Defining the halata: The social construction of the “obvious gay” in the Filipino Facebook group Samahan ng mga Halata

Abstract

Othering within the queer dating scene has become prevalent in recent years (Labor, et al., 2023), encapsulated by the phrase “pass sa halata,” which indicates one’s rejection of someone who is “obviously” gay. Yet the very definition of halata [obviously gay], and by extension kabaklaan [gayness], within the Philippine context is ever-changing. Through a symbolic interactionist lens, this study elucidates how the concept of the halata is being conceived and (re)defined in the Facebook group Samahan ng mga Halata [Association of the Obvious Gays], an online community which features gender-based content. From a textual analysis of 257 photos and videos posted from January to June 2024, the study’s results outline the halata’s core characteristics. The findings also indicate that while the age-old gay stereotypes of flamboyant behavior and preference for traditional masculinity persist, these become enmeshed with new and emerging definitions of queerness in the digital age, including tech-facilitated promiscuity and political awareness, thereby producing a novel image of gayness that is suspended between past and present notions of kabaklaan and is thus characterized by contradictory behavior.