceding subsections). Poses that are
stereotypical macho has also defined this theme of appearance (see Figure 15).
c. Effeminate
Effeminate members based on looks are those who has the attributes of the bakla.
These are the users who have very soft look or those who have been wearing make-up.
The photos of member named AzHaYhUrI exemplifies this effeminate looking by
wearing make-up and by having a hairstyle which can be considered feminine (see
Figure 16).
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Figure16. Photos of men who exude the macho/masculine look
Macho has been defined in the website by guys who look very masculine. It goes beyond
Photos showing their interests and mannerisms (to be discussed in the preceding subsections)
also indicate this type of built.
2. Demeanor
In his writing, Garcia (1996) poses that another identifier of a homosexual in the
Philippines, is demeanor. He argues that the way a guy acts and speaks can be considered
by others as bases for his homosexuality. He characterized the bakla, which is the
dominant view of homosexuality, to be known for his swishy and flamboyant acts, and he
regarded these traits as something that people have mistakenly consider as a ground for
someone‘s sexuality. This subsection of this research tackles the themes related to this
concept of Garcia‘s gay theory as they had emerged in the study through the chat feature.
2.1 Gestures
The gestures of members can be defined by the way on how they act and how
they create bodily movements, which manifests their gender identity. These gestures can
be manifested in the webcam acts of some members in the chat feature of the social
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networking site. As what have been observed, there are two prominent ways of acting as
presented in Downelink.com—masculine and effeminate. For some, the gestures they
create can be described as masculine since they projected mannerisms that can be
considered attributes of real men. Such mannerisms include removal of top clothing, use
of closed fist to cover the mouth especially when the member expresses shyness, nodding
to the beat of background songs while singing it, astig reactions, and resting of two
elbows on the laps while waiting. Astig reactions can be manifested by nodding or of by
eyebrow movements to express agreement, and the use of punk hand signal to signify
appreciation.
As also manifested in the webcam performances of selected members, effeminate
gestures have been defined as bodily movements that are characterized by flamboyance,
softness, and of being swishy. Based on the virtual acts analyzed, the following
effeminate mannerisms have been observed among the selected members of the social
networking site: use of open palms to cover mouth while laughing at something, use of a
fingertip to arrange bangs, and the frequent pouting of lips or raising of one eyebrow,
(otherwise known as pang-iirap), to express agreement.
The webcam performance of some members of songs by female pop icons such as
Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Rihanna are also indicative of these effeminate acts of
some users.
2.2 Manner of Speaking
The members‘ demeanor has also been defined by their manner of speaking. Just
like gestures, there are also two more prominent ways of speaking as observed in the
website. Masculine speech acts are ways of speaking that can be stereotypically
57
associated with real men. It had been described by the members‘ low tone of voice and
minimal talking. Effeminate speech acts, on the other hand, had been defined as manners
of speaking that are either stereotypically bakla or associated to typical female traits.
Some members defined this theme by being talkative while some defined it by being softspoken.
Talkative members are those users who exude enough confidence to voice out
everything they want to say in a public forum such as chat. These gay men can easily be
noticed because their text inputs dominate the chat room windows. In the series of chat
room analysis conducted by the researcher, other users notice these members because
they oftentimes acknowledge the presence of members who just joined the room. They
usually control the flow of conversations in each room as they recommend topics that
members can talk about.
On the other hand, other members also define feminine acts by being soft-spoken.
Members who are soft-spoken are those who, unlike the talkative ones, rarely engage in
chat room conversations. Their way of speaking had been observed from their public
audio that broadcasted their private conversations with another member. Soft voice,
minimal talking, and low volume can characterize these users‘ manner of speaking.
2.3 Combination
Although the first two subsections described the two more prominent manners of
gestures and speaking, the demeanor of members can never be confined in those two.
This theme of Garcia‘s concept describes the members who really act masculine but
speaks effeminately thus projecting combined manners of acting and speaking. The
analysis of chat room conversations suggest that while there are members who are
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considered masculine in terms of appearance and gestures, their speech acts have been
classified as effeminate. The researcher had noticed both the talkative and soft-spoken
members as gays who perform masculine gestures.
Interestingly, there are also some effeminate gays whose manner of speaking can
be characterized as masculine. There are homosexuals who really appear like real men,
act effeminately, but still speaks very manly. In one of the chat room conversations, for
an instance, a group of chatters were throwing jokes to another chatter by the name
Mykiru because his voice and manner of speaking deceived them. The chatter acts very
effeminate but his manners of speech allowed some chatters to think they were listening
to a ―heart throb‖.
3. Loob/Sexual Desire
Garcia (1996) also discussed how in the 1960s, the bakla is not homosexual. He
substantiated the argument by sharing that during those decades, the bakla is identified on
the basis of his gender identity, meaning, based on his labas/appearance and his
demeanor. It was only in the 1970s when the sexual identity of the bakla has been
recognized by stereotyping him as someone who always engage in sexual activities with
another man. This concept will deal with the sexual desires of the selected members of
the website as indicated by their sexual object choice, qualities of ideal partner, and views
on their sexualities.
3.1 Sexual Object Choice
The inverted male homosexual‘s being has been characterized by his gender and
sexual identity. His thinking that he has a ―woman‘s heart and a man‘s body‖ drives him
59
to engage in homosexual acts while his gender identity as the ―unreal woman‖ serves as a
rationale for practising the said act.
Sexual object choice is the member‘s object of sexual attraction. This is different
from gender as it defines the sexuality of a person based on the pleasures he gets from
sexual activities. The objects of sexual attraction of the members of Downelink.com are
also men.
The results of the online interview break this gender/sex identity of the selected
gay members of the website since all of them do not view themselves as ―women trapped
in men‘s bodies.‖ Nick, for example, sees himself as a biological man whose sexual
attraction is also to another man. He may prefer those guys who look really masculine
and ―straight‖ but he does not believe that a real straight guy would willingly engage in a
homosexual act. This holds the same with the results of the profile analysis which reveal
that majority of the selected members do not have preferences when it comes to people
whom they would like to meet although majority of the photo thumbnails visible on their
profiles is characterized by the covert, straight-looking homosexual men.
The use of ‗guy‘ and ‗dude in the same section of the profiles of two members,
Henry and Arjay, has proven that the selected members‘ objects of sexual desires are
men. There may be members who claim to be bisexuals but bottom line is, they are still
sexually attracted to members of the same sex. The webcam sexual acts observed by the
researcher strengthen this argument since no single on-cam sexual performance portrayed
a heterosexual act. The conversations of members present in the same feature of the
website are also largely indicative of homosexual practice. The presence of the terms
‗top‘and ‗bottom‘, which pertains to the sexual roles of homosexuals (top being the one
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who penetrates and bottom being the one who assumes the penetration), also supports
this argument.
3.2 Qualities of Ideal Partner
The analysis of the 30 selected profiles suggests that there are members of the
social networking site who do not have personal preferences on the people they would
like to meet in Downelink.com. Some have expressed that they are just for friendship,
and since they are not choosing who to be friends with, ‗anyone‘ or ‗everyone‘ is
welcome to add them. There are some members, however, who specified the
characteristics they are looking for a partner. These characteristics they seek reflects the
sexual desires or loob of the selected users. The following subsections will discuss the
qualities of partners that emerged out of the profile analyses and online interviews in
relation to their sexual desires.
a. ‗Decent‘/Discreet
The word ‗decent‘ have been consensually defined by selected members as
synonymous to the term ‘discreet’. For some users whose profiles were analysed, an
ideal partner is someone whom they would not be ashamed of hanging out with, for they
define the decent as someone whose sexuality is ―not that obvious.‖ This can be backedup by a tagline of a user like ―for discreet only‖ and the results of the online interviews.
Marco, for example, expresses his distaste for relationships characterized by
economic necessity by sharing his wants from a guy. He said he prefers someone who is
not only very discreet, average-looking, naughty, and has a medium built but also
―financially stable xe hnd ako mamasang haha‖ (financially stable since I am not a
mamasang). Mamasang refers to sugarmoms or older women who provide financial
61
support to their younger male partners. Thy, on the other hand, interestingly describes his
ideal partner as someone who should be ―strong and not a weakling‖, which in
retrospect, is reflective of the macho culture dominating the society.
Meanwhile, some members give more importance to physique. Dune, for
instance, kept on typing ―alpha male-looking‖ for three or four times just to emphasize
that he really wants a guy who is very discreet. The analysis of the 30 profiles also
suggests that the sexual desires of the selected members defy that of the bakla, who
continues to quest for the ‗real man‘. Although there are profiles which indicated that the
members are not looking for specific someone and that they are interested in meeting
―anyone‖ or ―nothing in particular‖, there are still some who prefers to meet discreet
homosexuals. Panda, for example, shares in his profile that he wants to meet ―people
like me i guess, i mean discreet or not totally out…‖ since for him, he is still not
comfortable with the idea of his sexuality yet.
The sexual desires of most members whose profiles have been subjected to
analysis lean towards guys whose homosexuality is not that obvious. This may not be
easily observed in the ―Who I Want to Meet‖ section of the profiles but the photo
thumbnails of the friends of the 30 members gave the researcher an idea that
Downelink.com guys would prefer keeping in touch with members whose homosexuality
is latent.
b. Companion
The quest for an ideal partner of gays continues in the website. There are a
notable number of members who express interest in finding partners whom ―they could
hang out with‖ (Marcky). The concept of having a partner who can be a companion had
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been very recurring in the contents of ‗Who I Want to Meet‘ section of the
Downelink.com profiles analysed. A companion, therefore, has been defined by the
members as partners who can join them in the activities they engage in.
This finding can be supported by the answers of some interview respondents.
Jhong and Bernard shared that they do not have a physical requirement for their desired
partner but they would love to have someone who has an exceptional personality and
those who can be with them in times when they need their partners most. Bernard even
added that he wants someone whom he could cuddle with before sleeping, someone who
can be very intimate with him especially during the season when the interview was
conducted.
c. Compatibility
The profile analysis also suggested that members highlight the role of
compatibility in expressing their sexual desires. For some users, being compatible with
another person means sharing the same interests with them. Some emphasized that they
would want to have a relationship that blossomed out of friendship (Filipe) while there
are also those who would prefer guys whom they share the same passion with. Francis,
for example, prefers guys who, just like him, are also into ―cooking, chocolates, movies,
FOOD, shoes, BAKING‖.
These selected Downelink.com members also implied that they will be attracted
to guys who are very much comfortable with them. There are users who shared that their
idea of a good partner is someone who can understand them, someone who can ride with
the things they are very passionate about. These men believe that such guys can be found
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within Downelink.com since they are within the same community, thus, their interests are
nevertheless closely related.
d. Sensible
There are selected users who define an ideal partner as someone who is sensible.
For them, a sensible partner is someone who can engage in meaningful conversations
and someone who can stimulate them to think. Ryan shares that he wants a guy who is a
―good conversationalist, liberal thinker, has a direction in life‖. Rain, just like him also
deems a guy who makes sense, worthy to be his partner. ―Someone who can stimulate me
intellectually. I hate people who just nod on what i say and tell them to do =)‖, he shares
in his profile. Arjay, just like the two also adores guys who are conversant, those who
have a good sense of humor, and those who can understand things in a different
perspective.
3.3 Views of Sexuality
An interesting feature of a Downelink.com profile is the sexual orientation label
visible on it. These labels may indicate the views of the selected Downelink.com users
about their sexualities, how they perceive the labels, but most importantly how they
understand them. This section discusses the understandings of selected gays on these
labels and their sexuality.
a. Bisexual
Bisexuality is a concept invented to describe sexual attraction to both men and
women. But even with this definition, there are still scholars who argue that such
orientation does not exists as it is only a stage either towards complete homosexuality or
absolute heterosexuality. The reseracher have noticed that the use of the bisexual label in
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Downelink.com is very interesting. The results of the online interview suggests that the
use of the bisexual term roots out from different reasons. One thing that strucks the
researcher is some member‘s view of bisexuality. For them, a bisexual man is someone
who may have sexual attractions with another man but may fall in love with either men or
women.
Jhong, a case in point, blatantly admitted that he remembers having the desire for
the same sex when he was still young but no longer remembers the exact age when he
first experienced it. He chose the tag ‗bisexual‘ which he justifies by expounding that he
falls for both sexes but only feels sexual attraction to the same sex. William also
considers himself ‗bisexual‘ for he ―falls for girls and guys‖. He revealed that it was in
his grade 3 when he started having sexual desires with the same sex but claims he never
had any sexual attraction to the opposite sex. Dune, a ‗Bisexual‘ according to his profile,
admits that his first homosexual attraction was with his high school PE teacher whom he
considers ―extremely hot.‖ He never had any sexual contact with the professor but even
up to the time of the interview, he never lost his interest in the guy.
Bisexuality has also been defined by some respondents as the sexual orientation
of guys who used to engage in relationships with the opposite sex. Marco shares he had a
heterosexual relationship during high school but he reveals that ―due to peer pressure
ndn i tried a relationship with a girl once pero wala tlga hakahak ang crush ko yun
nanliligaw sa kanya haha‖ (due to peer pressure, I tried a relationship with a girl once
but it really did not work out [laughs]. I am attracted to his suitor [laughs]). Although
openly gay, he had chosen to use the term ‗bisexual‘ in labeling himself. Paolo,
meanwhile, shares that he has been aware of his sexuality since he was a college
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freshman. He specified, though, that he never had any heterosexual relationships in the
past. Just like Marco, he labeled himself ‗bisexual‘ in his Downelink.com profile.
The profiles analyzed, on the other hand, tells us that while there are members
who have chosen the sexual orientation label, their descriptions of ideal partners in their
‗Who I Want to Meet‘ boxes suggest that they are sexually attracted to men only.
Mynameisking, for example, have chosen the bisexual label but indicated in his ‗Who I
Want to Meet‘ that he is interested only to ―discreet guys,‖ for he is into a ―gym buff to
gym buff‖ relationship.
b. Downe
Another label that is indicative of the views of sexuality in the website is downe.
As what have been mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, the term came from
down, a slang coined by Filipino – American gays in the United States to refer to gays
who are out but not as out as the stereotype homosexuals (Urbandictionary.com, n.d.).
The members basically define the label similar to the dictionary definition as
photos and personal descriptions of the members have indicated their homosexuality but
projected in a manner different to the way of the bakla. Kirk, on his profile says that he
is attracted only to guys. But unlike the stereotypical gay, he is not effeminate. His photos
suggest that his appearance is very masculine.
The online interviews also reflected the dictionary meaning of the slang as
manifested by Nick who shares that he is sure of his homosexuality now although he
used to have a girlfriend during his last year in high school. In his profile, he chose the
tag ‗downe‘ because just like this label, he is well-aware of his sexuality and he is out,
but unlike the bakla definition of embracing homosexuality, he does not cross-dress.
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c. Bicurious
Sexual desire has also been defined in the website as a product of curiosity.
There are guys who started engaging in homosexual acts because of stories they have
heard about same sexual activities. The term bicurious as a sexual orientation label
pertains to guys who feel sexual pleasure from both homosexual and heterosexual
activities. But unlike bisexuality, this sexual preference derives its existence from
individuals who would want to feed their curiosity by trying out sexual activities with
people from both the opposite and same sex. Bicurious guys usually are those who are
not yet sure about their sexuality and are only trying things out for curiosity‘s sake.
The profile analysis emphasizes the possibility of the members being attracted to
both sexes, as information in their profiles indicates that they would like to meet ‗anyone‘
or ―no one in particular‖ (Jaygermeister). Panda, who has also chosen the term,
indicates in his tagline that he is ―trying out‖ the possibility of such sexual preference.
Thy interestingly chose the term ‗bicurious‘ as his label in the site but after asking
him the same question posed to the other respondents, the researcher found out that he
―officially‖ came out during his second year in college thus attraction to both sexes,
which his label suggests, is no longer relevant to him.
d. Gay
The view of homosexuality as exemplified by members who used the term gay in
the website did not limit being gay through effeminacy and cross-dressing. A gay has
been defined in the website on the basis of his sexual preference. While there are lots of
terms available in the website to label sexuality, an interview respondent begs to
disagree. Bernard argues that people in Downelink.com are all gays whether or not there
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are bisexuals. He said that the mere fact these guys engage in homosexual practice
already suffices to his argument. For Bernard, who started getting sexually attracted to
guys when he was still in Grade 1 and whose family is well aware of his sexuality.
The profile analysis reflect that the members who use the term ‗gay‘ are those
guys who have totally embraced the idea of being sexually attracted to guys as well.
Paul, for example, had indicated in his description of self that he is what he is gay and
that he is ―proud to be‖ that way. He also added that he does not care if other people
judge him so long as he is happy to be himself.
3.4 Sexual Behavior
Sexual behavior in the context of the study is defined as the behavior that serves
as reflection of the sexual desires of selected members. The members‘ webcam acts
provided insights on how they behave sexually. The webcam acts tells us that the sexual
behaviors of the members can be characterized as aggressive, virtual, and habitual.
a. Aggressive
The researcher had noticed how some users prefer to flaunt their physique by
removing their top apparels and/or by showing their lower torso with just their
undergarments on. It may not necessarily imply that most users engage in cybersex but
such instances express that the sexual behaviors of some members can be defined as
aggressive. Aggressive has been defined in the website as the readiness to go into action.
The steamy conversations present in chat rooms like ‗Jakulan 1‘ (Jack off 1) and
‗Jakulan 2‘ (Jack off 2) have provided thick descriptions on how selected users express
their sexual behaviors. Although some members may not engage in cybersex, the
conversations they have are is oftentimes about sexual intercourse, sex eye balls (SEBs),
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and other similar topics. The conversations that incite other members to participate in the
‗jakulan‘ are also signs that the members are sexually aggressive.
Members who also posts numbers and those who express willingness to meet-up
are also signs that such kind of sexual behavior is existent.
b. Virtual
Virtual sexual behavior can be defined as the willingness to engage in webcam to
webcam sexual intercourse. Explicit moving images of guys jacking off and/or
homosexual couples having sex may be viewed from the webcams accessible in those
chat rooms. Such sexual behaviour imply that members are willing to engage in virtual
sex just to meet their sexual desires. Given some constraints which include distance, time,
and finance, such take on attaining sexual pleasure have been deemed necessary by the
selected members.
c. Habitual
The chat conversation analysis also suggest that some members engage in virtual
sex as a form of habit. Habitual sex includes members who regularly use the chat feature
to fulfill their sexual desires by watching sexual performances of other members. The
conversations also implied that some members already know the others and casual
goodbyes such as ―sige… tom uli. Gtg‖ (Alright… Let‘s do it again tomorrow. Got to go)
thus, signifying regular contact.
4. Language
Words are cultural symbols which are very distinct in one‘s culture (Peoples &
Bailey, 2000). In most cultures, language serves as an obvious proof of uniqueness as this
set of symbols are the tools used by members to communicate with other members, thus,
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allowing the sharing of beliefs, behaviors, and practices. In the 1970s, swardspeak started
proliferating within the confines of gay culture. The term silahis was coined to refer to
closeted gays who, during those times, are the ones considered as cowards for not having
the courage to Come Out. During the 1990s up to the present, swardspeak continues to
enrich the culture of gays not only in Metro Manila but also in other parts of the
Philippines (Garcia, 1996).
This subsection of this study tackles the findings of the researcher about this
cultural concept as indicated by swardspeak, now more popularly known as, gay
language.
4.1 Swardspeak/Gay Language
Gay language in general are invented products of gays‘ creativity. The gay
language present in the chat feature of the social networking site defines it as indeed a
product of invention. Gays usually distort the meaning of words that are already existing
in the mainstream culture or they alter some words by taking a syllable of one and linking
it with another to form a new term.
These invented nature of gay language exists in the social networking site as there
are male homosexuals who uses gay words that other gay members still cannot
comprehend. The existence of gay terms such as ‗keri‘, ‗bet‘, and ‗taray‘ in the
conversations analyzed are proof of this.
Gay language in Downelink.com is also used as codes by selected male
homosexuals to communicate with other gays within the website. Codes are terms within
one‘s culture that only members of it can decode. This is inherent in the main purpose
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why gay language were invented—to develop codes that will sugarcoat similar terms
which heterosexuals might find offensive.
The chat room conversations of selected Downelink.com users is indicative of this
purpose of gay language as there are members who engage in conversations with other
chatters using swardspeak. The difference though is, because of the proficiency of some
in the language as evidenced by selected members‘ use of more than one gay term in a
sentence, makes the entire sentence no longer decodable by other members who are also
gays. The questions posed by some on the meaning of terms they don‘t understand
signify this fact.
5. Occupation
Garcia (1996) claims that the occupation of the bakla has been stereotyped as
those circulating within the fields of fashion, beauty, and entertainment. In his anthology
of the gay culture for the past three decades, he suggested that some scholar‘s claim that
the bakla has been perceived positively by the Philippine culture is mainly attributed to
the society‘s tolerance of the inverted homosexual which can be manifested in the
significant roles they portray on affairs related to beauty, fashion and entertainment
(show business, in particular). The following themes will discuss the concept of
occupation as defined by the information available on the profiles of members.
6. Educated
The profiles of online interviewees and the selected members consider someone
educated if he has reached tertiary education. There are college majors from two of the
top universities of the country among the interview respondents while there were also
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students finishing their tertiary education among the members whose profiles were
analyzed, during the time of data gathering.
The profiles also suggested that these students, although not yet diploma holders,
already considers themselves educated. Emer’s description of his ideal partner proves
this as he indicated in his profile ―I like to meet someone like me who is also educated.‖
Another member who also wrote ‗student‘ in the occupation box describes himself as
―well-bred, well-educated‖ (Owen).
6.1 Professionals
While there are members who are still studying, Downelink.com also has male
homosexuals who are professionals in fields beyond what they have been stereotyped for.
The members consider someone a professional if he has a stable career and is financially
stable. By being finacially stable, they mean his work has entitled him to compensation
on a regular basis.
The online interview respondents and the profiles analyzed indicated that the
members have been working in fields which range from business process outsourcing
(BPO), education, health, travel/tourism, journalism, and technology. A member even
shares that he has been working in an information technology firm as an SAP (Systems
Application Program) specialist by indicating in his self-description that he is an ―SAP
slave‖ (Ryan).
Another observation in the chat activities the researcher has observed involves a
human resources (HR) officer who has been broadcasting himself using his phone while
conducting an interview with one of his company‘s applicants. After the interview, the
member shared that indeed he is an HR officer and that he is working for a local BPO.
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6.2 Artistically Inclined
There are members whose jobs show their inclination to arts as there are those
who have indicated that they are fashion and graphic designers. The theme has been
defined by occupations which are related to arts and design, which are typically
associated with homosexuals for they oftentimes exude creativity.
AzHaYhuRi and Arjay are the members who are fashion desginers while
Imagine indicated in his profile that he is a graphic designer.
While the occupation box provides a description of the employment description of
members, it may not be considered very credible and accurate since it is a user-generated
content.
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IV. ANALYSIS
A. Created Culture
1. New Identities
The results of the online interviews and the textual analysis of the selected
profiles suggest that although Garcia (1996) claims that the dominant view of
homosexuality in the Philippines is characterized by the bakla, new communication
channels like Downelink.com aided in the creation of a culture of identities that
characterize homosexuality beyond the overt/covert dichotomy. As a technology invented
in the west, the website provided venues where gays can discuss their sexualities based
on the perspective of other cultures. The concept of MSM (men having sex with men)
had become the dominant notion of homosexuality in the website as depicted by their
labas/appearance, demeanor, and loob/sexual desire.
Downelink.com is a venue of the shared beliefs of the selected gays and at the
same time a representation that contributes in shaping these shared beliefs. Although the
concept of MSM had already been introduced in the gay culture of selected Filipinos in
the 1990s, the presence of LGBTQ social networking sites like Downelink.com
intensified the proliferation of such homosexual view within the circle of gays who
participate in its online activities. The relationships built within the online community
keep the sharing of cultural patterns such as beliefs, behaviors, and practices more in-tact.
1.1 Labels that Limit
Both the textual analysis and online interview tell us that while new identities
emerge in the website, the sexual orientation labels of selected members limit their
understanding of their sexuality. The online respondents‘ view of their sexuality, based
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on their experiences and object of sexual attraction do not match the labels visible on
their profiles. The information on the ‗Who I Want to Meet‘ section of the profiles
analyzed also expressed incosistency to what the labels define.
The bisexual label is the most questioned identity because though already
established as a different orientation from homosexuals, some scholars believe that
people who prefer to call themselves as such have different reasons for doing so and one
of this might include the fear of getting stigmatized by homosexuality. Whether this
might be the reason of some site members or not, the researcher does not know.
Regardless of this, one thing is clear: the respondents and the selected members
are attracted to the same sex which, nevertheless, is indicative of their homosexuality.
2. Gender Fluidity
It is interesting to note that since scholars argue that gender is fluid, the choice of
label might change in the course of a person‘s lifetime. The labels present in the profiles
of the members may give us an idea as to what their sexual orientation is now but this
will not assure us that it will be the same in the future. This fluidity is recognized in the
website as the labels may be changed in just a click of a button. The users have the power
to choose the label they deem as perfect description of their sexual desires.
The analysis of the profiles suggest that the selected gay members in Metro
Manila use different terms to label their sexuality but nevertheless work under a common
denominator which is, having sexual desire for other men.
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B. Maintenance of Overt/Covert Homosexual Culture
1. Bakla Attributes
Though arguably it creates a view of homosexuality different from the bakla
(which has been claimed as the dominant notion in the country more than 10 years ago),
there are still some quintessential qualities of the overt homosexual that remains in the
gay culture of selected members of the website.
1.1 Love of Fashion
The previous subsection tells us that a macho view of homosexuality dominates
the website as manifested in their masculine projection of self through appearance and
demeanor. What makes them a bit different from the macho real men, however, is their
strong sense of fashion which, from a stereotypical straight guy, may not be expected.
Images of men who flaunt not only their bodies but their bodies in clothing similar to
those in glossy magazines can be observed in the 30 profiles. The online respondents‘
photos also suggest that fashion is a vital part of their culture although unlike the bakla,
these men do not supply what the market needs but rather play as consumers of
fashionable products. Some of the photos also imply that they have the purchasing power
to buy the latest trends and to be part of this trendy market.
1.2 Vanity
The stereotypical bakla is regarded for the quality of work he does as exemplified
by the makeover he regularly does to his beauty salon customers. This and his
transformation from a male to a fabulous beauty queen-like appearance are reflective of
the vanity inherent in him. His perfectionist nature is also reflected on the carefully done
make-up he wears and his flawless fitting of feminine clothes. In Downelink.com, vanity
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continues to be a significant characteristic of homosexuals as evidenced by the
importance they give to their well-sculptured bodies and to their well-groomed
appearances. Such characteristics remain to be associated with homosexuals who, unlike
the stereotypical macho Filipino men, are very keen of self-image.
1.3 Effeminacy
While some guys project images of their buff bodies, the way they speak and act,
as manifested by the chat activities of members prove that this characteristic remain to be
a quality distinguishable to gays. Other cultures may claim that such actions are not
indicative of homosexuality but Garcia (1996) argues that effeminacy is a strong signifier
of homosexuality, at least in the Philippines. The world of Downelink.com although
dominated by men who prefer discreet and masculine guys still breeds guys who are
effeminate in their manner of gestures and speaking. While there may be guys in the
website who try to appear very manly by working out and exposing their good physique,
there were also a significant number of buff yet effeminate website users.
1.4 Love of Pop Music as a Form of Resistance
Another aspect of the bakla culture that is maintained by the selected users‘
participation in Downelink.com activities is their admiration to female pop icons such as
Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Rihanna. These pop icons are the contemporary versions
of 1980s female performers like Madonna and Cindy Lauper, who, without a doubt are
considered icons whom gays look up to. Such performers can be considered epitome of
what Garcia (1998a) considers as babaeng bakla, for they perform gestures that expresses
provocative acts stereotyped to be a bakla attribute. In the Philippine setting where
machismo remains to be dominant, appreciation of males to such kinds of music
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somehow still connotes homosexuality. With this, we may therefore consider that the
loud expression of appreciation of gays from the 1980s – 1990s for these female pop
icons is a form of resistance to the dominant macho culture of the society. And because
the website offers a venue to express such actions, the resistance has been maintained.
1.5 Swardspeak/Gay Language
In the 1970s, swardspeak started proliferating within the confines of gay culture.
During the 1990s up to the present, swardspeak continues to enrich the culture of gays
not only in Metro Manila but also in other parts of the Philippines (Garcia, 1996).
The chat room conversations of selected Downelink.com users is indicative of this
distinct aspect of the Metro Manila gay culture as terms such as ‗keri‘, ‗chusa‘, ‗bet‘, and
‗taray‘ exist in the conversations analyzed. These selected gays‘ use of the terms signify
that swardspeak has never lost its functionality in the culture of selected homosexuals. It
has found its place in the culture of selected Downelink.com members as either an
expression or a term to sugarcoat things.
2. Non-disclosure of Identity
Another quality of the covert that was maintained by the gays who engage in the
activities in the website, is the concealing of some of the users‘ identities by hiding their
faces. Two of the members who have flaunted their body parts chose to crop the photo
displaying only their chest and abdomens while another user edited the photo to warp his
face, leaving the rest of his upper torso as the only distinguishable part of the picture. A
trait that distinguishes the covert homosexual from the bakla, the ‗covering‘ of identity is
still practised by some members who are not yet prepared to face the consequences of
being homosexual.
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3. Overt/Covert‘s Sexual Identity
The website also helped in maintaining the sexual identity of gays in Metro
Manila. There was once a time in the culture of gay Filipinos when being gay was
regarded on the mere basis of gender identity. Eventually, this view had been changed
and the sexualisation of the homosexual identity was introduced in the mainstream
culture. The view of homosexuality based on same-sexual practise continues to exist in
the website as venues where they can perform such acts is made available to them. Their
loob/sexual desires as indicated by the webcam chats highlights the role of sexual object
choice in determining one‘s sexual identity.
4. Occupation Stereotypes
Garcia (1996) argues that the limitations set by the society as to where the bakla
works is a result of lack of opportunities for them. Society, which is, dominantly macho
hinders the intrusion of the cross-dressing bakla in other fields such as the corporate
world. He cited samples of supervisors who would hire a homosexual but would later fire
him if the employee chose to express his individuality. Such inequality forces those gays
who are well educated and are working in the corporate world to stay inside the closet out
of fear of losing their jobs.
From the information boxes that indicated the occupations of the selected
members, the researcher found out that most members do not have the occupations
stereotyped to be bakla. These men who are mostly discreet and straight-looking may
have chosen to look that way to avoid getting stereotyped as bakla, thus, keeping his
opportunities to prosper and grow. It is interesting to look at the appearance, demeanor,
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sexual desire, and language with the concept of occupation first in mind as this might
provide an explanation to better understand why selected gays behave that way.
As a citizen of a developing world, economic necessity can be considered to be of
high importance for such covert gays since it is money that they need to survive. Without
purchasing power then a person will not be able to support his needs which include food,
shelter, and clothing. And so, even to be despised by gays who are out and bakla, the
selected covert homosexuals of the website prefer to dress like straight men and leave no
obvious signs of homosexuality in order to gain the respect of others. Without the respect
of other people, they might be mocked up and stereotyped as bakla. And with the
occupational limitations set by the macho society to these individuals, a homosexual
would prefer to keep the doors of opportunities to survive, than embracing kabaklaan.
Some gay men who are not out, even to their parents may also be understood through this
economic lens. Because there are still some parents who are very close-minded to the
possibility of having a gay son, they would not even dare to send their gay child to
tertiary education for fear of just wasting an investment.
C. Transformed Culture
1. Gender Identity
Meanwhile, an aspect of the majority view of the respondents about their ideal
partner is related to that of the bakla. As Garcia (1996) suggests, the bakla‘s search for
the ‗real man‘ is a consequence of the belief that she is a ‗woman trapped in a man‘s
body.‘ This is also the factor why gays in the past would never engage in pompiangan
(clash of the cymbals) since they would never want to have sex with another gay. The
descriptions of the respondents‘ ideal partners constitute that of the ‗real man‘ although
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not entirely. This therefore may be considered one of the transformed aspects of the
culture. Because unlike the bakla, the respondents have accepted the fact that gender is a
performance and that sexual satisfaction determines one‘s sexuality. The concept of
economic necessity as a driving force for men to engage in same-sexual activities is no
longer existent in the culture of selected gay members. Some of the male homosexuals
have accepted the fact that the people they will meet in the website are also just like them
who seeks pleasure from members of the same sex. Descriptions such as ‗very discreet‘
and ‗alpha male-looking‘ are suggestive that the selected Downelink.com members are
well-aware that the partners they will find in the site are not ‗real men‘ but rather
homosexuals who only act ‗like real men‘.
The chat room conversations of selected Downelink.com users are indicative of
this distinct aspect of the Metro Manila gay culture. Terms such as ‗keri‘, ‗chusa‘, ‗bet‘,
and ‗taray‘ are regularly employed by straight acting gays in the chat rooms. The textual
analysis of 30 profiles, meanwhile, showed that only one profile had been observed to
indicate a swardspoken word which is, ‗chos‘. Though relatively few, the result of the
profile analysis may not be used to conclude that the swardspeak of the gay culture had
been made irrelevant by the selected gays‘ participation in the website. In fact, the
presence of such terms in the chat conversations even emphasized how such terms are
used on a regular basis by gays, instead of including it in profiles, which are rarely
updated by most users.
One might argue that these terms are already penetrating in the mainstream
culture, therefore even heterosexuals know about it, but still, these selected gays‘ use of
the terms signify that swardspeak has never lost its functionality in the culture of selected
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homosexuals. It has found its place in the culture of selected Downelink.com members as
either an expression or a term to sugarcoat things.
2. Dichotomized View of Homosexuality
The culture created and maintained by some members‘ participation in the
website has transformed the dichotomized view of homosexuality that Garcia (1996) has
proposed. Now, homosexuality as manifested in this site, is characterized by gender
fluidity and can be represented not only by two views but rather through a scale in which
the dichotomy he posed only appears as extreme forms.
Now, as manifested in the website, homosexuality can never be stereotyped as
just being bakla since there are views—more than one—that can represent it. The
concepts of labas/appearance, demeanor, loob/sexual desire, language, and occupation
can no longer qualify a homosexual as either overt or covert as the stereotypes created by
the society before using these bases has already been transformed.
D. Conclusion
As a conclusion, Downelink.com portrays its role in the cultural process of
selected gays from Metro Manila as it serve both as the representation of the beliefs they
share with each other and as a representation that contribute in shaping these beliefs. The
symbolic rituals performed by members through website activities such as chats, flirts, et
cetera contribute in the creations a gay culture which is characterized by new identities
and gender fluidity. It also helped in the maintenance of certain bakla cultural aspects but
most importantly, it transformed the gay cultural landscape of selected gay men.
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V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Summary
The dominant view of homosexuality, more than 10 years ago, is characterized by
the invert homosexual who deems it necessary to cross-dress just to adhere to what she
believes as the ―woman inside her‖ (Garcia, 1998a, p. 75). Discrimination within the gay
culture is present with the coverts ostracizing the overts (inverts) for they show-off a
―cheap, low, and uneducated‖ (Garcia, 1998a, p. 77) form of homosexuality. In the last
three decades, the bakla revolves his lifestyle on the stereotypical occupations, which can
either be in the field of beauty, fashion, or entertainment.
But more than 10 years have passed and the influx of technological advancements
coinciding with the clamor for a ―global village‖ through globalization hit the local gay
culture of the country. Platform Downelink.com was introduced to the internet-savvy
youth thereby providing a venue to discuss and debate on other culture‘s definition of
sexuality. This broke the cultural barriers, allowing the penetration of the western concept
of sexuality and the spread of the other views of homosexuality.
Downelink.com serves as representation of and for reality has started gaining
popularity in the metropolitan gay culture, feeding the curiosity not only of covert
homosexuals but also those who are baklas, confused, and curious. With this set-up,
some shared beliefs of the members of metro manila gay culture were maintained while
others were transformed.
Through the help of the concepts of labas/appearance, demeanor, loob/sexual
desire, language, and occupation, the researcher had identified what culture of gays is
created, maintained, and transformed by the users who participate in the website. Labas
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or appearance had been defined in the website base on fashion sense, built, and looks.
The researcher found out that fashion sense had been characterized by style, decency
(which the members define synonymous to the term discreet), and effeminacy.
Appearance had also been defined based on built, where the terms buff, athletic, and
hipon served as characterizations of this theme. Buff refers to guys who take shaping up
of high importance by going to the gym regularly. Athletic guys, meanwhile, are those
guys who engage in physical activities that also contribute in their built. Hipon, on the
other hand refers to the guys who have very good physique but are not confident with
their looks, thus, forcing them to project just their well-sculptured bodies. Looks is also
indicative of appearance and in the website, it was defined as either vain, effeminate, and
masculine or macho.
Vanity pertains to the perfectionist nature of some guys who make sure that they
always look best. Effeminate are those who bear the attributes of the bakla either by
putting make-up or simply by just looking really feminine while masculine or macho are
those guys who really appear like real men by just their looks.
Another concept that has been analyzed by the researcher is demeanor, which is
also indicative of the gender identity of gays. The website members define the concept
through manner of gestures and speaking which can be characterized as either effeminate,
masculine, or a combination of the two. Effeminate manners of gestures have been
evidenced by hand and body movements that are swishy and flamboyant while masculine
gestures is characterized by mannerisms that are stereotyped to real men.
Effeminate manner of speaking, on the other hand, has been embodied in the
website by both talkative and soft-spoken homosexuals. Some users‘ performance of
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songs by female pop icons such as Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Rihanna is also
indicative of this manner of speaking. Masculine speech acts is characterized by less
talking and low intonation of voice. A combination of the two, meanwhile, describes the
members who act masculine but speaks effeminately, and vice versa.
Another concept that has also been observed in the website is the loob or sexual
desire. The members have defined the concept through their sexual object choice,
qualities of ideal partner, and their views of sexuality. The analysis of profiles and the
interviews suggest that the selected members‘ objects of sexual attraction are men. The
preferred qualities of the selected users‘ ideal partners are the following: sensible,
compatible, decent or discreet, and good companion. The members‘ views of sexuality,
on the other hand, has been characterized by the themes bisexual, downe, bicurious, and
gay. The four are labels that have been interpreted differently by selected members of the
website.
The use of swardspeak or gay language in some site activities such as the chat
reflects that the use of coded terms within the culture continues to be a characteristic
unique to its members. The concept of language has been characterized by these invented
codes of gays, which they use to communicate with other gays or to sugarcoat terms
which heterosexuals may find offensive.
Finally, the concept of occupation in the social networking site defies those
stereotypical of the bakla as fields beyond beauty, fashion, and entertainment
characterize the jobs of the members. The members also claim to be educated and are key
players in other fields of occupation such as the BPO industry and even information
85
technology. But although homosexuals have already dominated new employment fields,
fashion and arts still emerged as areas which some members are part of.
B. Conclusion
Downelink.com has created, maintained, and transformed the gay culture of
selected homosexuals in Metro Manila. It created a gay culture that defines
homosexuality beyond the dichotomy of the overt/covert and is characterized by new
identities signifying gender fluidity. It enables its gay members from Metro Manila to
have a shared understanding of their culture through features that allow them to perform
their rituals. Being a complex form of computer-mediated-communication, the website is
comprised of different technologies that enable the members to communicate with the
other members of their culture. The communication process is very vital as it paves the
way in the dissemination not only of information but also of beliefs, practices and even
patterns of behaviour. A person unconsciously is influenced by the decision of his peer
groups, which, in the case of Downelink.com are the circle of friends user have in the
website.
The website users, despite creating new homosexual views, maintains certain
cultural aspects which contributes in the transformation of the gay culture described by
Garcia more than 10 years ago. The created culture characterized by gender fluidity and
the maintained culture where overts and corverts exist transforms the culture of gays to
become a community where the dichotomy of homosexuality is just a part of homosexual
continuum. The overt/covert homosexual have become extreme values of homosexuality
while in between are different views that define the members‘ sexual orientation. The
86
website provides venues where one can discover his sexuality but more importantly, to
fully understand it, thus, making his role in the social reality more meaningful.
C. Implications
Studying Downelink.com using the cultural perspective allowed the researcher to
fully understand the dynamics between the website and the culture of selected gays in
Metro Manila. The study presented the new landscape of the gay culture of Filipino
Downelink.com users in relation to the concepts of Garcia‘s gay theory.
It is important to note that selected members of the social networking sites have
already been employing what I will be calling a continuum of homosexuality which
suggests that being gay in the Philippines comes in different forms. It breaks the common
stereotypes as the indicators of sexuality provided differing views to describe a
homosexual man.
It also highlighted the role of communication platforms such as the Internet in
fostering discussions on topics that an average reasonable gay may not have without the
technology. But more importantly, it presented evidences that the cultural landscape of
gays as described by Garcia more than 10 years ago had already been changed. The
dominant view of homosexuality in the website is no longer bakla view of
homosexuality he argued to be the dominant view existing in the culture of gays in 1998.
The study also presented how gays of the website views their sexuality, which is not
solely on the basis of gender identity. It highlighted the role of sexual attraction in the
determination of sexuality.
The study also implies that social networking sites should be taken seriously as
such form of technology involves cultures which in turn affects the behaviors and
87
practices of people who use it. It highlights the role of social networking sites in the
socialization process of individuals, which will have great impact on his identity. The
research also highlights the role of the Internet in bringing awareness especially to those
who do not have access to key sources of knowledge like the academe.
Its use of the cultural approach in explaining the role of communication in
understanding the complex concept of sexuality may also be found beneficial. It sees the
technology not just as source of information but a symbolic and meaningful cultural
process, which has a huge impact on the society.
The study concretizes the cultural approach to communication by applying the
key concepts in the context of a social networking site that plays a vital role in the culture
of selected gays. It strengthens the argument of Carey that such take on communication
should be given priority as the process is not only a representative of culture but a
representation which also shapes the culture.
D. Recommendations
With the implications of this study presented in the previous paragraph, the
researcher recommends the review of Garcia‘s gay theory. This is to check if the
assumptions of the theory is still relevant to the culture of gays in Metro Manila. Since
cultures are dynamic, it is of great importance to conduct studies that will seek to
understand the changes in one‘ culture.
This is to contribute to the limited literature about the Philippine gay culture
which the reasearcher have considered a limitation in his study.
Future scholars who might want to delve into the dynamics of the social
networking site and gay culture may also employ other methodologies such as
88
ethnography which may further help in understanding the culture that has been cultivated
by user‘s participation in the website. One may also consider engaging in the offline
activities of the members to fully grasp how these men make use of the website to form
real (not virtual) bonds with the other gays of the site. Additional focus interviews,
which the researcher failed to achieve, may also prove to be helpful in providing a thicker
description of the phenomenon.
89
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APPENDICES
Appendix A
Textual Analysis Form
Description
of Primary
Photo
Sexual
Orientation
Label
About
Me
Who I
Want to
Meet
1st Click
1
5
2nd Click
1
5
3rd Click
1
5
4th Click
1
5
5th Click
1
5
6th Click
1
5
Occupation
Info
Box
General
Description
of Friends’
Photo
Thumbnails
93
Appendix B
Interview Protocol
Research Problem:
Time of Interview:
Date:
Place:
Interviewer:
Interviewee:
Position of Interviewee:
(Briefly describe the project)
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. How did you know that such social networking site exists?
2. What is your reason for joining the site?
3. How long have you been a member of the site?
4. How long have you been aware of your sexuality? (Ask who among your network
knows about this)
5. What are the qualities you seek in a partner?
6. How personally connected are you with your friends in downelink?
7. Who among your network influences your decisions in life?
8. What feature of downelink do you frequently use? How do you usually use them
to express yourself?
94
9. How active are you in the website? (How often do you usually log in?) How
many hours do you usually allot in checking your acct?
10. Aside from downelink, what other social networking sites do you have?
11. What is your motivation for actively participating in the site?
12. How do you feel when you first joined the site? What are the changes in your
perception of DL from the time you joined until now?
(Thank individual for participating in this interview. Assure him or her of confidentiality
of responses and potential future interviews
95
Appendix C
Expenses
ITEM
COST
Colored and Black Printer Ink
2000.00
High Quality Printing Paper (1 Ream)
300.00
Photo Paper
60.00
CDs
84.00
Photocopying
180.00
Binding
454.00
TOTAL
3,078.00
96
Appendix D
Timetable of the Study
(December 2009 – March 2011)
ACTIVITY
DATES
Submission of Thesis Outline
November 2009
Revision
November 2009
Submission of Revised Thesis Outline
December 2009
Writing Introduction Chapter
December 2009
Submission of Introduction Chapter
January 2010
Revision
January 2010
Submission of Methodology Outline
January 2010
Online Interviews
Submission of Revised Introduction
January 19-22, 2010
February 2010
Chapter
Writing Methodology Chapter
February 2010
Submission of Methodology Chapter
March 2010
Revision
March 2010
Submission of Revised Methodology
June 2010
Chapter
Textual Analysis
Chat Conversation Analysis
June – September 2010
November 2010
97
Revision
November 2010 – January 2011
Writing the Results Chapter
November 2010 – February 2011
Submission of Complete First Draft
Revision
Submission of Complete Second Draft
Revision
Submission of Complete Third Draft
Revision
Submission of Final Draft
March 10, 2011
March 15 – 30, 2011
March 30, 2011
March 30-April 4, 2011
April 4, 2011
April 4-5, 2011
April 5, 2011