The gay community may have experienced discrimination, but it is – sadly, and yet truly – among the most discriminatory. This is most apparent in our lookism, stressed by our over-emphasis on youth. And yeah… for gays, aging over 30 means you are basically already dead.

This links us to Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie’s character; the boy who refused to grow up.

Similar to so many gay men, Peter’s not growing up symbolized many things… from avoidance of the burdens of adulthood, escaping the ordinariness of adult life, to embracing everything attached with youth like freedom, adventure, and innocence.

In Kensington Gardens, I checked Peter’s statue, the 1912 bronze sculpture made by Sir George Frampton. This is located to the west of The Long Water, close to J.M. Barrie’s former home on Bayswater Road.

@outragemag Find #PeterPan not in #Neverland but in #KensingtonGardens ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Standing about 14 feet high, the statue is topped by Peter standing on what may be a tree stump that is decorated with figures of fairies and animals.

This statue’s history is full of adult-created conflicts. For instance, J.M. Barrie and Frampton didn’t agree on the model to use. Also, J.M. Barrie had the original bronze erected in Kensington Gardens in 1912 without permission.

There are actually six other casts of this statue in other places, including in Egmont Park in Belgium, in Queens Gardens in Perth in Western Australia, and in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Peter’s appeal continues to this day, considering we know adulting is a painful process. Alas… for gay men, sana lang we celebrate youth for the wonder of being young, and not see it as the only form of existence. We’d be better off sana as a community that fights all forms of discrimination, including those coming from among us. Because growing older need not be harder than it is, if we can support – instead of attack – each other…

The Shrine of Youth: The Peter Pan Statue is at Kensington Gardens in London, UK.

After touring some of the coastal areas of the Province of Batangas, and before driving back to Metro Manila, we decided to grab something to eat. And – thinking that Batangas has ranches – we decided to try any of their steakhouses. Google gave three highly-rated recommendations; we tried the one closest to where we were then, which was Lugod’s Steak & Grill.

So how did we find the place?

@outragemag #LGBT #loveislove search for good, unpretentious #steak #steakhouse in #Batangas ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Una, for non-locals, this is not an easy-to-find resto. Mainly because it is inside some village; meaning, you have to go through a guard house where you’d be interrogated on where you’re going and why. At least they didn’t ask for us to leave an ID.

Ikalawa, the actual resto is – in a word – unpretentious. This is open-air dining with wooden folding tables, monobloc chairs, bato-bato sa lupa, and electric fans everywhere. Note that because the grillery is right there, too, you’re bound to smell of smoke after you eat here.

Ikatlo, the workers there were nice naman. They knew what’s on the menu, served our orders correctly (and fast, too), and were easy to call when we had requests (e.g. refill water).

Ika-apat, how was the food?

• The Surf & Turf (₱759) was slightly makapal, so you do get more meat… somehow. But even for the asking price, you only get five tiny shrimps and three thin slices of grilled corn as side dish.
• The Australian Porterhouse (₱379) was thin, and – since it was also chewy – was not exactly a pleasant meal. Sadly, after the meat was placed on a sizzling plate, then dumped with gravy, it was served with nothing else – e.g. no veggies, no mashed potatoes, et cetera.
• Major issue with both steaks: They were salty. Really salty. And that’s coming from someone who likes salty food (LOL).
• Extras ordered were Overload Fries (₱199), which was so-so; and two eggs (overcooked na sunny side up).

Is this a must-visit? Perhaps for some – e.g. when we went there, more and more couples arrived to eat, and so it may be a popular date place for the locals. But – again – Google recommended other supposedly well-reviewed steakhouses in Batangas City, not just this, and those others may be worth considering na muna.

Join us as we continue looking for more lafang venues.

Lugod’s Steak & Grill is located at 6400 LT Neptune St., Golden Country Homes Subd., Alangilan, Batangas City. For more information, contact +63 919 549 5356.

If you’re a lighthouse enthusiast, I know you know that while there may still be a handful of working lighthouses in the Philippines, too many of them are naghihingalo, barely surviving because – truth be told – even if they may be pretty tourist spots, they’re not priorities of local government units, or even of some historical agencies tasked to look after them.

A case in point: the Malabrigo Point Lighthouse.

@outragemag #LGBT checking the good-to-look-at but no-entry-allowed #Malabrigo Point Lighthouse in #Lobo, #Batangas ♬ original sound Outrage Magazine

The Malabrigo Point Lighthouse was completed and lit in 1896 to guide ships passing through the Verde Island Passage going to either Batangas Bay or Sibuyan Sea. It is said to be one of the oldest working lighthouses in the country, and – if you believe the PR talk – one of the, if not the most well-preserved. This last part was emphasized in Wikipedia pa nga eh.

But… that’s it.

This place isn’t even open to the public anymore because of its condition. Though the establishment looks pretty particularly from afar, like some haciendero’s house, or a setting of a Baz Luhrmann movie, you can see that it’s decaying. The concrete used in the lighthouse tower itself is crumbling; the wood in the main building hasn’t seen polished for some time; the fences have rusty parts; and so on.

There are vendors in front of the lighthouse, and the chismis they share are actually sad – e.g. that the lighthouse, in particular, is already crumbling; that upkeep isn’t the priority of those overseeing the place; and so on.

As an effect, tourists are only allowed to roam around the building, take shots from a distance, so to speak. Historical appreciation through immersion isn’t possible here.

When it comes to something, anything historical in the Philippines, we almost always have to just accept that we’re sh*tty with looking after remnants from our past. Ewan ha, try to persuade me otherwise, though only after you visit Malabrigo Point Lighthouse.

But join us as we continue with our rampa.

Malabrigo Point Lighthouse is located along Lobo-Malabrigo-Laiya Rd., Barangay Malabrigo, Municipality of Lobo, Batangas Province.