The gender-fluid history of the Philippines | France Villarta

Translator: Pau Escolà Barba Reviewer: Anna Comas-Quinn

Eren mitjans dels 90 i jo tenia 8 anys,

I was an eight-year-old kid in the mid-1990s.

I grew up in southern Philippines.

vivia a la zona sud de Filipines.

A aquesta edat ets encara massa innocent

At that age, you're young enough to be oblivious

about what society expects from each of us

per saber què espera la societat de tu

but old enough to be aware of what's going on around you.

però ets prou gran per ser conscient del que t'envolta.

We lived in a one-bedroom house,

Vivíem en una casa d'una habitació,

all five of us.

i érem cinc.

Our house was amongst clusters of houses

Casa nostra era una d'un amuntegament

made mostly of wood and corrugated metal sheets.

de cases fetes principalment de fusta i planxes de metall ondulades.

These houses were built very close to each other

Entre les cases hi havia molt poca separació

along unpaved roads.

i els carrers no eren asfaltats.

There was little to no expectation of privacy.

No hi havia cap esperança de tenir privacitat

Whenever an argument broke out next door,

Si a la casa del costat començaven a discutir,

you heard it all.

ho senties tot.

Or, if there was a little ... something something going on --

O si als veïns els donava per posar-se romàntics...

(Laughter)

(Riures)

you would probably hear that, too.

era bastant segur que també ho sentiries.

(Laughter)

(Riures)

Like any other kid, I learned what a family looked like.

Com tots els nens, vaig aprendre com era una família,

It was a man, a woman, plus a child or children.

era un home, una dona i un o més fills.

But I also learned it wasn't always that way.

Però també vaig aprendre que no sempre era així.

There were other combinations that worked just as well.

Hi havia altres combinacions que eren igual de vàlides.

There was this family of three who lived down the street.

Al final del meu carrer hi vivia una familia de tres.

The lady of the house was called Lenie.

La dona es deia Lenie.

La Lenie tenia el cabell llarg i negre, sovint en una cua,

Lenie had long black hair, often in a ponytail,

and manicured nails.

i es feia la manicura.

She always went out with a little makeup on

Sempre sortia de casa una mica maquillada

and her signature red lipstick.

i el seu inconfunsible pintallavis vermell.

Lenie's other half, I don't remember much about him

Sobre la seva parella no recordo gaire,

except that he had a thing for white sleeveless shirts

només que li agradaven les samarretes de tirants blanques

and gold chains around his neck.

i dur penjades cadenes d'or.

Their daughter was a couple years younger than me.

La seva filla tenia dos anys menys que jo.

Now, everybody in the village knew Lenie.

Tothom al poble coneixia la Lenie

She owned and ran what was the most popular beauty salon

era la propietària del saló de bellesa més popular

in our side of town.

de la nostra zona de la ciutat.

Every time their family would walk down the roads,

Cada cop que la seva família baixava pel carrer

they would always be greeted with smiles

tothom els saludava amb un somriure

and occasionally stopped for a little chitchat.

i de tant en tant els paraven per xerrar.

Now, the interesting thing about Lenie

Ara, allò que feia la Lenie especial

is that she also happened to be a transgender woman.

és que era una dona transgènere.

She exemplified one of the Philippines' long-standing stories

Ella era un clar exemple de la llarga tradició filipina

about gender diversity.

sobre la diversitat de gènere.

Lenie was proof that oftentimes we think of something as strange

La Lenie era la prova que sovint, allò que més ens estranya,

only because we're not familiar with it,

és per falta de costum

or we haven't taken enough time to try and understand.

o perquè no hem dedicat prou temps a entendre-ho.

In most cultures around the world,

A la majoria de cultures del món,

gender is this man-woman dichotomy.

el gènere és aquesta dicotomia home-dona.

It's this immovable, nonnegotiable, distinct classes of individuals.

És una distinció inamovible d'individus.

We assign characteristics and expectations

El moment en què sabem el sexe biològic d'una persona

the moment a person's biological sex is determined.

la societat li assigna uns trets i hi diposita certes expectatives.

But not all cultures are like that.

Però no totes les cultures són així.

Not all cultures are as rigid.

No totes són tan inflexibles.

Many cultures don't look at genitalia primarily

Hi ha cultures que no es basen en els genitals

as basis for gender construction,

per definir el gènere d'algú,

and some communities in North America, Africa, the Indian subcontinent

algunes comunitats nord-americanes, africanes, del subcontinent indi

and the Pacific Islands, including the Philippines,

i de les illes del Pacífic, com les Filipines,

have a long history of cultural permissiveness

tenen una llarga tradició cultural de permissivitat

and accommodation of gender variances.

i acceptació de la variació de gènere.

As you may know,

Com ja sabreu,

the people of the Philippines were under Spanish rule for over 300 years.

el poble filipí va estar 300 anys sota el domini d'Espanya

That's from 1565 to 1898.

des de l'any 1565 fins al 1898.

This explains why everyday Filipino conversations

Aquest és el motiu pel qual les nostres converses del dia a dia

are peppered with Spanish words

estan farcides de mots en castellà

and why so many of our last names, including mine, sound very Spanish.

i per què tants dels nostres cognoms, inclòs el meu, sonen castellans.

This also explains the firmly entrenched influence of Catholicism.

Això també explica l'arrelada influència del catolicisme.

But precolonial Philippine societies,

Per contra, les societats filipines precolonials,

they were mostly animists.

eren principalment animistes.

They believed all things had a distinct spiritual essence:

Creien que cada cosa tenia la seva pròpia essència espiritual:

plants, animals, rocks, rivers, places.

plantes, animals, roques, rius, llocs...

Power resided in the spirit.

El poder residia a l'esperit.

Whoever was able to harness that spiritual power was highly revered.

Aquells capaços d'aprofitar el poder espiritual eren altament venerats

Now, scholars who have studied the Spanish colonial archives

Els que han estudiat els arxius de les colònies espanyoles

also tell us that these early societies were largely egalitarian.

ens expliquen que aquestes societats eren molt igualitàries.

Men did not necessarily have an advantage over women.

L'home no tenia avantatge sobre la dona.

Wives were treated as companions, not slaves.

Les esposes eren tractades com a companyes, no com a criades.

And family contracts were not done without their presence and approval.

Tenien veu i vot als contractes familiars.

In some ways, women had the upper hand.

En certa manera, la dona tenia les de guanyar.

A woman could divorce her husband and own property under her own name,

Una dona es podia divorciar del seu marit i tenir propietats a nom seu,

which she kept even after marriage.

les quals mantenia, inclús després de casada

She had the prerogative to have a baby or not

Tenia dret a tenir o no fills

and then decide the baby's name.

i decidir-ne el nom.

But the real key to the power of the precolonial Filipino woman

Però la clau del poder de la dona filipina precolonial,

was in her role as "babaylan,"

residia en el seu rol de "babaylan",

a collective term for shamans of various ethnic groups.

un nom col·lectiu per als xamans dels diferents grups ètnics.

They were the community healers,

Eren les curanderes de la tribu,

specialists in herbal and divine lore.

eren especialistes en els sabers d'herbes i divinitats.

Eren les que assistien en els parts

They delivered babies

and communicated with the spirit world.

i es comunicaven amb el món espiritual.

They performed exorcisms

Feien exorcismes

and occasionally, and in defense of their community,

i, de vegades, en defensa de la seva comunitat,

they kicked some ass.

repartien carxots.

(Laughter)

(Riures)

And while the babaylan was a female role,

A part de les babaylans, que era un rol femení,

there were also, in fact, male practitioners in the spiritual realm.

també hi havia homes practicants del regne espiritual.

Reports from early Spanish chroniclers contain several references

Hi han textos dels primers cronistes espanyols que fan referència

to male shamans who did not conform to normative Western masculine standards.

a homes xamans que no s'ajustaven als estàndards masculins occidentals.

They cross-dressed

Eren homes que es transvestien

and appeared effeminate

i tenien aspecte efeminat

or sexually ambiguous.

o ambigu.

A Jesuit missionary named Francisco Alcina

Francisco Alcina, un missioner jesuïta

said that one man he believed to be a shaman

parlava d'un home considerat xaman

was "so effeminate

que "era tan efeminat

that in every way he was more a woman than a man.

que en tots els aspectes era més dona que home.

All the things the women did

Tot allò que les dones feien,

he performed,

ell ho feia,

such as weaving blankets,

com teixir mantes,

sewing clothes and making pots.

cosir peces de roba i fer pots de terrissa.

He danced also like they did,

També ballava com elles,

never like a man,

mai com un home,

whose dance is different.

els quals tenien una dansa diferent

In all, he appeared more a woman than a man."

En definitiva, semblava més una dona que no un home."

Well, any other juicy details in the colonial archives?

Caram! Hi ha alguna altra dada així de sucosa als arxius?

Thought you'd never ask.

Que bé que m'ho pregunteu.

(Laughter)

(Riures)

As you may have deduced by now,

Com ja us deureu imaginar,

the manner in which these precolonial societies conducted themselves

la manera com aquestes societats precolonials funcionaven,

didn't go over so well.

no va agradar gaire als espanyols.

Aquesta idea de l'amor lliure, la permissivitat en la variació de gènere,

All the free-loving, gender-variant-permitting,

gender equality wokeness

i de consciència de la igualtat

clashed viciously with the European sensibilities at the time,

va impactar frontalment amb els ideals europeus d'aquell moment,

so much so that the Spanish missionaries spent the next 300 years

tant va ser així que els missioners espanyols es van passar els següents

trying to enforce their two-sex, two-gender model.

300 anys intentant imposar el seu model binari de gènere.

Many Spanish friars also thought that the cross-dressing babaylan

Molts dels monjos espanyols pensaven que els babaylans transvestits

were either celibates like themselves

mantenien, com ells, el celibat o bé

or had deficient or malformed genitals.

tenien malformacions o deficiències als genitals.

But this was pure speculation.

Tot pura especulació.

Documents compiled between 1679 and 1685, called "The Bolinao Manuscript,"

"El manuscrit de Bolinao", redactat entre el 1679 i el 1685,

mentions male shamans marrying women.

esmenta homes xamans que es casen amb dones.

The Boxer Codex, circa 1590,

"El Còdex Boxer", c 1590,

provide clues on the nature of the male babaylan sexuality.

ens proveeix de mostres de la sexualitat dels babaylans masculins.

It says, "Ordinarily they dress as women,

Diu així: "Normalment es vesteixen com a dones

act like prudes

i actuen com a puritans,

and are so effeminate

i són tan efeminats

that one who does not know them would believe they are women.

que aquell qui no els coneix bé es pot pensar que són dones.

Almost all are impotent for the reproductive act,

Gairebé tots són impotents per a la reproducció,

and thus they marry other males and sleep with them as man and wife

i, de fet, es casen amb altres homes i dormen com a marit i muller,

and have carnal knowledge."

i tenen relacions carnal."

Carnal knowledge, of course, meaning sex.

Relacions carnals vol dir sexuals.

Now, there's an ongoing debate in contemporary society

A la societat actual hi ha en curs un debat

about what constitutes gender and how it should be defined.

sobre què marca el gènere i com s'ha de definir.

My country is no exception.

El meu país no n'és una excepció.

Some countries like Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Nepal and Canada

Alguns països com Austràlia, Nova Zelanda, Pakistan, Nepal i el Canadà

have begun introducing nonbinary options in their legal documents,

han començat a introduir opcions no binàries als documents legals,

such as their passports and their permanent resident cards.

com per exemple els passaports i els carnets de resident permanent.

Trobo que el més important de tenir present,

In all these discussions about gender,

I think it's important to keep in mind

en tots aquests debats, és que la noció

that the prevailing notions of man and woman as static genders

d'home i dona com a gèneres estàtics

anchored strictly on biological sex

lligats únicament al sexe biològic,

are social constructs.

és una construcció social.

In my people's case, this social construct is an imposition.

En el cas del meu poble, aquesta construcció els va ser imposada.

It was hammered into their heads over hundreds of years

Els hi van inculcar a la força durant cents d'anys

until they were convinced that their way of thinking was erroneous.

fins que els van convèncer que la seva manera de pensar era errònia.

But the good thing about social constructs

Però la part positiva de les construccions socials,

is they can be reconstructed

és que es poden reconstruir

to fit a time and age.

i ajustar als temps actuals.

They can be reconstructed

Es poden reconstruir

to respond to communities that are becoming more diverse.

en resposta a la creixent diversitat de les comunitats.

And they can be reconstructed

I es poden reconstruir

for a world that's starting to realize

per a un món que comença a adonar-se

we have so much to gain from learning and working through our differences.

de l'enorme benefici d'aprendre i treballar les nostres diferències.

When I think about this subject,

Quan hi penso

I think about the Filipino people

penso en el poble filipí

and an almost forgotten but important legacy

i el seu important llegat quasi oblidat,

of gender equality and inclusivity.

d'igualtat i inclusió.

I think about lovers who were some of the gentlest souls I had known

Penso en parelles que han sigut de les persones més dolces que he conegut

but could not be fully open.

i que no podien obrir-se plenament.

I think about people who have made an impact in my life,

Penso en la gent que m'ha marcat,

who showed me that integrity, kindness and strength of character

que m'han ensenyat que la integritat, l'amabilitat i la fortalesa de caràcter

are far better measures of judgment,

són molt millors criteris per jutjar,

far better than things that are beyond a person's control

molt millor que basar-se en factors que un mateix no pot controlar

such as their skin color, their age

com el color de pell, l'edat

or their gender.

o el gènere.

As I stand here today, on the shoulders of people like Lenie,

Estem on estem, gràcies a persones com la Lenie.

I feel incredibly grateful for all who have come before me,

I em sento profundament agraït pels que han estat abans de mi,

the ones courageous enough to put themselves out there,

persones que van ser prou valentes per mostrar-se com eren

who lived a life that was theirs

i per fer la seva vida.

and in the process, made it a little easier for us to live our lives now.

Facilitant-nos així que ara puguem viure la nostra vida.

Because being yourself is revolutionary.

Perquè ser un mateix és revolucionari.

And to anyone reeling from forces trying to knock you down

A tots els qui us veieu envoltats de pressions que intenten tombar-vos

and cram you into these neat little boxes people have decided for you:

i encasellar-vos on la societat ha decidit:

don't break.

No us rendiu.

I see you.

No esteu sols.

Els meus avantpassats us acompanyen.

My ancestors see you.

Their blood runs through me as they run through so many of us.

La seva sang corre per les meves venes i també a través de molts de vosaltres.

You are valid, and you deserve rights and recognition

La vostra manera de viure és vàlida i mereixeu reconeixement i drets,

just like everyone else.

igual que la resta.

Thank you.

Gràcies.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)