Denis Santos
- Mom accompanies son to Metro Manila Pride March
- Metro Manila Pride March houses different love stories
With the success of Metro Manila Pride March 2017 in Marikina, we still can’t get over. Love stories are the star of the event, but Joseph Loseo has another tale to tell.
Supportive Parents
Joseph, 21, took the internet by storm when he posted heartwarming pictures of her mother on Twitter. On his tweet, it showed his mom, Khaye Misa, accompanying him to the event.
He said, “Growing up she never attended any of my school programs. So today felt like grade school [all] over again. Thanks for coming, Ma.”
The student-blogger living in Antipolo, Rizal told us that they were just having lunch when his mother asked what Pride March actually was.
“Even though my personal life has been an open book to my mom, I never really tried to discuss what are the other things I personally believe in and willing to stand for as a gay man cos I thought, as a straight woman, it would be something difficult to understand. So in my surprise, upon explaining what pride march is, she asked me if she could come and march with me,” he said.
On unaccepting guardians
“I know it’s rough — aggravating sometimes or maybe most of the time, but, do not force it. My family and I never had that sit down let’s talk about it moment. In fact, it was a long process of acceptance especially because I’m the only born male in the family, and the pressure to pass on the last name and take charge of the responsibilities when your father isn’t there is just real. Yes, it was a long process, but it was worth it. You have to realize that they also need time to heal, understand, and accept. And even if they don’t? That’s the thing about building a strong LGBTQIA+ community. You get to choose your own family, something more accepting.”
With a whopping 2,914 retweets and 29,330 likes, he explained why his mother, 50, cannot attend to his school activities.
When asked what his message to the ever-growing LGBT+ Community in the Philippines would be, he briefly answered,
” It’s still going to be a long, rough, heavy road up there but one thing is for sure, you are not alone. And we are on this together.”
