Gender Construction: An Analysis of Queerness in a Philippine Boys’ Love Web

Abstract

Films either reflect or challenge social norms while reconstructing or deconstructing reality. These films are dense, metaphorical, and highly contentious. Additionally, several scholars concur that media unwittingly reinforces chauvinist social standards, particularly in the way it constructs gender through the characters, plot, and setting. The emergence of coming-out and queer films in recent years has inspired the Filipino film industry to create queer web series, such as the Boys Love (BL) series, that speak to both queer and straight Filipino audiences at a time when the world is dealing with a pandemic. Thus, a critical discourse analysis of the Filipino BL web series Gaya Sa Pelikula (Like in the Movies), written by Juan Miguel Severo and directed by Jaime Habac Jr., was conducted to analyze how gender is constructed in the characters, conflict, and themes. According to the findings, a homosexual person's character development is centered around three main issues: concealment, disclosure, and acceptance of queerness. The web series made it clear that coming out as gay is the only acceptable way to embrace queerness and that those who remain discreet are unhappy and disturbed. Furthermore, the web series constructs homosexuality as a dramatic and significant plot twist in the life of a queer character, thereby excluding other homosexual hardships. This study concludes that the emerging BL genre constructs homonormativity among younger audiences. The media, through the BL genre, transformed how queer characters are presented in films, giving them major roles. This study further recommends research on how toxic masculinism is presented in Philippine BL web series and how the coming-out phase is portrayed both foreign and local BL web series.