QUEER BEATS: Filipino Gay Lingo in Selected Mainstream Original Pinoy Music (OPM) Songs

 

University of the Philippines – Diliman

Doctor of Philosophy in English Studies: Language

English 311: Language and Gender

 

 

QUEER BEATS: Filipino Gay Lingo in Selected Mainstream

Original Pinoy Music (OPM) Songs

 

Jake A. Villanueva

 

 

Introduction

 Language reflects the creativity, stories, and culture of a community. Throughout history, it played a pivotal role in building civilizations that paved way to the creation of diverse communities around the world.

Baker and Hengeveld (2012) stated that language is generally for communication and humans use this to connect with each other about anything. This shows how language can shape the identity of the members of a speech community, and how it can help them present their most authentic selves to the world.

One community that uses language dynamically and creatively is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual and plus (LGBTQIA+) community. For years, the queer language has been used to protect their members from ostracism and discrimination. As Rosales and Careterro (2019) quoted Baker (2010), “through linguistic styles, gays form speech communities that create boundaries to exclude non-speakers. It also became a set of codes among the users to identity their own people while preserving and enriching the queer culture.

This language phenomenon inspired linguist William Leap in creating the Lavender Language and Linguistics Conference in 1993. Queer studies including queer linguistics and queer musicology became growing fields in the study of language, sexuality, and gender. Hence, through the continuous efforts of advocating the rights of LGBTQIA+ people, the world has slowly started to recognize, accept, and embrace the community.

Today, queer icons are given safe spaces to express themselves and their artistry in different platforms. From fashion to commercials to academes to politics and to music, the LGBTQIA+ community continues to influence various industries around the globe. One noticeable influence of gay language is its inclusion in popular culture music.

Songs have a strong impact to people. Similarly with language, it has existed from the dawns of early civilizations to the birth of the modern culture and society. As Taylor (2015) explained, “music is intimately connected to our gendered and sexual selves, just as our gendered and sexual selves are contingent upon the ways in which we listen to, perform and write about music”. This implies that even in music as a form of art and literature, gender and sexuality can be discussed, explained, and presented.

In addition, Sumalinog Salid, Sarino and Amante (2021) even claimed that nowadays, it is noticeable that the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer (LGBTQ) community has an active participation in the music industry.

In the Philippines, the gay language also called as Sward speak, Bekimon or Baklese, is also being used in various media discourses including advertisements, TV commercials, and songs. According to Villanueva (2020) quoting Marquez (2012), “one of the most dynamic yet informal language models ever to evolve in the country is the baklese, also known as gay language. For the Pinoys, it is inevitable not to hear this gay language because they are spoken openly on TV, on the streets, in schools and offices, even in homilies of some priests”.

With these evolving platforms for information, education and entertainment, the growth of the gay language in the country keeps on being dynamic in different fields. This shows the results of the continuous fight for safe spaces, acceptance, and visibility. But why is it important to understand the language of the LGBTQIA+ community?

Rosales and Careterro (2019) stated that “understanding gay lingo may lead non-gay students and teachers to discard their gender biases and promote mutual respect instead. It may also facilitate the better implementation of the Gender Awareness and Gender Sensitivity program of the government”.

This strongly supports and advocates the mission of the Department of Education “to protect and promote the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable, culture-based, and complete basic education where students learn in a child-friendly, gender-sensitive, safe and motivating environment.”

Moreover, songs are part of the culture, and everyday life of Filipinos. Since they reflect the stories and language of a person or community, they can widely influence the perception of listeners and non-members of a speech community. Today, these are forms of popular culture (pop culture). As Weedon (2009) explained, popular culture has a major impact and influence on the development and learning experiences of young people. He defined popular culture as a relationship associated with young people’s everyday interests of music, art, media, internet, TV, radio and fashion – it offers creativity, challenges, participation and engagement.

Understanding the linguistic activities on Filipino gay lingo bridges our learning on the cultural impact and semantic effect of the LGBTQIA+ community in mainstream Original Pinoy Music Songs. With these reasons including a limited source of queer studies in the Philippines, I conducted a content analysis of the gay lingo used in selected OPM songs.

This study seeks to analyze the Filipino gay lingo used in selected mainstream Original Pinoy Music (OPM) songs. Specifically, this study aimed to answer the following.

Research Questions

1)      What are the linguistic works involved in the gay lingos used in selected mainstream Original Pinoy Music (OPM) songs?

2)      How are Filipino gay lingo used in selected mainstream Original Pinoy Music (OPM) songs?

 

Theoretical Framework

To answer the research questions, the study used the framework of Villanueva (2020) anchored on the discussion of Motschenbacher and Stegu (2013) on Queer Linguistic approaches to discourse, and Critical Discourse Analysis framework of Mongie (2016). Motschenbacher and Stegu (2013) explained that the “Queer Linguistic goal of deconstructing heteronormativity does not necessarily mean that discourse specifically about sexuality, and human communication in general, can be free of normative influences”. Hence, the study also included songs by LGBTQIA+ allies to understand how they project the gay language in a heteronormative perspective.

 To analyze the messages of the songs and meaning of lines, CDA was used. Following Mongie’s (2016) framework, the paper used “the analytic methodology developed by van Dijk (1985) in his investigation of the relationships between discourse and identity construction, discourse and social reality, and discourse and power”.

In addition, Motschenbacher and Stegu (2013) also stated that “these approaches have been criticised for being (overtly) political in their research agenda and for pre-assuming the relevance of certain, often power-related, social macro-issues (among them gender and sexual identity). However, it is exactly this characteristic that makes CDA well-equipped for studying the linguistic consequences of heteronormativity as a social macro-issue that affects all contexts, even if with varying degrees of salience (cf. Koller, 2013)”. Thus, this approach helped in analyzing the linguistic works in the Filipino gay language, and the impact of their inclusion to the overall messages or themes of the songs.

 

Methodology

This study is a mixed method approach. Using purposive sampling and following the Inclusion-Exclusion criteria, three (3) songs were used in the conduct of this study. Using frequency count and percentages, the number of gay lingos used in the selected OPM songs were determined. I also identified the frequency count of the word classes of the gay lingos used in the songs. The first one is ‘Manhid Ka’ by gay icon and artist Vice Ganda. The lyrics version posted in Jgmnoh YouTube channel in 2013 has more than 1 million views. The second song is ‘Hindi Ako Bakla’ by LGBTQIA+ ally and supporter Michael V. The official music video posted in GMA Music YouTube channel in 2013 has more than 2 million views. The third song is ‘Bambambam’ by another ally Karen Ann Cabrera, famously known as Karencitta. The official music video posted in her YouTube channel in 2019 has more than 18 million views. I adopted the framework of Villanueva (2020) in his study on the linguistic works on the word formation of Drag Queens. This is anchored and supported by Queer Linguistics and Queer Theory specifically through Critical Discourse Analysis.  

 Table 1. Criteria for Word Inclusion and Exclusion

Criteria of Inclusion and Exclusion

A.    Inclusion Criteria   1.      Filipino gay lingo regardless of regional or ethnic etymology 2.      Songs performed or written by members of the LGBTQIA + community 3.      Songs performed or written by cisgender allies of the LGBTQIA+ community 4.      Songs performed or written by the identified qualified groups with 1 million views in YouTube 5.      Phrases or lines that reflect or embody queerness or gay message of empowerment 6.      OPM songs regardless of genre   B.     Exclusion Criteria   1.      Ordinary words in Filipino or other dialects that are widely used in the country 2.   Songs performed or written by allies or members of LGBTQIA+ community with less than 70,000 views in YouTube 3.      Songs by allies and members that have less than 2 gay lingos

 

Analysis

For a general view of the analysis of the songs, let us first look at the summary of the number of Filipino gay lingos used in these three songs.

 

Table 2. Number of Filipino Gay Lingo used in Selected OPM songs

OPM Songs	N	%
Manhid Ka	3	25.00
Hindi Ako Bakla	4	33.33
Bambambam	5	41.67
TOTAL	12	100.00

Table 2 presents the number of Filipino gay lingo used in the three OPM songs. As shown, songs by LGBTQIA+ allies ‘Bambambam’ with 41.67% and ‘Hindi Ako Bakla’ with 33.33% have higher percentage compared to the ‘Manhid Ka’ with 25%. Ironically, the only queer artist in the corpus of the study used Filipino gay lingo in his song minimally.  This simply implies that the Filipino gay language today is openly used by heterosexual performers. In fact, in the study of Sumalinog, Salid, Sarino and Amante (2021), they explained that “a once not- so- secret language used solely by gays is now infiltrating both worlds of the media and the academe. Its exclusivity to gays, much to our diva’s dismay, is now broken and gay lingo is being used by every girl, closet gays, young and old, and even straight guys in town”.

 

Table 3. Filipino Gay Lingo in ‘Manhid Ka’ by Vice Ganda. 

Filipino Gay Lingo	Meaning	Word Class	Word Formation
Dedma	ignore or snob	Verb	Blending
Bet na bet	extremely liked or wanted	Verb	Borrowing
Shonga	stupid	Adjective	Pun

Table 3 shows the Filipino gay slang used in the song ‘Manhid Ka’ by Vice Ganda. There are only three terms used here in which two are verbs and the other one is an adjective. Borrowing is specific type of word formation process. When a speaker uses a word existing in another language, then it becomes a loanword. Zapata (2007) stated “borrowing is the process whereby new words are formed by adopting words from other languages together with the concepts or ideas they stand for (cf. Brun, 1983; Pei 1966)”. In this case, the term bet which is an English word is used in this discourse to pertain to an extremely liked situation. Borrowing is a common linguistic work among languages. In Western gay culture, some of borrowed words which have different meanings are beat (make-up), cake (ass), and fish (woman-looking).

 

Bet na bet pa naman kita 

This phrase means that the persona or singer really likes the person he or she is talking to. This is also a known catchphrase in the LGBTQIA+ community in the Philippines especially whenever they see someone who meets their standards in romantic or sexual relationships. The use of a gay slang in this line adds flavor and a modern vibe since the remaining words are formal Filipino terms.

Puro dedma ka na lang

Unlike word formation whereby new words are formed from existing morphemes with familiar and entrenched meaning, “blending can, therefore, be considered formation, i.e. ‘assembling’ of words from parts which do not necessarily have to be morphemes” (Colic, 2018). The word dedma (deadma) is considered as a blended word between “dead” and “malice” as explained by Solano (2017). Through direct translation, these words mean “patay malisya” which, in Filipino culture, means “to ignore”. However, no study was conducted yet to trace the etymology of Filipino slang terms like this one. Regardless, this term is considered as a common term among the LGBTQIA+ members especially in contexts where they are being discriminated. It serves as their mantra of ignoring the hurtful comments and perceptions of the society that is generally heteronormative. In American culture, blending is a very common word formation. Drag queens are known for inventing words including draguate (drag + graduate), chesticles (chest + testicles) and glamazon (glamour + amazon).

Shonga ka ba talaga o manhid ka

Wordplay can be expressed in ambiguous verbal wit, orthographic peculiarities, sounds and forms of the words, in breaking the grammar rules and other linguistic factors. It should be also mentioned that context has a vital importance for the actualization of the wordplay (pun), as its pragmatic role (mainly humorous, satirical, sarcastic, etc.) is fulfilled and actualized in a specific context. It is obvious that there is not a universal definition (Giorgadze, 2018). The word “shonga” is a pun to “tanga”, the tagalog word for “stupid”. Noticeably, the replacement of “ta” with “sho” is an evidence of the playfulness of the members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The “sh” /ʃ/ or “ch” /ʧ/sound. Some products of this word formation among Filipino gays include shugal (tagal – slow), shamad (tamad – lazy), and shukit (bakit – why). In american culture, pun is also a common word formation among queens. Some of these include anusthing (anything), werk (work), and cyster (sister). However, it is important to note that these were used in a certain context that made sense when it was used or applied.   

Table 4. Filipino Gay Lingo in ‘Hindi Ako Bakla’ by Michael V. 

Filipino Gay Lingo	Meaning	Word Class	Word Formation
Echos	just joking or just kidding	Interjection	Onomatopoeia
Chika	rumors, gossip or story	Noun	Borrowing
Bruha	witch or ugly	Noun/ Adjective	Borrowing
Ching	never mind or joke	Interjection	Borrowing

Table 4 presents the Filipino gay lingo used in ‘Hindi Ako Bakla’ by Michael V. There are four terms used in this song. Two were interjections, one adjective and one noun. While the artist is an active impersonator and a drag performer in most of his comedic skits, he clarified in reports that he is not gay. However, as ally who supports the art of LGBTQIA+ community, he is also familiar with many gay lingos. In his song, the word formations of the gay terms include onomatopoeia and borrowing.

Chika nila, tinawag mo 'kong bakla 

The line above means that the persona came to know about how he is being called gay. The term chika is categorized as borrowed since it is official existing in Japanese language. This also shows some of the influence of the previous colonizers of the country. In Japanese language, “chika” is a feminine name which also means flower. It is important to note that feminizing their sound and choosing more feminine terms are some influences of the gay community.

 Hoy, bruha kang talaga

The line mentioned simply means “Hey, you are really a witch!”. This is a borrowed word from the Spanish language in which the difference is the spelling. Bruja in Spanish means ‘witch’. However, among Filipino gay people, bruha refers to someone with an ugly personality. This is another example of the influence of past colonizers in the country especially Spain which colonized the Philippines for more than three centuries.    

 Babae ako

Hindi ako bakla
Ching

Ching is another example of borrowed word. With the influence of the Chinese culture in the country, “ching” in Cantonese means to open or to spread. It is also considered as a unisex given name. However, in the song, ching was an interjection. A puncher to the previous line which posts a humorous irony on one’s denial of sexuality.

In the use of Onomatopoeia, Villanueva (2020) stated that language started with the imitation of sounds. From altering the phonemic units, new words were formed, and this is also like the cases of the queer language in which members of the speech community pronounce words differently. This led to the variations of languages.

Echos!

Chika nila, tinawag mo 'kong bakla 

The lines above present the use of an onomatopoeic Filipino gay term: echos. Echos is an expression we say especially among gays whenever we are in making jokes. In the lines above, the meaning of the word makes sense since it adds a clear scenario about the context of the song. Considering our discussion on the term Chika, the word “Echos” placed in the beginning is an artistic choice to immediately deny the accusations about the persona’s sexuality by expressing a joke as a disclaimer.

 

Table 5. Filipino Gay Lingo in ‘Bambambam’ by Karencitta.

Filipino Gay Lingo	Meaning	Word Class	Word Formation
sistah	Sis, sister or close friend	Noun	Pun
Bayet	gay	Noun	Borrowing
Maya	short	Adjective	Coinage
Shudi	not	Interjection	Onomatopoeia
Mangekal	Boy hunting	Verb	Borrowing

Table 5 displays the Filipino gay lingo in an upbeat song “Bambambam” by Karencitta. This song is a mixture of English and Cebuano because of the cultural experiences in America and Cebu City. She used five gay terms in her song. Two are nouns, an adjective, a verb, and an interjection. While she masterfully provided a modern vibe and presented the marriage of two languages, she added more humor by providing gay contexts in the song. Borrowing, Pun, Onomatopoeia and Coinage were the word formations involved in the Filipino gay lingos in the song.

Gwapo unta, maya lang

This line means that one character is asking if he is handsome, and a response of “a little” was given. The word “maya” was derived from Cebuano word gamay which means “small”. Villanueva (2020) quoted Zapata (2007) who stated that “the invention of new words is sometimes based on existing words, such as Jell-o on gel, Kleenex on clean. Many acronyms such as Cobol, laser, etc. are based on phrases for which they stand”. This gay lingo in a regional dialect makes sense in the overall meaning of the line since the term as a modifier was referring to the handsomeness of the subject they are talking about.

Come on sistah's, lemme feel ya

The word sistah is a pun for sister. This reflects a strong American culture on the use of slangs. In the Philippines, sistah is also used among gay people specifically the feminine gay and female allies. Sistah is also shortened to teh based on the tagalog word “ate” (older sister).

Hala bayet, cute cya oh

Mangekal ta, sa dancefloor ba

Another word is bayet which is derived form the Cebuano term bayot (gay). In the line, the persona is evidently talking with a gay friend as she points someone cute in the setting. This supports the idea that the word sistah also refers to the persona’s gay friend. However, it is also important to note that in the past, bayot is used as a derogatory term just as the word gay or “bakla” in tagalog. Today, being called bakla or bek in general is associated to being a friend. Another borrowed term is “mangekal” which means boy-hunting. In context, the two personas were talking about boys and how they can find some matches on the dancefloor. Among gays, this is a go-to conversation when partying and socializing.

Sangga lang ta, shudi girl

Shudi is another Cebuano which means not. Sumalinog, Salid, Sarino and Amante (2021) explained that it was derived from the Cebuano term dili. Noticeably, the main persona shifts from feminine terms like sistah, girl and bayet which are applicable to a gay friend. The word shudi informalized the context which makes sense to a scenario of two friends having conversations in a party.  

 

Table 5. Messages and Themes of the Selected OPM songs with Filipino Gay Lingo

OPM Song	Message	Theme
Manhid Ka (2013)	Unresponsiveness towards the feelings of others	Love
Hindi Ako Bakla (2013)	In denial or confusion of sexuality	Sexuality and Gender Expression
Bambambam (2019)	Being able to enjoy and have fun	Flirtation

Table 5 shows the messages and themes of the selected OPM songs with Filipino gay lingo. ‘Manhid Ka’ by Vice Ganda talks about love and how it is unreciprocated by the other party. This is also an issue among the Filipino LGBTQIA+ community. Since the country is very religious and conservative, the queers of previous generations were discriminated for having same-sex relationships and this created a stigma among people. ‘Hindi Ako Bakla’ by Michael V is a song of in denial and confusion of sexuality and gender identity. The song presented in a very comedic manner is full of humorous ironies as the singer continuously deny he is gay, but the visuals and delivery say otherwise. It is important to note that the message is also a reflection of fear especially for the closeted ones who are afraid to be associated with the term gay. The song also opens the discussion on allies who do support the LGBTQIA+ community and consciously and unconsciously adopt some mannerisms. Lastly, ‘Bambambam’ by Karencitta reflects that fun and joy of having a gay friend. It presented how friends have conversation about flirting with other people in a club or a party. This is also anchored by the influence of the American culture of the artist, but the inclusion of gay lingo dialect as an homage to her Cebuana roots takes the song to a different level.

 

Conclusion

The study revealed that Filipino gay lingos are mostly used as a verb in the selected OPM Songs. Since the gay language or sward speak was a set of codes among the members of the speech community, creating words or references for common actions protect them from social norms and discrimination. Borrowing is also the dominant word formation of the Filipino gay lingo. This supports the diversity of the Filipino language especially that we are influenced by Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and American cultures. The Filipino gay lingo, in general, added colors to the overall impact of the songs. They made it more inclusive, more modern, and more people friendly. These reflect the personalities of the members of the Filipino LGBTQIA+ community – vibrant, joyful, dynamic, sociable, and soulful.

Sumalinog, Salid, Sarino and Amante (2021) expressed that gay lingo terms when used creatively “adds to the song’s interesting value”. But the impact of these words is not limited to creative use only. After all, being queer, at its core, is a political and social resistance.

More than the bridges that songs and languages build, the queer people stand up for their rights for visibility and inclusivity. And just like how gay language will evolve, they will always adopt and be present while singing and dancing with the queer beats.

 

References

 

Baker, A. and Hengeveld, K. (2012). Linguistics.  Blackwell Publishing Ltd: United Kingdom.

Colic, A. (2015). Word formation of blends.

Mongie, L. (2016). Critical Discourse Analysis as queer linguistics: religious pro- and anti-LGBT equality framing and counterframing in two letters to the editor in the City Press. 10.5842/49-0-664

Motschenbacher, H. and Stegu, M. (2013). Queer linguistic approaches to discourse. Discourse & Society, 24(5), 519–535. DOI: 10.1177/0957926513486069

Sumalinog, D. Salid, R., Sarino, E. and Amante, I. (2021). Exploring gay lingo in dome delected OPM songs. Asian Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Researches, 1(1), 1-4. https://msubuug.edu.ph/journal.

Taylor, J. (2015).  Way of loving, a way of knowing: Music, sexuality and the becoming of a Queer musicologist.

Villanueva, J. (2020). Linguistic works on the word formations of drag queens. (Unpublished master’s thesis, University of the Cordilleras). Baguio City.

Weedon, T. (2009). Exploring popular culture in education.

Zapata, A. (2007). Types of words and word formations.