ON Monday evening, a thread about a photographer who allegedly catfished a trans woman began trending on Twitter. Catfish is, in this context, defined as a fake identity used for the purpose of starting a deceptive relationship. I thought it was just the usual story of someone catfishing another person for money or sex. It was apparently more complicated than that.
The photographer reportedly pretended to be someone else to make the trans woman fall in love with her online just to toy with her emotions and break her heart. Who does that? Soon afterward, other trans women came out with their own stories about the photographer, who was said to have done the same thing to her gay high-school teacher.
There are always two sides to a story but as a journalist who thinks based on logic and not emotions, things look pretty bad for the photographer and her accomplices (including her own assistant).
The story was so sensational that I fell asleep Monday night with the photographer’s name trending. By Tuesday afternoon up to the evening, her name was still trending. Had this happened when I was younger, the trans woman and the other victims would just have kept quiet and allowed what happened to consume them mentally and emotionally.
If what the photographer did was true, then these women, if and when they sue and they win their case, should be compensated so that they could seek professional help. It is difficult enough to be LGBTQ in a society that still generally considers them oddities in a way. Imagine having to deal with this emotional burden just because someone decided it was fun to see you going through this turmoil.
One of the alleged victims was a girl and she was only 16 when the photographer found her. She was “in a relationship” with the photographer for three years. It got to a point where she had their “anniversary” tattooed on her collarbone. Imagine that as a reminder of you being duped. Imagine the pain.
It’s bad enough to be young, in love and not have the means to be with the person you love because at this age, you need your parents’ permission for everything. It is doubly difficult to be in love when you’re at this age, presumably not yet emotionally stable, and that person you supposedly love is not even real.
Hopefully, something good for the women will come out of these Twitter threads. These trans women deserve better. It is difficult being a woman in any society. It is even more difficult when you’re being targeted by predators and discriminated upon by bigots. As I write this, I’ve been quarantined for 19 days. I have not walked outside my house in as many days. I have not worn shoes nor makeup but I will not complain. I am privileged to be able to stay home and be with my family in these difficult times.
I think of the Grab and Lalamove riders out there still on their bikes, running errands for people and buying meals, and I wish I had the money and food to give to them. I think of the tricycle drivers in my neighborhood who have not been able to earn a living since mid-March.
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I HAVE hardly been on Netflix, that’s the truth. But there is one movie on Viu that I do want to watch. It’s based on the popular and controversial feminist book Kim Ji-young, Born 1982. The book is simple. It’s about a Korean woman who is married and what she goes through. Many of her experiences may seem normal and commonplace but they show how society is not fair to women.
Kim Ji-young is the story of a housewife who stays home to take care of her husband and child. When she falls into postpartum depression, her supportive husband encourages her to seek help. Her conversations with her psychiatrist talk about the gender roles that are so rooted society. Kim Ji-young is the embodiment of every woman—daughter, wife, mother, friend and colleague.
The movie’s director didn’t focus on a pessimistic approach to telling the story.
“I wanted to send a hopeful message to all Kim Ji-youngs in 2019 that they are living in a better world than Ji-young’s mother, and their children will be, as well,” said Kim Do-young. The movie stars Jung Yu-mi and Gong Yoo who have worked together before in Silenced and Train to Busan.
You can watch Kim Ji-young: Born 1982 on Viu, the go-to streaming platform for the latest Korean and Asian dramas and variety shows. The Viu app is available as a free download on Google Play Store and the App Store. You can access it on your browser at www.viu.com. The South Korean feminist movie is available to Viu Premium subscribers.
You can get your Viu Premium subscription for as low as P29 for three days. Upgrade to Premium through in-app purchase or credit card. If you prefer charging your subscription to your mobile load, you can upgrade via Globe.
For online shoppers, subscriptions are also available on Lazada and Shopee.