Looking at today's TV environment, it would really seem so. In fact, the primetime shows on the country's two biggest networks prominently feature transgenders in their cast, and nobody seems to be batting their eyelashes at any of the proceedings.
One could say that transgender have always figured prominently in the Philippine entertainment industry anyway -- Lino Brocka's "Ang Tatay kong Nanay" (My Father is my Mother) being one such example -- but for the most part they have played the parts of comedic relief, often the object of verbal and physical punchlines.
Rica of PBB Double Up and Justine of Survivor Philippines are far from being the object of comedic relief.
PBB's Rica
Rica has an impressive academic background, coming from one of the country's incredibly competitive science schools and a graduate from the Ateneo. She's well-liked in the house, and so far the only votes she's gotten are from two housemates who grew up in the provinces, which is to be expected.
Survivor's Justine
Justine is even more impressive. First to be voted off and sent to Survivor Philippines equivalent of "Exile Island", she has defeated all of the challengers she's been up against, and is now part of the top three and is actually rumored to win the whole thing.
That isn't to say that there isn't a lot of work still to be done. Even the Pinoy Big Brother website labels Rica as part of the non-existent "third sex", and we all know about the lady behind "Enchong Dee is a gay". But I hope that this current goodwill towards transgenders translates to better acceptance of the LGBT community among the public.
We're still pretty low key, after all. It's not like we're out there doing something as controversial as this.
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