The presumed invisibility and “mute” voices of Pinay lesbian writers parallel the similar invisibility of nature in Philippine anthologies

09 Jun 2025

UP Diliman

In the introduction to Tingle: Anthology of Pinay Lesbian Writing (2021), the anthology’s editor, Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz, points to the absence of lesbian literature and the marginalization of lesbian writers in mainstream narratives in the Philippines, as well as to a lack of critics interested in the works of lesbians, thus contributing to these writers’ “invisibility.” She suggests that this invisibility is a result of their inability to enter literary discourse, “thus rendering them mute.” It can be argued, however, that the same anthology not only highlights “mute” women-loving-women writers but does so by calling attention to other voices typically overlooked: those of nature. The connection between women and nature as represented in Tingle is evidenced by my study’s ecofeminist reading of several works from the anthology through the lens of “emancipatory strategies,” as coined by ecofeminist Patrick Murphy and expounded by Gretchen T. Legler. The study accomplishes this reading by categorizing instances exhibiting the human-nature relationship under three main threads: cuisine, animality and myth, and living in and leaving the islands.

My journal article, “Tropical Nature and Entangled Invisibilities in Tingle: Anthology of Pinay Lesbian Writing,” contributes to the fields of ecofeminism and tropical studies by determining the role nature plays in an anthology of Philippine lesbian writing that makes a point of emphasizing the present “invisibility” of lesbian writing in the Philippines. My study connects the supposed invisibility and “mute” voices of Pinay lesbian writers to the similar invisibility of nature in Philippine anthologies. Through my analysis, I show how the writers in the anthology use emancipatory strategies to “re-vision” their relationship with the natural world, thereby strengthening the bond between women-loving-women in the Philippines and the tropical environment.

Author: Alexandra A. Bichara (Department of English and Comparative Literature, College of Arts and Letters, UP Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.23.1.2024.4038

Photo by Alexander Grey from Pexels

The presumed invisibility and “mute” voices of Pinay lesbian writers parallel the similar invisibility of nature in Philippine anthologies

In the introduction to Tingle: Anthology of Pinay Lesbian Writing (2021), the anthology’s editor, Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz, points to the absence of lesbian literature and the marginalization of lesbian writers in mainstream narratives in the Philippines, as well as to a lack of critics interested in the works of lesbians, thus contributing to these writers’ “invisibility.” She suggests that this invisibility is a result of their inability to enter literary discourse, “thus rendering them mute.” It can be argued, however, that the same anthology not only highlights “mute” women-loving-women writers but does so by calling attention to other voices typically overlooked: those of nature. The connection between women and nature as represented in Tingle is evidenced by my study’s ecofeminist reading of several works from the anthology through the lens of “emancipatory strategies,” as coined by ecofeminist Patrick Murphy and expounded by Gretchen T. Legler. The study accomplishes this reading by categorizing instances exhibiting the human-nature relationship under three main threads: cuisine, animality and myth, and living in and leaving the islands.

My journal article, “Tropical Nature and Entangled Invisibilities in Tingle: Anthology of Pinay Lesbian Writing,” contributes to the fields of ecofeminism and tropical studies by determining the role nature plays in an anthology of Philippine lesbian writing that makes a point of emphasizing the present “invisibility” of lesbian writing in the Philippines. My study connects the supposed invisibility and “mute” voices of Pinay lesbian writers to the similar invisibility of nature in Philippine anthologies. Through my analysis, I show how the writers in the anthology use emancipatory strategies to “re-vision” their relationship with the natural world, thereby strengthening the bond between women-loving-women in the Philippines and the tropical environment.

Author: Alexandra A. Bichara (Department of English and Comparative Literature, College of Arts and Letters, UP Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.23.1.2024.4038

Photo by Alexander Grey from Pexels