The Philippine Online Chronicles

“Kaya ka pala naging tomboy eh! Mahilig ka kasi sa Tilapia!

My neigbor said as she saw me devour the ginataang tilapia my Mom prepared especially for me through the window. I almost choked when I heard her remark but before I could swallow the food in my mouth and answer her, she explained that she read somewhere that some fishpond owners use hormone treatment to increase the size of their fish.

“Binibigyan nila ng testosterone yung mga isda para lumaki kasi sa tilapia mas malaki ang mga lalake sa babae, eh minsan di pa nada-digest yung hormones, naha-harvest na kaya napupunta sa mga kumakain ang hormones,” she explained.

“Saan mo naman narinig 'yan?”  I asked her in between mouthful of my favorite dish.

“Naku, maraming ng studies tungkol dyan Miel,” she said, “hindi lang sa tilapia yan, pati sa manok at kung anu-ano pang pagkain. Kahit nga daw sa pancit canton eh, nakakabakla o nakakatomboy din.”

I could not think of a smart retort to what she said. I merely sat there, silently eating my dinner as she droned on talking about how genetically modified food (GMFs) could cause homosexuality. I have heard that homosexuality was a sickness, a psychological disorder and some sort of exorcist that could be cured by prayers but never a mutation. I could not help but smile about the notion of being a homosexual, therefore a mutant. The theories regarding homosexuality are becoming wilder by the minute, I thought. But not wanting to burst my neighbor’s bubble, I indulged her and asked her about this so called study she read about GMFs causing homosexuality.

“Pano yun, kung lalaki ka at kumain ka ng hormone treated na tilapia eh ‘di  mas magiging maton ka? Ganon?  O di kaya kung bading ka at kumain ka ‘nun magiging lalaki ka?” I asked her.

Somehow she did not expect me to ask her that question for she merely sat there, confused. From the look she gave me, she didn’t really think the idea through before telling me.

“Basta, yun yung sabi nila. Nakakabakla daw o nakakatomboy yung mga 'yan kaya ako, puro organic lang kinakain ko para di ako maging tomboy”, she said.

Not ready to back away, I prodded her some more, asking her more questions regarding the study she mentioned.

“Eh di dapat kumain ka na lang nung mga nakakabakla kasi babae ka naman eh so mas magiging mahinhin ka nun, “ I joked.

“Hindi ganun yun, sabi nila sa lalaki, nakakabakla at sa mga babae naman nakakatomboy”, she further explained.

By then, I started laughing, that must have been one hilarious study, I realized belatedly. I asked her if she had a copy so I can read it myself but she said one of her friends just showed her, she didn’t have a copy. Not able to contain myself any longer, I started explaining to her that homosexuality is not something you got from the food you eat nor is it contagious.  It was not like food poisoning or E. coli poisoning.

“Ah basta…” she said adamantly, turning away and returning to hanging her laundry.

I merely smiled. I knew it was hopeless and I was not in the mood to argue so I just finished eating while watching her hang her laundry.

Later on that evening, I told a close friend about what my neighbor said about eating tilapia and we had a good laugh about it. If that was the case, my friend said, there would be more homosexuals around since most food are genetically modified these days.

The thought of becoming a homosexual because of the food you ate stayed on my mind that it soon became an inside joke between me and my friends. We would often talk and joke about it but it was not until I told my advocate friend about my neighbor’s remark that we realized the seriousness of the matter. It was that easy to delude people into believing nonsense. One merely had to be convincing enough to make people believe nonsense about gay people.

It reminded me of my mom’s naiveté in believing that my being gay could be cured by a pray over.  I also had a good laugh back then but it also showed me the depth of how other people understand my sexuality. Some saw me as possessed, mentally sick and now, a mutant because of the type of food that I eat.

It was several weeks until I saw my neighbor again and if luck would have it, I was again enjoying my favorite dish. She merely looked at me and said, “sabi ko na nga ba eh, nakakatomboy talaga ang tilapia,” before she slowly walked away.

I just smiled and shook my head. I knew it was hopeless to try to talk to her and explain. There was nothing I could do or say to convince her otherwise. What my neighbor has against homosexuals and the fish tilapia, I will never know.

I just hope she doesn’t get around to telling my Mom. My mom has made me go through enough already; I won’t allow some meddling, gossip-mongering neighbor stop my Mom from cooking some of her yummy ginataang tilapia just for me.