Bakla

In the Philippines, a baklâ (Tagalog and Central Bikol, pronounced [bɐkˈlaʔ]), badíng (Tagalog and Central Bikol), bayot (Cebuano), or agî (Hiligaynon) is a person who was assigned male at birth and has adopted a gender expression that is feminine. They are often considered as a third gender. Many bakla are exclusively attracted to men and some identify as women. The polar opposite of the term in Philippine culture is tomboy (natively, the lakin-on or binalaki), which refers to women with a masculine gender expression (usually, but not always, lesbian). The term is commonly incorrectly applied to trans women. Bakla are socially and economically integrated into Filipino society, having been accepted by society prior to Western colonization, many of which were held in high regard and had the role of spiritual leaders known as babaylan, katalonan, and other shamans in the indigenous Philippine folk religions. In modern times, a minority of Filipinos oppose or reject non-binary sexual identities, usually based on Christian and Islamic beliefs predominant in the country. The stereotype of a baklâ is a parlorista—a flamboyant, camp cross-dresser who works in a beauty parlor; in reality, the bakla participates in numerous sectors of society.