Tingle: Anthology of Pinay Lesbian Writing

by Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz, Katrina Pallon (Illustrator)

Most of the forty-nine works in the book were specifically solicited from the writers I know in response to the question, “What makes you tingle as a lesbian?” Literally, the sensation of “slight prickles, stings, or tremors,” the excitement. I purposely didn’t give any more qualifiers to that prompts. I wanted the writers themselves to define the terms and enact them on the page. And while the word “tingle” is a homonym for the Tagalog word for “clitoris,” many of the pieces submitted were not about sex at all. But all the pieces are about a spark of recognition, whether at the beginning, the middle, or the end, that one loves a woman as a woman. Tingle is the flint.

Here we are taking our stories of women loving women in our own hands and making ourselves visible on our own terms. When the initial thrill of desire is past, the tingle is ultimately the recognition that what we have found cannot remain in the dark—we must love and be loved in the light.

Genres: Queer, Anthologies, LGBT, Lesbian, Contemporary, Poetry

Kindle Edition

Published July 13, 2021

About the author

Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz is the Palanca award-winning author of Women Loving (2010), the first sole-author collection of lesbian-themed stories in the Philippines, which is now available in an e-book entitled Women on Fire (2015). She is Associate Professor of creative writing at the University of the Philippines Mindanao. She has presented her work in literary festivals and events in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, and Australia. Her work appears in the “New Asia Now” issue of Griffin Review, the anthologies The Near and the Far: New Stories from the Asia-Pacific Region (2016), and Sanctuary: Short Fiction from Queer Asia (2019). Cruz has received several Philippine writing fellowships and an international writing residency from the Writers Immersion and Cultural Exchange Program. She holds a PhD from RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.

She shares her life with her partner Atty. Camille Sevilla and makes her home in Davao City with her two children and two cats.

Reviews

[lauraღ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darling,
we cry every time we are born.

3 stars, maybe 3.25 if I'm being generous. A varied collection of short stories, personal essays and poetry about lesbian experiences in the Philippines. As with any anthology, it's a mixed bag, and unfortunately, this was very mixed. There were some standouts, but the majority of these stories were just okay. Most of them were really short, and it just didn't give me a lot of time to sit with the themes and the characters. That, of course, isn't the case for all short pieces of work; my favourite thing in the collection is actually a poem. But I was trying to give ratings and jot down my thoughts for each piece, and a lot of the time, I simply found myself having nothing to say. Especially as I got further into the collection.

Mostly, I enjoyed this for the Filipino setting and culture and the learning I got. The historical pieces and the autobiographical pieces were really interesting. My favourites were "For Mama", "Here Come the Women", "Brrroom", "Eloquent Crevices" and "Footnotes to a Mixtape".

And now some brief notes on each story/piece.


Here Come the Women 
4 stars. A really strong start. I loved all the atmospheric descriptions, the food descriptions, and the slow subtle way that Emilia and Amanda connected, the way their intimacy was revealed. Loved the line about women saints.

Brrroom
4 stars. This felt like childhood and adventure and discovery. 

Piko
3 stars. Interesting language and poetry, though it didn't really move me.

Dalandan Season 
2.5 stars. This felt like exactly what it was: an extract from a longer work. I would probably like that longer work. But this, a dinner between childhood friends, just didn't give me a whole lot.

Double O
2.5 stars. Very affecting, and I love a little doomed love story, but this was all tell, so the effect was really watered down.

Rebirth 
3.5 stars. Mostly interesting because of the historical details. I need to read more about the war!

Stopovers 
2.5 stars. It was fine. Autobiographical, so it feels weird to rate it. Coming of age is always good but this was too short. 

The Right Choice 
2.5 stars. Depressing, and it didn't have the decency to be interesting too. Sad.

Daughter
2.5 stars. Maybe I'm cranky but this was just depressing and trite.

The Venus Fly Trap 
3.5 stars. Vignettes, really interesting prose. A little too hazy for me though, the way the timeline jumped around.

Welts
3.5 stars. Tiny autobiographical (?) monologue about a lesbian ruminating on her relationship with her abusive father. Pretty sad.

To Love and to Lose
2.5 stars. First lesbian love and loss. It was fine, but not memorable. 

Rosary Fridays
3 stars. Structurally interesting, and I do enjoy stories of people grappling with their religion and their sexuality. Some good lines in this. But it was also just a little dull.

For Mama
4.5 stars. Short but devastating. Fave so far.

The Jacuzzi Party
3 stars. 

Losa
3.5 stars. Very simple vignette about desire, but I really liked it. 

The Forgotten Anonas
3 stars. I think this was a metaphor for eating pussy. Lol.

Mango Avenue
3 stars. Chance meeting. Yet another story I don't have much to say about. 

Beep Beep 
3.5 stars. Weird little story about a butch apologising to a femme for touching her breast. I think I liked it because it was actually ABOUT something. Though weird.

Ocean Ghost
3 stars.

Eloquent Crevices
4 stars. Great combo of beautiful prose and an excavation of desire. 

What I Think About While I Am Going Down On You
3.5 stars.

The Party
3 stars. Fun and sexy, but the language wasn't my favourite. 

Lake Trance
2.5 stars.

Lost in Cubao
3 stars.

The Gift of a Soul
4 stars. Short like all the others, but it packs a punch without saying much. A woman gets married to a man she doesn't want to.

Footnotes to a Mixtape
4 stars. Really great distillation and exploration of an intense teen girl friendship. 

Command: Stay
3.5 stars.

Rescue
3.25 stars.

Landscape
3 stars.

Dear Woman Lover
3.5 stars.

Toward Coffee
2.5 stars.

Be(d)side
3 stars.

Pulsars, You Tell Me 
3 stars.

Coming Up For Air
3.25 stars. It was just okay at first, but I did love the ocean imagery.

Our Bodies, Our Wellness
3.5 stars. Really interesting little essay about gender expression, sexuality and wellness, from the perspective of a butch lesbian.

Suppressing the Tingle
2.5 stars.

Lessons from the Lesbian Tent
3.75 stars. An interesting slice of history and activism. 

Ritual for Two Friends
3 stars.

Our Kisses are Our Raised Fists
3.25 stars. 

So I Left My Ilongga
3 stars. 

Stereotypes 101: How to write a pseudo-lesbian story
3.5 stars. Snarky little essay about homophobic lesbian stereotypes in fiction.

Institution 
3.25 stars.

All That Remains of Summer
3.25 stars. Melancholic but hopeful, even with no HEA.

Notes on Love
3 stars.

We Were
3 stars. I've been wanting these stories to be longer, and when we finally got one that's a decent length... it was a bit of a slog. An examination of the end of a relationship. 

Delete
2.5 stars.

Directions For My Care
3.5 stars. Sobering and thoughtful.

[gpears · Rating 5 out of 5]

GALING GALING! Wonderful anthology of short stories, essays, and poems covering all facets of filipina lesbian life…i laughed I cried I had several epiphanies..

Some of these stories and poems so fully captured the lesbian experience.. I felt moved to my core..explorations of love, desire, loss were perfectly done…culturally specific filipino things like dealing with catholicism and familial expectations were written about with nuance and compassion

all the stories about falling in love and realizing you’re a lesbian got be so soft..the lesbian experience is so beautiful

Some standouts were: Double O, Rosary Friday’s, Footnotes to a Mixtape, Rescue , Toward Coffee

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of this, please? We need more LGBTQ stories about real life experiences.

[tsanmii]

i appreciated the stories which experimented with structure, and i did enjoy the writing style of like. one text lol. but i'm sorry y'all, ig fiction is dead for me at this point as a general excuse. idk why i keep trying to push my luck with anthologies. also a lot of these tended to be just abt centred on the same topics which is obv inevitable in an anthology abt pinay lesbians lol, but it got too myopic and thus too boring for me. sighhhhhh. i also spent money for this as a online copy bc i was so excited and couldn't bear that there wasn't one for free. and now i've dropped it after a week of not even reading straight through it. lol i want my $8 back

[Angy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seeing Tingle come to fruition is a hope fulfilled for many queer Filipino writers and readers. You find yourself whispering the title as if it were a knowing secret only some of us will recognize. And in a sense, most of the forty-nine works are. It’s unfamiliarly familiar, too sacred but too beautiful to be kept hidden, and I only wish I bought it at an earlier date.

In response to its prompt, “What makes you tingle?” – We are being offered a wide array of beautifully curated works about women loving women that are set to disrupt the untrustworthy lesbian narratives imposed on us by popular media in the Philippines (aka gender passing, pseudo-lesbian representation, gender role biases, etc). The anthology is supposedly about one’s recognition of identity, but it is essentially about the personal and communal sapphic experiences – the joys, struggles, challenges, and truths of being one. Most of the pieces are recollections of their childhood, odes to their selves before/after they felt the ‘tingle,' political undertones that capture the marginalization of the community, and of course, the beauty of loving women in ways they know how.

That said, Kate Pedroso’s Footnotes to a Mixtape brings back the hysteria of that time when we are learning the footholds of adolescence. The thrill, the confusion, the angst; I appreciated its vulnerability, mirroring my own emotions when I was trying my hand out in something and someone new. Andyleen Feje’s Stereotypes 101: How to Write a Pseudo-Lesbian Story cleverly laid in words a tragicomic about how the Philippine media continuously produces stereotypes in mainstream and independent films. At this point, Feje’s guide can be regarded as the backbone of contents (I even remember thinking Lumibao’s ‘Must Be… Love’ had the same recipe). Lastly, Libay Cantor’s Be(d)side also listed itself on my top 3, giving us a love letter so intimate and defiant that, for a second, I thought I was reading something that wasn't meant to be seen by others. And in her words, I feel that this is the right passage to sum up my experience in reading this novel.

“I was so careful about these things that it caught me by surprise when you asked me, during our first time, to tell you how I want to be pleasured, by you. And my soul – and clit – just tingled. Just accepting our womanhood is pleasure enough for me.”

And it was indeed a pleasure, more than enough for me, to see queer feminist literature such as this one to take up space and converse with us beyond the binary. And of course, the brilliance of Jhoanna Lynn Cruz does not go underappreciated, not only in filling the gaps in Philippine literature but also for her lifelong commitment to reaching out to us as a lesbian writer.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

We need more books like this recognized in our literature.

[aaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grateful that this book exists. We need to hear more Filipino lesbian stories told by Filipino lesbian writers.

[cha-mei · Rating 4 out of 5]

may mga stories na super kabog ng pagkakasulat pero may mga iba na mid naman like literal telling lang ng plot points, so eon talaga ang cause bakit di ko nabet-an basahin ng tuloy tuloy. BUT overall, i appreciate all the nuances na nadiscuss dito, like hindi lang siya purely about women loving women pero the heartbreak that comes with it, may cheating, may sexual scenes thats so beautifully said, and also falling out of everything. Meron ring mga kwento na about how wlw is empowerment, breaking the norm, and ultimately challenging the patriarchy. Family issues, and coming out stories of course!

anywaysss dito ko narealize na kapag nagsusulat talaga in english, there is a calling to add filipino markers, kasi kapag hindi parang nakalutang yung kwento so imo less impact,,

[Jodesz Gavilan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I wonder what it is like to live inside a church and witness that feeling of every day solace. I wonder what it is like to live inside her body and smell her scent from the inside."
———
TINGLE (edited by Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz) is a collection of Philippine lesbian writing that explores the quiet yet powerful ways love, desire, and identity shape lives.

This collection, at its core, gathers voices that offer not just narratives of relationships but layered glimpses into how lesbians navigate affection, fear, belonging, and truth in a country where their presence is often erased.

What stands out most, however, is its portrayal of yearning as both universal and deeply personal. For example, desire in this collection moves between the familiar and the particular, thriving in the small crevices of daily experience where truth often hides. Perhaps it’s the longing glance, the fragile joy of a secret, or the slow ache of distance. These are emotions anyone can recognize, yes, but are rendered with the textures of specific lives shaped by class, geography, religion, family, and culture.

Equally compelling is the way intersectionality gives Tingle its power. It reminds readers that lesbian lives are not monolithic, that they are plural and diverse, and through this resists the reductive portrayals often forced upon them.

This richness is further amplified by the range of tones and themes that chart the spectrum of lesbian experience, including tenderness, conflict, joy, grief, and resilience. Some stories capture the innocence of a first crush, including the rush of discovery or the trembling sweetness of affection unspoken. Others, meanwhile, confront the complicated struggle of coming out, where vulnerability collides with fear of rejection, and where courage is both a necessity and a risk. Still others dwell on heartbreak that both devastates and defines since it is through loss that one learns what it means to fully inhabit the self.

Form also becomes part of the book’s strength. The short stories often employ restraint while the essays provide reflection and context that ground the anthology in lived realities. This diversity allows the book to move fluidly between intimacy and commentary, and between personal memory and broader cultural critique.

Ultimately, this is a book to be read, felt, and returned to. It is for anyone who wants to understand love, longing, and identity through the eyes of Filipina lesbians, or even for anyone who believes that the heart, in all its forms, deserves to be heard.

[Kat Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 4.5

"Yet, the significance and necessity of books about lesbian experience cannot be discounted forever. Our writing and courage have done something significant by giving voice and shape to what had previously been muted and invisible. We have made ourselves visible to those who want and need to see us." — Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz, Tingle: Anthology of Pinay Lesbian Writing

To say that I was merely tingled by this book would be an understatement. I wasn’t just slightly excited; I was bewildered and deeply moved by the diverse stories, essays, and poems compiled within 262 pages.

I’ll be honest: I read this book over nine days (probably my slowest pace this year) and carried it through different cities and countries. But that was intentional. I wanted to savor each page and become a better ally to the lesbian community. In the end, I believe it was worth it.

This collection of forty-nine literary pieces is perfectly curated into seven themes, ranging from coming-out stories and complex familial relationships to sapphic love, sex, and lust. It made me think, empathize, and, at times, feel seen and validated. Of course, not every piece resonated with me, which is common with anthologies. It’s neither the reader’s nor the writer’s fault. Nonetheless, this book contains some of my favorite short stories and poems that I’ve read in a while.

In conclusion, regardless of whether every story resonated with me, I believe this book is meant to be read by everyone. Whether you’re lesbian, queer, or cis, I’m sure you’ll find a piece or two that resonates with you, as it did with me.

Favorite pieces:
- Rebirth
- The Venus Flytrap
- Command: Stay (I was mind-blown!)

[Gae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my last read for #AkdangPinoy2024, and wow, I was surprised how devoted I was in savoring each short story and poem. Sapphic stories about love and passion. Stories about finding their place in the society, and yearning for acceptance and unconditional love from their loved ones and from themselves. Stories and essays on how they navigate life's labyrinths as a lesbian. How they discovered and embraced their identity while some decided to conceal their authentic selves because of fear of being ostracized.

I highly recommend this book if you're looking for an LGBTQ read (focusing on lesbians, ofc). And there would be some stories that would resonate with you even if you're an ally.

I have lots of favorites but my top 3 would be:
🌺Rebirth by Kei Valmoria Bughaw - a rebel's escape to the city with a fellow female rebel.
🌺The Forgotten Anonas by Giney Villar - a witty symbolic take on a female organ (or so I think 😉).
🌺Footnotes to a Mixtape by Kate Pedroso - ahhh, I think this is my ultimate favorite of all. A coming of age story that shows the thrill and uncertainties of young love and coming out.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My partner and I annotated our copy so much, hehe--I love having a physical copy of this.

Of course, we took beautiful lines out of their context because we couldn't relate to the sad plot/s. But overall, this collection of poems and short stories is a depiction of the mere reality of lesbian stories--some are truly sad and heartbreaking. Yet, there are ones that tell the most vibrant and passionate of love between women, and I am grateful to have read these accounts.

I think it is worth mentioning how gratifying it is to be represented in the pieces, "Dear Woman Lover" by Shakira Sison, "Be(d)side" by Libay Cantor, and "Our Kisses are Our Raised Fists" by Cha Roque. Thank you for defining WLW narratives with such intricacy and care.

And of course, thank you, Ms. Jhoanna Cruz for this collection.

[cherry ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨ tingle: anthology of pinay lesbian writing ✨

this was such an incredible collection! from poems to short stories to thought/opnion pieces, i was beyond enamored by the vast experiences and writing styles that this book showcases. i learned and related to so many of these stunning, insanely talented women.

(shoutout to ma'am g who was my art appreciation professor in university, and who, to this day, remains one of my creative and life inspirations.)

also vvv happy whenever i see authors are from davao!! i enjoy all the references. it's my favorite place in the world. it's always been home to me.

[max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good collection! Here are the works I liked 👍 and loved 🩷, in order of appearance:

🩷 Beep Beep by Nice Rodriguez
👍 Eloquent Crevices by Roselle Pineda
👍 The Gift of a Soul by Katherine T. Madlangbayan
👍 Footnotes to a Mixtape by Kate Pedroso
🩷 Dear Woman Lover by Shakira Andrea Sison
👍 Toward Coffee by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo
🩷🧡 Be(d)side by Libay Linsangan Cantor - my top fave! I want a relationship like this 🥹
👍 Pulsars, you tell me by Ellaine Beronio
👍 Our Bodies, Our Wellness by Giney Villar
👍 Suppressing the Tingle by Eva Aurora Callueng
👍 Stereotypes 101: How to Write a Pseudo-Lesbian Story by Andyleen Feje

[Drae Muncada · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad to have found this book!

[Midge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book to all people. This is a must-read for LGBT awareness.

[Jean Louise | bookloure · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

☆3.50

a hit-or-miss. nothing new or mindblowing or hitting to the core but still beautiful writings

[graffritil]

unrequited 🤝 how it ends

[Clare Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

as a queer young adult, this book feels like a hug. I feel seen 🫀 thank u so much for sharing all the facets of lesbian life here in ph..

a must read istg 🥹

[d · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this upon my review of Qiu Miaojin and a friend's subsequent recommendation, so I was really looking forward to it. Made a bookseller look for it at a university book fair and all. As a disclaimer: I am literally a queer Filipino girl. I was rooting for this, being the first lesbian anthology and all. I wanted to like this so badly. Alas those hopes were quickly dashed with the sheer mediocrity of storytelling, writing, and originality with the added offense of arrogant pretentiousness despite not being very good. Some were also just plain bad, like is it this easy to win a Palanca? A girl can only read so much fruit metaphors, Catholic trauma, and surface feminism. Maybe I just have unrealisitic standards coming from Qiu Miaojin and Leslie Feinberg, but really, no. I'm pretty sure random undergrad sapphics from CAL could write better. Seriously, this is an anthology of cliches and overdone metaphors. Regardless, I always appreciate having read from different points of view (though they were pretty similar). I liked 8 out of the 49 pieces, listed here:
1) Rebirth by Kei Valmoria Bughaw, about an NPA couple (ish)
2) The Venus Flytrap by Nerisa del Carmen Guevara, about an OFW in Singapore, exploring her secuality abroad, and her relationship to her mother. Particularly liked the spatial aspect of this and how it utilized Sinagporean places, particularly the Botanical Gardens
3) For Mama by Camille Rivera:
how do you tell your daughter
love is shutting the door of your house and leaving the keys,
knowing everything you hold dear is right behind it?
All she said was Darling,
we cry every time we are born.
4) Lost in Cubao by Rayji de Guia, well, just because I love to hate on Cubao
5) Footnotes to a Mixtape by Kate Pedroso because it feels like the gay teenagehood I never lived
6) Rescue by Shakira Andrea Sison, for the Ilocanoness and the lovely angst
7) Landscape by Camille Rivera (oh wow, at least I discovered a poet I like!), Do we become smaller every time love exits our lives?
8) All that Remains of Summer by Sigrid Marianne Gayangos, which is actually a wonderfully bittersweet story about Zamboanga City, hurting, and being hurt by dazzling, charming beauty. Lovely moving writing. I read this in between sets at the gym and couldn't believe how good it was.
I'll always support Filipino sapphics, of course, but I will not lower my literary standards. I appreciate this for what it is, overall.

[Veron]

Favorite pieces:
- Dalandan Season (an excerpt) and Footnotes to a Mixtape by Kate Pedroso
- Stopovers by Krista V. Melgarejo
- Rosary Fridays: A One-Act Play by Ria Valdez
- Lost in Cubao by Rayji de Guia
- Dear Woman Lover and Rescue by Shakira Andres Sison

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

this whole book felt like a revolutionary act :)