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WRITTEN BY MDPN. FRANCIS BALDEMOR, MDPN. JOHN ROVIC LOPEZ, AND MDPN. JULIUS CAESAR ALFARAS PHOTOS BY WYN GALLO
H
e felt his room being spun around. There was a little light leaking through his windows but he could barely see. Countless beads of sweat misted up his forehead down to his visage, and before he could process what was happening, he saw a woman right through the looking-glass. Curious as it seemed, that was usual for Winston. In the eyes of many, Winston was peculiar. Even he would attest to that. There were times when he felt there was something within him that was struggling to flee like a bird trapped in his rib. There was also a voice he seldom talked to whenever he was alone. It was of a woman—compelling, soothing, freeing. For a while he thought he was suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, talking and seeing the same woman who seemed to be a part of him. The woman is in the guise of the name Wyn. And behind her sculpted figure, red lips, and flowing shadow-black hair lies a deep secret. Wyn was Winston—a woman trapped in a man’s body.
EMANCIPATION. Wyn finally expresses herself freely in spaces that once confined her.
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Blue is for Him Born the second among his four siblings, Winston Custodio Gallo already knew what path he would take since he was young. At the age of five, he preferred
everything, one could immediately spot on that I am gay. I was attracted to my same sex; always listening to Lady Gaga, and the like.” Unlike the preconceptions of many in the country, Antonio Gallo, a bas-
the more modest and feminine tasks rather than the laboriously stereotypical man work. That was intensified when he considered her gay uncle’s house as his escape zone from his grandfather’s strict patriarchal rules. “My lolo wanted us to do what men usually do. During that time, I knew what I wanted. That’s why every time I go to my gay uncle, I play with his stuff.” In the narrow spaces of his uncle’s closet, he felt free. There was only one thing he always wanted to do—Rampa! Wearing their curtains, his uncle’s pageant stilettos and make-up products, he transformed into the beauty queen of his own universe. “In gestures, in lifestyle, and in
ketball coach and Winston’s father, broke the stereotype towards fathers of the LGBTQ+ community and did not stop Winston from embracing himself. “I could notice it already. He liked dolls, Chinese garter, and jackstone. We can’t do anything about it,” said Antonio. One will never be enough for the Gallo family. Blessed with four children, all of them are in the spectrum: the eldest, Gerson Gallo, is a bisexual. Winston, the second, is transgender. Precious as lesbian. Jan Lester is slowly following Winston’s path as gay. Sonia Gallo, the mother of the family, sees their situation as a blessing in disguise and tolerates them without reservations.
The DOLPHIN | NOVEMBER 2021
Narratives of a Transgender’s Transitioning
COVER STORY
Spectrum: Through the Looking-Glass
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