Ms. Universe... Transgender??

What the....?!! That was my reaction when I heard about the controversial news about a transgender candidate in Ms. Universe Canada who was initially disqualified to compete but was later on allowed to join. This is wrong, like totally wrong, well at least in my opinion. 

This is not an issue of discrimination for me. I have homosexual and even transgender friends and I'm comfortable in their company and I never raised an eyebrow towards their preferences. I don't want to condemn anyone merely on his or her sexual preferences alone. That would be wrong as well. 

Though, with this Ms. Universe issue I can't help but disagree with the new supposedly "modernized" policy. I'm not a big fan of this pageant or any other pageants in general and I absolutely don't have any intention of joining one either in this lifetime or in any other lifetime. It's just that I can't help but be concerned with this issue as this is not just an issue of a transgender crossing the line but more of an issue against the integrity of this organization. 

For some women, this pageant is not just a mere beauty contest, for some its a way to further empower themselves and to boost their careers. There are others who uses this competition as an avenue to promote awareness about the country they are representing or to enlighten other nations on certain issues that the country is facing. There are women competing for that crown not just for some vain glory and not just for the glitz and glamor. This is a woman's world, an arena for her to show the world that she's confident not just for being beautiful but also for being intelligent. These women are supposed to served as a role model for other women. For a transgender to be allowed to join this competition is a real dismay. Whatever happened to the celebration of a woman's natural beauty? And what about the "the natural born woman" as part of the requirement? Or what about that age old question about "the essence of a woman?" Besides, transgenders do have their own pageants after all, right?!  So, I guess these are all irrelevant now. 

A transgender friend of mine commenting on the issue said this, "we should be proud to be transgenders and joining a women's pageant will not make you a woman, its what you feel inside that matters." I couldn't agree more with him. I personally think that the Ms. Universe Organization should have stood by its first decision. I feel that by doing this they are encouraging more individuals coming from the third sex to undergo a knife and those painful therapies just to be recognized as a women. Then there's the issue of plastic surgery, we all know that transgender will go to great lengths just to look perfect, does this mean that to be at par with them women joining the competition should also undergo surgery to further enhance their looks? Is this a way to celebrate one's natural beauty?

In this day and age, a lot of individuals resort to plastic surgery not just to improve their appearance but also to boost their morale. I don't see anything wrong in wanting to become more beautiful and I don't see anything wrong in being vain, but our self worth should not be heavily gauge by the physical aspects alone, and our vanities ought not to outweigh our convictions.

Today's generation may be more liberal minded, but there are values that we should still uphold while keeping up with the changes. If there are organizations for men, there should be for women and for transgenders and as with any organizations there ought to be rules and guidelines that everyone has to abide with. Transgenders are unique individuals and their uniqueness should be acknowledge without crossing any lines. If transgenders all over the world wants equality then they should play fair as well in any level. They have to be true to themselves and be proud of who they are, instead of adopting someone else's identity.  

Felled Pines at The City of Pines

Beautiful Baguio

I was just a teenager when I first set foot in Baguio City. I remembered that time vividly as it was one of those wild teenage experiences of mine. My family did not know I was going to Baguio because it just got decided out of whim as one of my friends received his driving license and decided to celebrate by going on a trip to Baguio. 

I was excited, but that excitement turned into worry when I saw the narrow and foggy road leading to Baguio City. What was I thinking? My friend wasn't even a very good driver. I sat there, fidgeting, feeling a wave of panic washing through me as different scenarios flashed through my head (accident scenarios that is). I was already thinking about calling my sister to ask her to fetch me when the fog ceased a little and we started seeing trees and distant views. What I saw started to calm me down and then came the end of the long drive, I was relieved! The sight of the city welcomed us and I was in awe. When I hopped down from the car a fragrant smell caressed my senses, a calming and rather sensual smell, something I've never experienced in Manila. We got all excited and it took all my worries away.

That experienced had been overwhelming for me, it was my first time to go on an out of town trip with my friends and Baguio city had been breathtakingly beautiful at that time and I truly felt the warm hospitality of  the local folks. Then there's that scent, even in the bustling area of Session Road you'd be able to smell it in the air whenever the wind blows and the place was lined with pine trees all over. Being there back then, feels like stepping into another world, I didn't want to go back to Manila anymore.

It had been years after that before I was able to return to Baguio. The transformation totally shocked me. Houses are pretty much everywhere, quarrying activities are also evident within some sites of the cities and you'd see some barren areas as well. What struck me the most is that I can no longer smell the scent of the pines trees and I had been looking forward to that. Baguio is still beautiful, but it has changed dramatically, it became too commercialized.

Throughout the years they made a lot of changes and improvement to promote the culture of the place and to further attract the tourists. Promoting the culture of one's region is good but not to the point of actually exploiting it, leading to the degradation of the place. Right now, there is an ongoing controversy regarding the cutting of trees by the management of SM Baguio for the mall expansion. They had been insisting that this is legally right and would be good for the city in terms of employment. They also said that they will be planting trees on another part of the city as a replacement. Maybe its just me, but saying that this will be a good thing for the city is just plain bullshit! Occurrences of landslides had been frequent now in Baguio city and if they really want to help the community, they should have done the re-planting activities a long time ago. What they are doing now is nothing but pure commercialism.

A court order had been issued to halt the cutting of trees "temporarily." My question is, why only temporary? Save Baguio Pine Trees had become a trending topic in twitter as people all over the Philippines are protesting against this act. Do we need another MOA in Baguio City? I dare think not. Malls are practically everywhere in this country and Baguio is not supposed to be a shopping haven its supposed to be a place where people could go to relax, commune with nature and breath some real fresh air. I guess SM Eco campaign is something like, "Save the environment and buy our Eco bags as we'll hack of your trees."

It makes me sad to think that if this commercialism continues, and if more investors put up their establishments and do these kind of activities Baguio City might just become a distant memory, another dream of paradise that once was real. 

We may not be living in Baguio or in other places where these issues are now becoming rampant but being a citizen of this country we all have the responsibility to look after it and to protect our resources and heritage, whatever differences we may have, we should all at least unite for this cause.