AS the country celebrates National Women’s Month, members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) community, particularly transgender women, are feeling excluded from the event because they are not naturally born women.

One of them is Christian Jessie Germar, a 24-year-old licensed professional teacher who is currently working for a business process outsourcing company in Quezon City.

Ever since Germar set foot in the halls of her school, she knew deep within herself that she was a girl. But because society told her she’s a boy, she lived more than half of her life fooling herself just to avoid being discriminated against.

According to Germar, she used to be bullied from elementary to college for being gay and for how she expressed herself as a woman. 

Despite wearing men’s clothing growing up, she also often put on cosmetics to at least make her real identity “evident” despite being coerced to live like a man. 

“‘Yung way ko na lang talaga para mapakita yung totoo kong pagkatao nung bata ako ay ‘yung paggamit ng makeup at women accessories, para kahit paano hindi pa rin mawala yung totoo kong identity kasi buong buhay ko na-force kong magdamit panlalake kahit alam naman ng lahat na bakla ako. Para na lang din hindi malala ‘yung maging discrimination sa akin,” Germar told republicasia.

Road to womanhood

Germar started transitioning when she was in her first year of college. From mixing and matching men’s clothes with women’s accessories and cosmetics, Germar moved on to injecting hormones into her body and consuming pills. 

She said that when she was in college, it was when she felt the “liberation” from being caged by homophobia and perceptions from her hometown. That’s why transitioning became easy for her.

Because of that, she began leaving behind traces of her “man identity.” She changed her pronouns from he/him to she/her. She also told other people, beginning with her friends and immediate family members, that she now identifies as a woman and that she’s more comfortable being called by her girl name “Cheska.”

From then on until she graduated, her friends called her Cheska, sometimes Cheska Collins.

Discrimination never stops

But up until she started working, she never escaped persecution from the people around her.

Germar said that when she went to live in Metro Manila for work, she thought that she would no longer experience intolerance. But it seems her journey to womanhood got tougher. 

Mas malala pala ‘yung pangungutya dito kesa sa probinsya, although mas marami akong friends na naging open at pinaramdam nila na tanggap ako. Pero yung fear na hindi ka safe papasok sa trabaho dahil tahasan kang ipapahiya or pagtatawanan dahil sa pagiging transgender woman ko, iba talaga yung epekto sa’kin,”

Christian Jessie Germar

Germar likewise said that there were times that she experienced being cat-called, but she couldn’t do anything because she commonly heard men on the street remark: “mag-iinarte ka pa ba, hindi ka naman babae.”

Great allies

But transwomen are women. 

Luckily, Germar received the acceptance and support that she needed on her journey to transitioning. 

She said that transwomen who are currently transitioning like her frequently experience mood swings, hair loss, and a series of emotional breakdowns. That’s why having a great support system is crucial for those who are “struggling to find a spot in a society where transwomen are disregarded.”

‘Yung magkaroon ng masasabi mong totoong allies talaga ay nakatutulong para maramdaman namin ‘yung inclusion sa lipunan. Hindi lang pagpapakababae ang struggle namin, ang daming emotional effects ng mga kino-consume namin sa hormone replacement therapy kaya ‘yung maintindihan lang sana ng lipunan kung ano ba ‘yung struggles namin, sobrang laking bagay na para sa amin nun,”

Christian Jessie Germar

On women’s month

Germar believes that “fighting for inclusion is another century of protests.” 

That’s why celebrating national women’s month should not only mean celebrating womanhood, but also “honoring brave transgender women trying to take up space in the Philippine workplace.”

“Celebrating women’s month is not only about commemorating the important roles women play in society, but rather, national women’s month is also a tribute to transgender women fighting for their place in a society that excludes them,” she said.

I was once a boy, and now I am a woman. Please don’t exclude us from the picture, from this celebration, because we are women, too,”

Christian Jessie Germar

Gender rights organization Bahaghari Philippines’ Chairperson Reyna Valmores said that the inclusion of transgender women is part of the many causes raised by the organization in the celebration of National Women’s month. 

Equality

Valmores said that because transgender women make up a significant portion of women in the Philippines who are currently struggling to make ends meet and dealing with violence against women, it is vital that their experiences be taken into consideration and that their voices be given equal weight.

“Kasama ang mga babaeng transgender sa kalakhan ng kababaihan sa Pilipinas na hinaharap ang krisis sa ekonomiya at kalakip na pag-igting ng violence against women. Kaya bahagi ang bawat babae—trans at cis [women]—sa laban natin ngayong araw para sa dagdag-sahod tungong living wage na P1,100, trabahong regular at may seguridad, pampublikong serbisyo kagaya na ng serbisyo para sa mga biktima ng diskriminasyon at violence against women,” Valmores told republicasia.

Valmores added that the celebration of national women’s month is also a call to continue challenging lawmakers to pass the SOGIE Equality Bill to end violence and discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community.