17 Incredible Lesbian Pinays You Need To Know

    Ladies we love who love ladies. #PinayPride, amirite?

    Loreen Ordono
    by Loreen Ordono

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    December 8 is National Lesbian Day in the Philippines! Check out these brilliant and incredible Filipina lesbians making waves in Filipino media.

    And this isn't a definitive list! So if you know more lesbian Pinays who are killing the game, add their names in the comments below!

    1. Shakira Sison

    Roz Espinosa / Via shakirasison.com

    Shakira is an award-winning essayist, fictionist, and poet, with a weekly column on gender issues, culture, and immigration for Rappler. She was named one of Manila Bulletin’s 15 Women of 2015, and has won the Palanca, Hildegarde, and Scholarum awards for her essays. While Shakira lives with her wife in New York City, she maintains a constant insightful and approachable online presence for Filipino youth.

    2. Laurel Fantauzzo

    Tammy David

    With works published in the New York Times, Esquire, BuzzFeed, New York magazine, The Manila Review, and more, Laurel is a multi-cultural wordsmith with a slew of prestigious writing awards under her belt such as the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature, the Astraea Lesbian Emerging Artists Award, and the Philippine American Press Club Award. Her non-fiction book The First Impulse is forthcoming in 2016 and currently she’s a writing instructor at Yale-NUS, living in Singapore and Quezon City.

    3. Giney Villar

    Courtesy of Giney Villar

    A founding member of Women Supporting Women Center, a lesbian rights group formed in the 90s, Giney has contributed to many local and international publications on lesbian issues including Woman to Woman: Essays Poetry and Fiction, the first lesbian-themed book printed in the Philippines which she co-authored. Currently, she is executive chef of Feliza Taverna y Café in Taal, Batangas.

    4. Libay Linsangan Cantor

    Courtesy of Libay...

    Libay is a cultural journalist, media literacy lecturer, children’s content producer, advocacy filmmaker, gender/queer rights advocate, published author, and media practitioner. She is a two-time Palanca Award-winning writer and a recipient of the University of the Philippines Artist II award during her eight-year teaching stint at the UP Film Institute.

    5. Fritzie Rodriguez

    Courtesy of Fritzie Rodriguez

    At only 23, Fritzie has already won various awards for journalism such as the EU Peace Journalism Awards and the Save the Children Media Awards. A journalist for Rappler, she pioneered the news site’s #GenderIssues section and she covers issues about LGBT rights, violence against women and children, gender equality, and poverty and health under the #HungerProject campaign. Currently, she’s part of the team covering the #COP21 talks in Paris, France.

    6. Bernadette "Det" Neri

    Courtesy of Bernadette Neri

    A professor at the Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas at the College of Arts and Letters at UP Diliman, Det is an award-winning author and playwright. She wrote the very first lesbian-themed children’s book Ang Ikaklit sa Aming Hardin which tackles the story of a young girl with two lesbian moms.

    7. Nariese Perez Giangan

    Courtesy of Nariese Perez Giangan

    Nariese, more popularly known as @TanginaTibs online, has helped a lot of lesbians become the best versions of themselves in a country where discrimination is still rampant. You can follow her on AskFM to find her fun and witty answers to questions on gender identity, coming out, sex, depression, bullying, lesbian bed death, and more.

    8. Pai Edles and Misty Floro

    Paulo Valenzuela

    In a relationship for over seven years, this talented couple founded Morfosis, a multi-disciplinary design studio based in Quezon City, specializing in interior and graphic design. Some of their projects include residential and commercial interiors such as Pepper Lunch Restaurant, The Washery Laundromat + Café, and Acqua Private Residences. You can find more of their works here.

    9. Anne Lim

    Courtesy of Anne Lim

    Anne is the Founding Director of GALANG Philippines, “a lesbian-initiated, lesbian-run feminist human rights organization that works with urban poor LBTs.” In 2014, Anne was nominated for the Fund for Global Human Rights' Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty, which is granted every two years in recognition of human rights organizations and activists outside the U.S. Learn more about Anne's work here.

    10. Angie Umbac

    josimalaya.com

    Angie is the executive director of the Rainbow Rights Project, an LGBT legal organization in the Philippines composed of a team of gay and lesbian lawyers and gender activists who support the Philippine LGBT Rights Advocacy Movement through various projects such as the Dyke Dialogues, paralegal trainings for LGBT advocates, Rainbow Radio Pilipinas, and more. In 2011, Angie was the International Grand Marshall at the Toronto Pride Parade. Learn more about Angie’s work with R-Rights here.

    11. Nerissa N. P. Picadizo

    Courtesy of Nerissa N. P. Picadizo

    Nerissa is an award-winning director, producer, and writer. Her most recent lesbian-themed short film “Astray” won her the award for Best Indie Producer at the International Film Festival of Manhattan in 2014 and at the Seventh Ani ng Dangal. She has more than a decade of experience working in various film, television, and theater productions, including a three-year stint as Festival Organizer for Cinemanila International Film Festival. You can check out her works here.

    12. Kaye Morales

    Courtesy of Kaye Morales

    With a background in interior design, makeup art, and production design, Kaye’s avant-garde gowns and off-the-rack pieces are reflective of the different stories of her life. Her design collections have been showcased at Vancouver Fashion Week and at the Los Angeles Style Fashion Week. She recently came out in the fashion industry at the Philippine Fashion Week S/S 2016 with her “Rebel” collection modeled by different LGBT personalities.

    13. Jhoanna Lynn Cruz

    Jona Bering

    Jhoanna is the Palanca Award-winning writer and the author of Women Loving, a collection of lesbian-themed stories and a play. Currently, she is an associate professor at UP Mindanao teaching creative writing and the president of Davao Writers Guild, which organizes readings and writers workshops in Davao, and publishes Mindanao writing in Dagmay.kom.ph.

    14. Cha Roque

    Courtesy of Cha Roque

    Lesbian mom, advocacy filmmaker, video production professor, and a council member of DAKILA Philippine Collective for Modern Heroism, Cha’s most recent documentary project won her a spot in B-Change Foundation’s Stories of Being Me. Her previous lesbian film Itim na Tatsulok received seven nominations including Best Direction and Best Screenplay, and won Best Editing. You can find more of her works here.

    15. Shane Homan

    Courtesy of Shane Homan

    Shane is a model with Art Personas Management, appearing on various magazines and top brands such as Givenchy, Balenciaga, and H&M to name a few. She recently walked the runway with girlfriend/model Ana Pirlog, wearing Kaye Morales designs for Philippine Fashion Week. Learn more about her here.

    16. Kakay Pamaran

    Courtesy of Libay Linsangan Cantor

    Kakay Pamaran is the first woman and lesbian pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church in Quezon City. She is a staunch LGBT and IP rights advocate, while championing the creation of queer theology discourses in her MA degree classes at the Union Theological Seminary in Cavite.

    17. Patty Tiu

    deucemanila.com

    Patty is the lead DJ of Deuce Manila, who shared the decks with top local and international acts such as Steve Aoki, David Guetta, Icona Pop, and more. She was the San Mig Light Party All Night DJ Spin Off Champion in 2012 and won the Manila Mix Off 2012 as a duo with former Deuce Manila member Kat DJ. Check out her videos and music here.

    Keep waving those rainbow flags high, ladies! Cheers!