A trio of Temple University students organized a panel discussion earlier this month to promote awareness and visibility of the unique issues that the LGBT Asian community faces.
Temple University’s Tyler School of Art hosted “Gays, Greeks and GayAsians” Nov. 5, spearheaded by Temple students Nicholas Deroose, Tyrone Penserga and Alex Buligon and which also featured Ron Sy, executive director of AIDS Services in Asian Communities.
Deroose, a junior at Temple and the founder of Queer Philadelphia Asians, said he started thinking about hosting the discussion this past summer in order to shed light on the oft-overlooked experiences of LGBT Asians.
“Although we had a lot of coming-out events on campus with people sharing their stories, we haven’t been able to really hear about the coming-out experience from the Asian perspective,” he said. “I think it’s different for all cultures, and it’s important for all people to tell their stories from their own perspectives so that people who are coming out are able to relate.”
Deroose, who moved to Philadelphia from Singapore last year, noted that the Asian community’s “tried and tested method of silence when it comes to topics on sex and sexuality” further motivated him to create an event that gave a voice to the population.
Deroose spoke with Penserga, a junior and a senator on the university’s student government, who was eager to bring his own experiences to the table.
Penserga is a native of the Philippines who lived in Florida before moving to Philadelphia.
“In the Philippines, if you say you’re gay, the word is even said very differently than it is here,” he said. “Gay men are only expected to be dance instructors or work in hair salons, and while there are some similarities in the stereotypes in this country too, it’s a lot stronger at home.”
During the panel discussion, Penserga spoke about his experience of coming out to his single mother and said that, while he was glad he took that step, disclosing his orientation to the rest of his extended family is not an option right now.
“She was crying and everything like I expected, but one of the things that she was so upset about, and that I actually found kind of funny, was that she felt she was no longer a part of this community that I was in, but we worked through that,” Penserga said. “I’m not out to the rest of my family, though, because they’re extremely, extremely religious and mostly it’s because I’m protecting my mom. I don’t want the rain of shame and disgust to fall on my mother.”
Buligon, a senior, brought a rather different perspective to the discussion. When he arrived at Temple, Buligon, who is heterosexual, acknowledges he had a homophobic mindset, which he said may have been fueled by the atmosphere in the sports environment in which he grew up.
“I would say I was kind of discriminatory, and I did use really bad terms for gay people sometimes,” Buligon said. “But once I met Nick and Tyrone, I saw that they’re normal people, just like me, and that I had no reason to be hateful.”
Buligon, who is Asian American, spoke about the strong expectations of masculinity that Asian males often face, and detailed how his college experience has helped reshape some of his long-held beliefs.
Buligon is president of the Delta Chi Psi fraternity at Temple and said he hopes his strong support for the LGBT community will help to dispel some of the pervasive homophobia in the Greek communities.
The discussion only drew a crowd of around 20, but Deroose noted that inclement weather and the ongoing SEPTA strike probably had an effect on the turnout.
Deroose said he’s hoping to continue the discussion about the LGBT Asian experience throughout the school year, and is anticipating another forum that will draw participation from parents and families of LGBT Asians.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].