Paul Nyray A.

Antolino
BA Psychology
PSYCH 195 (LGBT PSYCHOLOGY)
Sir Eric Julian Manalastas

2013-51334
November 26, 2015

Reading an inspirational book is one of the things that makes my life meaningful. I love
to read books ever since. When Im sad, happy, angry, humiliated, stressed and whenever I have
problems, the only solution that I can have is to read something inspirational. Reading for me is a
venue to express my emotions. That is why the criteria for choosing what kind of book I am
going to read is the presentation of hopes and inspirations. From all the available resources that
Ive seen in the Womens Studies Library, there are two books that have gotten my attention. The
first is Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki by Rhande Garlitos for the queer-themed
childrens book and Astonishing X-Men Northstar for the queer-themed comic book. I chose
these two since they made me smile. These two books have given me an inspiration to look
forward in life. It has given me a purpose of answering question, So what Im like this? It has
given me something to think about of life and as a person who is attracted to the same sex. It has
given me a scenario wherein heterosexuals should not only be the one to be in the mainstream,
LGBT people should also be there.
On the first book, Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki, it is a story of a child named
Adel whose life revolves around the color of pink. Adel assigned sex is male, but his gender
identity is different same with his gender expression and of course his favorite color is pink. Adel
never experiences problems with his family with that. As matter of fact, his father and his two
siblings respect and adore him. The only problem Adel has in the story is his uncle Braulio and
his twin sons Berto and Bruno. Whenever his uncle and his twin sons are in their house, the
young child will always hide somewhere just not to be seen by them. His uncle would always
question him about the softness of his actions, while his twin sons would always bully Adel. But,
in the end, Adel has shown an act that made him a hero on his own story. He helped his two
cousins with the dog whos howling them. By that, his uncle Braulio was impressed of the
courage that his nephew did to his twin sons. That time, the little Adel is no longer questioned
and bullied by his uncle and twin cousins. On the second book, Astonishing X-Men Northstar,
it is a story about love and romance of gay couple. The story revolves around Northstar and his
civilian boyfriend Kyle Jinadu. Northstar is very determined to his boyfriend. Even if there are a
lot of ups and downs in their story, Northstar will do everything just to make their relationship
okay. Northstar is planning to marry Kyle. As a matter of fact, he proposes to him. But because
of some circumstances, it hinders them in doing so. It was only in one tragic moment that
changed their decision to marry and realized how they love each other. In the end, the two have
the ceremony and most X-men heroes but not all attended it.
Basically on the two books, I have seen several concepts that could be linked in a greater
scale. On the first book, Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki, it reminds me of the
heteronormativity or the heteronormative and traditional culture of our country. It speaks of how
you view society as a place for heterosexuals / normal people with their natural roles in life.
So, if you are a male, you are expected to maintain a masculine composure while females on the
other hand, are expected to act in a feminine manner. In the story, it is very evident how Adels
uncle used to think about it that way. Since being too soft for a man is not acceptable, his uncle
forced Adel to swim, to play basketball or arm wrestling. Since these things are not the hobbies
of the little Adel, he would always cry when he was taught by his uncle before. Also, it could be
related to the social construction of things here in our country. Since what society is dictating and
deciding on things could already be considered as normal. But I would consider it as a false
normal, since again it is just a social construct. It was just based on the different discourses
that have clashed and resulted to the creation of these ideologies. Gender for example is just a

social construct. You can never base the normality within it. And because of this social
construction, it has led to the different stereotypes that are existing in the status quo. So again, if
you say male, we already have a thought in our mind that he has a thunderous voice, muscular
body, and deep stare. While female is considered as not as strong as man, as nurse not doctor, is
responsible for raising children and whatnot. The concepts I found in this book are the prevailing
situation of our society. One concept is not mutually exclusive to the other, but they are
interrelated together. That is why one of the biggest problems that the LGBT community is
facing right now is on how they can achieve not to be marginalized and oppressed. On the other
hand, in the story of Astonishing X-Men Northstar, there are two concepts that highlight the
comic book. First, is the sexuality. In here, it only says that sexuality is very fluid. If your gender
identity could be more or less stable but your sexuality could be not. Northstar and Kyle have the
assigned sex of males but it doesnt mean they are going to love females. Some people do not
follow the four paths of life (assigned sex gender identity gender expressions sexual
preference). That is why Northstar and Kyle both ended to love each other even if they are both
males. And secondly, the stigma. One of the characters in the story (a female superhero) told
Northstar that she could not go to their wedding. She didnt tell explicitly that she is against their
wedding. But, implicitly you will know based on her actions that she doesnt like the idea of
same sex wedding. And together with some superheroes who didnt attend the wedding, they too
also have a negative feelings toward the couple.
In relation with the Bechdel test, for me, both books passed the criteria. In the book of
Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki, this test is evident when Adel and his friends are
talking about their own world of passion and interest. Instead of allotting their time talking with
heterosexual people, they allotted their time on how they are going to enjoy and value their life.
And you can see it on how they enjoy dancing and singing like Regine Velasquez and Charice.
But of course, the concept of sexuality here couldnt be visible since they are still young. Also, in
the book of Astonishing X-Men Northstar, it is evident since Northstar and Kyle are just
talking about their selves and not to others. Thats what I like on this comic book. If the scene is
already focused on their side, they are already limiting their conversation with each other only
and not to the other characters on the story which are straight. So, for me its a double check.
So, when I was reading the two books, what makes it also interesting for me is the
aesthetic on both visual and textual parts of it. It didnt bore me when I was reading it since the
book is so vivid and so pleasing to eyes especially when I was reading Ang Bonggang
Bonggang Batang Beki. It just reminded me of my childhood days where I would always pick
the most colorful books with different designs to read. Also, with its textual design, both books
are so very cute and impressive. You would really appreciate it when you read them. And also,
the way that the book is telling its story is very amazing. Its like reading my favorite novels of
all time. Those two books are page-turner.
In the end, I was really happy to have a chance to read these books. I really appreciate
how the authors constructed it in a way that it could be meaningful not only to the LGBT
community but also to the whole society. Even if the books have the different contexts (western
and Philippines) but at the end of the day they still serve one purpose and that is to spread love
and inspiration to people. Adel showed his true identity to his family and by that he was
accepted. On the other hand, Northstar and Kyle got married and they now live happily with each
other. These two moments are going to mark into my heart. And I too will ask myself, When
would be the time that I would tell my parents about my sexuality? And would I have the chance

to marry the guy that I really love? So, if my friends or someone would ask me if I have known
some inspirational books to read on, I would definitely recommend these books to them.
REFERENCES
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2015

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Brewer, Holly. (2015). List of Gender Stereotypes. Health Guidance. Retrieved from
http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15910/1/List-of-Gender-Stereotypes.html
Evangelista, John Andrew. (2014). Heteronormativity and Intersectionality. Socio 101:
Introduction to General Sociology. Department of Sociology, University of the
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Garlitos, Rhandee. (2013). Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki. LG&M Corporation.
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http://www.genderandeducation.com/issues/what-is-heteronormativity/.
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Manalastas, Eric Julian. (2015). The Four Phases of Identity. Psych 195: LGBT Psychology.
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