There is a stark difference between “being inspired by” and “paying homage to.”
Last Saturday, famous and influential LGBTQIA+ personalities attended Vice Ganda’s UnkabogaBall, a grand ball that celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community in the Philippines. For this year’s dress code, all attendees were asked to dress up in ensembles made by Filipino designers while being inspired by the Philippines’ rich history.
And girl, every single attendee gagged and delivered the assignment down to the tee.
Here are some of the most iconic looks that turned heads on sight and on the internet.
The real backstory ✊🏽🤫
Our winning look for the #unkabogaball2022. This is the part of Philippine History that they are trying to conceal with glamour and misinformation. This is the story that should never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/KJe2Kr2ZB4
— Marina Summers (@marinaxsummers) December 11, 2022
WELCOME HOME PAPSIEEEEEE! batas militar x tallano gold couture by @rafa_worldwide for #UnkabogaBALL2022 #TheUnkabogaBALLinCebu ❤️💚👊 pic.twitter.com/5TH73gKn2c
— AC Soriano (@ItsACsLife) December 10, 2022
LOOK: Drag Den's Drag Runner Sassa Gurl and Creator/Director Rod Singh, being one of the first recipients of Unkabogable awards in the recently concluded #UnkabogaBALL2022. 👑
Awarded by the legendary queen herself @vicegandako! 💕💕 pic.twitter.com/U2tqB5Bk00
— Drag Den Philippines (@dragdenph) December 11, 2022
Trans Representation of Pre-colonial PH.
Hindi man natalakay nang husto sa textbooks ang pagiging simbulo ng Trans identity ng mga babaylans, hindi natin maitatago ang impact nila sa queer community.
Here's a re-imagined queer Babaylan representation from a B&W school textbook pic.twitter.com/6olY9O1aKE
— Sassa Gurl #StreamMariaHiwaga (@Itssassagurl) December 13, 2022
There was one look, however, that delivered the theme but didn’t quite get the message across. Don’t get us wrong, okay. We loved the whole Baroque-ish boat extravangaza eleganza that she gave, but her explanation didn’t quite…um..well…sit well with netizens.
In her Tweet, Ate Dick (Inah Evans) said that her whole ensemble was to pay homage to the arrival of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan on the shores of Cebu back in 1521, her cape representing the bloody Battle of Mactan, and her gown symbolizing the paintings found in the churches.
Netizens felt uncomfortable after reading her explanation and they weren’t wrong to feel that way. How would you feel if someone glorified the horrors brought upon by your colonizers, right?
In this house we do not glorify or praise colonialism. Colonialism is what made modern Filipinos forget about our roots and heritage, develop colorist takes and disdain everything that goes against the teachings of the Catholic church. Who would’ve thought that our history lessons would lead us to patronizing the colonizers who have done more irreparable damage than good to our country.
While there’s nothing wrong with seeing the good side of things, focusing on the so-called “positive effects” of colonialism is like glamourizing the West and trivializing the efforts done by our heroes who died while fighting for our freedom.
And to think, Ate Dick is praising the arrival of Catholicism in the Philippines, when it’s what the conservative and close-minded people use whenever they try to shove down their beliefs down everybody’s throats.
Sadly, the point was not pointing sa ensemble ni Ate Dick. Next time, let’s do more research when it comes to becoming inspired by Philippine history and to choose the things we would like to pay homage to more wisely.
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