“It's like we’re in a Grand EB!”

That's what my friend told me as we were waiting for The Dark Knight (which was pure awesome!) to start screening last weekend in a cinema in Greenbelt 3. And I have to agree since I saw several groups of PLU guys at the theater that night apart from our group. I even saw one of the gay bloggers with his boyfriend there with their friends. Hehehe. (For those living under a rock, a Grand EB [eyeball] is a party held so that people patronizing an online venue, such as IRC channels or sites like Guys4Men, can meet each other in the flesh for the first time.)

Of course, I'm not 100% sure that all of the guys in those groups are non straight, but even my limited powers of gaydar have picked up tell-tale signs. A good sign was the attire: quite a lot of the guys wore really sexy, tight-fitting, and attention-grabbing shirts. Another is the group dynamics: guys tend to lower their inhibitions and become less discreet when they're with their friends. There's also the fact that a large group of guy friends, without girl dates, has a higher probability of being a PLU group in upscale places like Greenbelt.

What's the moral? If you're the ultra-discreet guy, then avoid these obvious signals! Then again, try to loosen up and not be so uptight! Being too self-conscious is no fun at all.

Discreetionary: meanwhile

meanwhile [MEEN·hwahyl] interjection 1. Word uttered in the middle of a conversation among PLU friends to signal that a cute guy is passing by. etymology: from the English meanwhile, which means “at the same time.”

I caught this expression from a friend of mine who used to hang out with a certain PLU barkada. Whenever that barkada was staying in a public place and someone notices a cute or attractive guy passing by, that someone would then interrupt the ongoing conversation by announcing, “Meanwhile....” and the others would get the cue. I guess this would only work when the place you are in doesn't have that many cute guys. Imagine trying this out in Greenbelt 3!

I personally have never gotten to try this “signal” but maybe some of you guys could make use of it. Also, I'd like to know if there are any other similar signals used by other barkadas; it might make a great addition to our Discreetionary. Hehehe.

Gyms: the ultimate discreet PLU place

"Don't do that. Don't lie. Not here. This is a gym. This is—this is gay church."—Will, Will & Grace

You know what I think? I think that gyms franchises like Fitness First and Gold's Gym are the ultimate cruising and guy-watching places for the discreet Pinoy PLU. Where else can you find a lot of cute, hunky, and buff guys to ogle at? And where else can you be sure to have like-minded gay and bisexual men congregate to a place that's safe and full of opportunities?

For the ultra-discreet guys, gyms are great places to possibly meet new guys. Unlike bath houses like Club Bath and gay clubs like Bed, you can go to a gym and discreetly get to know other PLU guys without outing yourself to the rest of the people there. Moreover, unlike surfing websites like Guys4Men and chatting on IRC, you can be sure that the guy you're talking to is good-looking and masculine instead of being deceived by fake pictures and misleading profiles. Furthermore, because gym memberships quite expensive, it's almost safe to say that the guys in the gym are not out to skim money out of you and have decent backgrounds.

If I painted an elitist view of the gym lifestyle, it's because that's the way things are. High-end gym memberships are a luxury—there are definitely much more cheaper alternatives like jogging at public parks and enrolling in cheaper neighborhood gyms (like the ones that charge only 50 pesos or so per visit). If you can afford it, expensive gym memberships are well worth the money since you can avail of the facilities for much-needed self-improvement. The perks—official or clandestine—are simply icing on the cake!

This gym phenomenon is actually quite a recent thing. Before the 2000s, the only high-end gym franchise is Slimmers World. Other alternatives are the ultra-expensive gyms found in hotels. Then the 2000s came and international gym chains like Fitness First and Gold's Gym came into the country with extensive gym class schedules, perks like Internet access, free drinks, and gym bags, and expansive locker rooms where you can discreetly eye half-naked buffed guys. Hehehe.

Let me just state that I've been a member of Gold's Gym for over three years now and I've had several great encounters already. *Wink, wink* There are plenty of things to discuss and recount regarding the Pinoy PLU gym experience and you can bet that I'll blog about them in future posts here in Discreet Manila. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, you might want to read up on McVie's Gym FAQ for a teaser of similar things to come. :)

Our gym model is La Sallian Paolo Villavicencio.

Boy Culture, coming to Manila

Wow, this seems to have flown completely under the radar, but if the entertainment and lifestyle news reports are correct (example), Boy Culture, a foreign gay film written and directed by Filipino-American Q. Allan Brocka (nephew of the great Lino Brocka), will start screening in “selected theaters” this Wednesday, May 21.

According to Wikipedia, Boy Culture is the story of how “a successful male escort describes in a series of confessions his tangled romantic relationships with his two roommates and an older, enigmatic male client.” Shown below is the official trailer of the film.

Q. Allan Brocka is famous in the local PLU scene for his first film shown in the Philippines, Eating Out. The film was premiered during the 2nd Manila Pink Film Festival and was the talk of the town for showing two full frontals, one being that of Ryan Carnes of subsequent Desperate Housewives fame. Brocka then created the sequel Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds with another majestic full frontal.

I’ve seen Eating Out (though not the sequel) and really enjoyed it (despite the stupid plot resolution), so I’m looking forward to catching Boy Culture this time around. And I have high expectations: Boy Culture won the Grand Jury Award for Best Screenplay during the 2006 L.A. Outfest and the Jury Prize for Best Film in the 2006 Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, among other awards. Finally, looking at the trailer and pictures, I can definitely say that Derek Magyar, the leading actor, is smoking hot!

So who’s with me?

Know your PLU rights!

Well, well, well. As if as an answer to my previous post about the legal basis for raids and where I encouraged you to learn your rights, Ang Ladlad, the LGBT party list organization of Danton Remoto; Rainbow Rights Project, a group of queer lawyers and legal activists; and Radar Pridewear, a line of lesbian apparel, is holding a dialogue entitled "Know Your Rights!" with the lawyers of the Rainbow Rights Project. This will be held at the roofdeck of the FBR Building along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City this Saturday, May 17 from 1 to 4 in the afternoon. (The FBR Building is in front of the Ateneo and is the one which has a Yellow Cab outlet.)

You’re in a bar and the police come in and announce a raid, what will you do?

On your way home late at night, police patrols stop you and charge you with vagrancy, how will you react?

After the movie house you went to has been suddenly raided, you’re brought to the police station and the cops start asking you for money, what should your response be?

Basing on the event's teaser questions above, the answers are exactly what many of us need to learn in order to best defend ourselves from police harrassment. The problem is, many discreet guys would likely shy away from attending such an "out" event. As I said in my very first post, the Internet is a boon for discreet gay people and the organizers of the event should have taken advantage of the technology to reach out to more discreet guys. They should do a live streaming of the event, open up a chat room to get questions from web surfers, and maybe even record the dialogue and publish it as a podcast or vlog (video log) so that others who missed the event can learn and review at their own pace.

Nevertheless, I think this event is very much worth attending if you have the guts to show up. Hehehe.