MIKKI GALANG

They say the first photos of you taken have the best captured emotions. This was me, not so confident that time when I watched the events LOL But I think that's OK coz even the most confidently beautiful person I follow in the Internet, Bretman Rock (A man in makeup, who hosted the backstage coverage of the Miss Universe held (last year in Manila Philippines) had nerves. I think when it comes to pageants, we all get this shaky feeling from the beauty standards set by this competition. I will not deny though the joy and excitement this brings especially when you have Pinoy LGBT friends, workmates in beauty (MUA, HMUA), and seatmates I have never known before, united, screaming like they never did before (no pun intended), and laughing at how we all reacted afterwards. LOL As in, those were the cherries on top. The audience was the best.

A lot of you are asking about my thoughts on Miss Universe-Spain 2018 Angela Ponce, who's a proud transgender woman, entering the international competition that's traditionally for "naturally-born women" as pageant local personality Winwyn Marquez, or "real women" as Miriam Quiambao would call themselves.

Ok wag na magpaligoy-ligoy pa, matagal ko nang iniikot ung tanong LOL so ito na yung answer ko, which can be different from yours and there's nothing wrong with that..

For me, there are institutional rules, systems, especially in pageants like Miss Universe. And competitions are judged and owned by people with sets of ideologies. And these people can be homophobic or transphobic regardless if they’re smart or experts. After all, there are pageants that are for us (e.g. Miss International Queen in Thailand)

So the question is: DO WE NEED TO BELONG? Do we need to be confirmed by society as a cis-gendered (straight) woman? NO. because we are a different kind of woman.

BUT IS IT WORTH FIGHTING FOR ? My answer is a YES, BUT.
1.) YES, because it is for these trans kids who watch these pageants and believe that they will be viewed as a woman when they grow up. 2.) YES, to represent that battle against transphobia which Angela Ponce is fighting for, especially in the pageant industry where the T of the LGBT are mainly represented, employed, and entertained.

BUT, it doesnt mean that Beauty is the only way to change the world, or the universe, rather. The universe wont explode without beauty queens championing “Confidently Beautiful” that excludes others kinds beauty. It is in fact this very institution that limits employment opportunities of other transgender women with different skill sets to the beauty/parlor industry, not saying there is something with wrong this. Just that there are transgender people who are good at math, who can be astronauts in space, in being behind the scenes, who dont have the “perfect body”, etc. Transgender = beauconera alone is a stigma that's being fought nowadays because as Whitney would say, we are every woman.

For example, you can tell your kids to stop watching that program or explore other media. There are Youtubers now or very talented actresses like Laverne Cox who have millions of followers and can be idolized for being true to themselves and great at what they do too. If they are into pageants, we have our own. For the media, feature other transgender people in other fields.

Regardless of the circumstances, I hope we all #riseuptogether and support our fellow sisters in their chosen industry.

Photo: http://vadamagazine.com/

Last month, I read about Rappler's The Untapped Power of the Pink Peso and I remember doing the same research back in freshman college. It brought me also to a contemplation of how rare it is until now for companies or advertisers to actually target LGBT through mainstream or targeted media when in fact the market segment is big, has enough spending power, locally as well, especially in the US. And brought me as well to rage on how bars, resorts or even advertisements would discriminate the third gender when it comes to offering services or products.

Now why do we need this? I recall someone from my class asking me the question that tackles isolation when I defended my report. Why would LGBT want to see themselves talked to by brands when they want to consider themselves women? Why is there really a need? I also can remember the question of men's products when most of them are just the same as the products manufactured for women, only stronger/different when it comes to scent or formulation.

As a previous marketer, segmentation deals with the profiling of consumers depending on psychological/behavioral and social factors, and it goes beyond just income. Even if there is enough spending power by the consumers, I think that messaging can go deeper and wider. After all, a good brand will always deal with factors that are in the upper portion of Maslow's heirarchy of needs: satisfaction, happiness, security, etc. LGBT who have specific needs can definitely be one opportunity for a brand to expand its horizon, if it is really caring enough for the people who use the brands.

Clearly, there is still an untapped market, and I agree with the author that there are times when we would choose or prefer a brand based on its market treatment. I just hope that brands can see this and be open-minded and even if that cannot be really controlled, the challenge is to just go beyond. Nonetheless, the cosmetics and personal care industry which is almost dominated and patronized by LGBT makeup artists, performers, hair stylists, or consumers is moving forward with this idea. I mean even if a lipstick is just pigment and wax, the LGBT-specific packaging, advertising, CSR or distribution will tell how they are recognize the community. They just know that they need to communicate with their LGBT customers who have different needs and wanrs as well (as a drag queen would need more professional products for performances and shows) and below you can see a few of them.

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