Happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈 (Patreon)

Hi Everyone! 🤗

Happy Pride Month! 🌈

In case you're wondering why I posted this late, it's because the Pride March in Manila is normally held on the last weekend of June. I haven't been to a Pride march in years, but nonetheless, I still believe in the importance of Pride Month.

Many LGBTQ+ issues are important, but for me personally, LGBTQ+ marriage is the most important. For those who don't understand why LGBTQ+ people and their supporters are so passionate about LGBTQ+ people being given the right to marry, let me share a personal story about the love of my life, Vince, and me. This will hopefully help you understand why I want to marry him -- legally and not just ceremonially.

13 years ago, twice in a period of a month, Vince was confined in the hospital. In both instances, his illness was severe enough that he had said goodbye to me. He told me to take care of his family because he didn't think he would survive. In both cases, since we were in the southern part of the Philippines and far from both our families. I was the one who brought him to the hospital, I was the one who talked with the doctors and nurses, bought his medication, and watched over him 24 hours a day.

Because Vince and I weren't legally recognized as a couple (how could we be in the Philippines -- we don't even have divorce in this country), the hospital wouldn't allow me to sign any of his paperwork. Vince was so weak that he could barely breathe, let alone fill out any forms, but we had to wait until he had enough energy to fill out his papers because the hospital didn't let me do it for him.

When we were filling out the part where he had to indicate that I would be the one watching over him, he had to indicate my relationship to him. From the options available, since I wasn't legally "Family" or "Relative", the only choice was to select "Others". Others. I had loved Vince deeply for years, and there I was being labeled as "Others". Thankfully Vince was never in a situation where he was too weak to let the doctors know what treatment he wanted or what he wanted to do. If he was, legally speaking, as an "Others", I would not have had the right to tell the doctors what they should do. They wouldn't have even asked me. If Vince was too weak to talk to, legally, the doctors would have all the right to decide on life and death matters. I would have had zero rights.

That is why I want to legally marry Vince. People should have the basic human right to take care of the people they love the most -- legally.

After that situation happened, I wanted to live in and be part of a country that provides the LGBTQ+ community equal rights. I realize that won't happen in the Philippines any time soon (we don't even have divorce here), so Vince at one point started talking about which country we would move to. We talked about how it might be easier if I moved there first, wherever that may be, what work we'd have to do, how we would send money back home to our families, etc. We were very serious about our plans.

As we've grown older though, being close to our loved ones has become more important. We have recently changed our plans to instead get married in a country that is part of the Hague Apostille Convention. This means our marriage would then be recognized in other countries that follow that convention in terms of LGBTQ+ marriages.

This why celebrating Pride is still important. LGBTQ+ rights may be better in some countries, and in others they suck. Take a moment to hug an LGBTQ+ person that you know.

Love, Tita Josie 💖

PS: Vince and I recently celebrated our 20th Anniversary together. Happy 20th Anniversary, BehBeh Ko! 🥰🎂💐🍫