Old LY Site

By LoveYourself Communications LoveYourself celebrates its 9th anniversary this July. Truly, a lot has changed since its inception, with over 1,200 volunteers strong, and seven community centers nationwide. Volunteers are indeed the lifeblood of the organization, with their dedicated service and . The Wandaring Trio asked fellow volunteers on Facebook on what their top reasons why they stay active with LoveYourself. Special guest, Francis Dacanay joined the trio in sharing their sentiments for the organization. All of that while we guess what could be in Miss Wanda's mystery box tonight. Having a Sense of Purpose Being in the HIV advocacy, there is something special when it comes to making positive change in the community without expecting anything back. It's the heart to help, our altruistic practice that makes us feel connected with our humanity. In some respects, our journey as LoveYourself volunteers has enriched our lives with and undoubted sense of purpose. Building Conne...

By LoveYourself Communications What a way for Just Wandaring to celebrate Pride Month! The Wandaring Trio, Mikoy, Macoy, and Ms. Wanda discuss the top five gay icons of our viewers! These women have been such an influential part of the development so many members of the LGBT community. As inspirations with their glamorous looks, and powerful morals that stands in solidarity with the community.  Special Guest Bench Ortiz also dives into the discussion with his Wild Confessions while viewers guess what's inside Ms. Wanda's mystery box. Top 5: Sarah Geronimo Singer, dancer, actress, and record producer, Sarah Geronimo secured herself the fifth spot of Just Wandaring's top five gay  icons. Sarah jump-started her singing career when she won the ABS-CBN singing competition show - Star of the Night in 2002. Since then popsters have lived as she put out hit after hit with powerful balads such as Forever's Not Enough  to dance hits like Sa Iyo, Ikot-Ikot, Kilometro, and of co...

By Brian Barretto In celebration of Pride Month, LoveYourself Inc. launched Usapang ATBPride , an online discussion series highlighting the different facets of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Ally, and more (LGBTQIA+) Community. This week, we delved deeper into issues faced by people who identify as lesbian and gay. The first episode, entitled BLT: Byaning, Lesbian, Tomboy , explored the experiences of lesbian women with regards to their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE), their experiences of coming out, and the challenges they faced living in oftentimes discriminatory environments. Hosted by Ging Cristobal, the Project Coordinator at OutRight Action International and Feminist Activist, the show interviewed guests Angel Romero, a Partner and Director for Creative and Directing at Digital Marketer, Irish Inoceto, the Chairperson of Iloilo Pride Network, and EO Cendeno, the Founder and Manager of Pag-Amuma, a dog an...

By LoveYourself Communications Just Wandaring is looking back with #FlashbackFriday as viewers revealed their top five childhood celebrity crushes. This time around, the Wandaring Trio, Mikoy, Macoy, and Wanda share how innocent little crushes have made an impact in their lives, especially in exploring and discovering their sexual orientation. Special Guest Paolo Amores also dives into the discussion with his Wild Confessions while viewers guess what's inside Ms. Wanda's mystery box. Top 5: Jay Manalo Starting as an action movie actor, Jay Manalo made a switch to starring in sexy films such as Gayuma with Amanda Page. Macoy describes his appeal as your typical Pinoy  charm with his masculine presence and fit body. Mikoy on the other hand shares how Jay Manalo represented a "daddy" type of appeal when he first saw the actor in high school which wasn't very popular back then. Top 4: Christian Vasquez Former Celebrity Pinoy Big Brother housemate Christian Vasquez pl...

By LoveYourself Communications Just Wandaring is now officially part of the  LoveYourselfTV  family just in time for Pride Month! On its first ever showing on YouTube, the Wandaring trio, Mikoy, Macoy, and Wanda, discuss the top five Beki (Filipino LGBT) Words with special guest BJ Pascual while viewers guess what's inside Ms. Wanda's mystery box. Top 5: MAMSH / Mamshie / Mamsht! and its many variations A term of endearment for a motherly figure in your life or the most respected in your friend group. They are usually the leader types who can be tough and gentle at the same time while providing support. Ex. Mamsh, anong gagawin ko? (Mamsh, what will I do?) Top 4: EME / Emelyn / Ems! and its many variations Originating from the root word kyeme, a word that changes meaning depending on context, the word eme  is a shortened version. It is usually used to replace some words that you can't recall the word for. Ex. Uy guys, e-eme lang ako ha. pabantay naman ng eme ko. (Hey guy...

By LoveYourself Communications LoveYourself has been a strong ally of the LGBTQ+ community. From providing safe spaces for queer folk to get tested, to providing the country’s first community-led transgender health services.  The organization is proud to have been supported by GLAMM 2 at Cove Manila in Okada Manila - the biggest indoor beach club and nightclub i n Southeast Asia . Gays, Lesbians, And Many More or simply GLAMM is the grandest LGBTQ+ party of its kind in Cove Manila! This Saturday night party last October 19 showcased loads of guest performers, a nd party-goers who made fun all night, bearing the spirit of advocacy, pride and unity. Several drag queens conquered the stage that night including, Lady Gagita, MC Black, Gigi, Dee Dee Holliday, Queen Viñas and Bench Hipolito as the event was hosted by Peabo Orilla. DJs Everyday People, Jeb Tizon, Mike Lavet and Paulo Castro threw bouncing music, ledge dancers made the dance floor even hotter, and Okada Manila Entertainme...

By Ross Manicad The miniseries about four young men living with HIV is now streaming on iWant. Warning: this article contains spoilers The media regularly shares data about HIV incidence in the country. However, they seldom share the faces and stories behind the numbers. This is exactly why Mga Batang Poz, a digital advocacy series on iWant, is a welcome narrative in mainstream media that offers fresh yet relatable storylines among the youth. The show is directed by Chris Martinez adapted from a young adult novel written by Segundo Matias Jr.  Mga Batang Poz centers around four guys who met after chatting in an online group. Three of them - Gab (Mark Neumann), Enzo (Paolo Gumabao), and Luis (Fino Herrera) are discreet gays while Chuchay (Awra Briguela) is the proudly effeminate character. Within hours, they started exchanging stories and their struggles while on a two-day road trip up north. Despite their differences, they share a common truth: they are People Living with HIV (PLH...

By Yuki Asato and Carlos Diego A. Rozul In the 1980s, women in the Philippines had a pivotal turn in society. Countless women joined in the movement to make the Philippines a more inclusive country among the many rallies against the administration at the time. Before the women's movement, queer women felt ignored. Lesbian concerns were being tucked under women's and feminist studies, which were heterosexual in nature at the time. Even during the gay movement, lesbian women were seen only as female versions of homosexual men. Discontented by being silent, the lesbian community wanted their voices to be heard among the fight against the dictatorship. Eventually, the underground women's organization MAKIBAKA released a position paper that included sexual orientation as part of the gender equality movement. The inclusion of the queer women in the conversation about equal rights for women spurred a cascade of change. Later in the 1990s, gender and sexuality was a major concern i...

By Mark de Castro SOGIE and LGBT are language tools that may still continue to evolve, used to better capture the experience of human diversity. Due to its complexity, confusion in understanding sexuality is inevitable. The term “Third Gender” was the closest common, non-derogatory vocabulary for non-heterosexuality before the sexual revolution in the 1960s. Today, the term LGBT has been adopted by a majority of sexuality and gender identity-based communities in the United States from about 1988. [1] In the Philippines, the initialisms used are LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBTQIA, and a few others. These variations may be caused by groups giving emphasis on what the group’s main objective is and on the diversity of their members which may include queers, allies, and others that are not found in the initialism LGBT. The initialism LGBT, the list of initials have sometimes gotten as long as LGBTTQQIAAP: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, ally, pans...