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Gaydar
Danton Remoto's irresistible wit makes the Philippine Gay Experience sound like the intelligent lifestyle of choice.
"I only have admiration for the poetry and prose of Danton Remoto." -- NVM Gonzalez, National Artist for Literature
"The ssays of Danton Remoto have pitch and they have passion. He writes with concision, clarity, common sense--qualitities not usually found in this country." -- Rolando S. Tinio, National Artist for Theatre
"His writings form part of the Philippines' new heart." -- James Hamilton-Paterson
"The essays of Danton Remoto are vibrant and vivid. He writes like a dream." -- Margarita Go-Singco Holmes
"I only have admiration for the poetry and prose of Danton Remoto." -- NVM Gonzalez, National Artist for Literature
"The ssays of Danton Remoto have pitch and they have passion. He writes with concision, clarity, common sense--qualitities not usually found in this country." -- Rolando S. Tinio, National Artist for Theatre
"His writings form part of the Philippines' new heart." -- James Hamilton-Paterson
"The essays of Danton Remoto are vibrant and vivid. He writes like a dream." -- Margarita Go-Singco Holmes
- GenresEssays
196 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
6 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Danton Remoto
37 books47 followersDanton Remoto was born on 25 March 1963 in Basa Air Base, Pampanga. He was an ASEAN scholar at the AdMU where he obtained his AB Interdisciplinary Studies in 1983. With his Robert Southwell scholarship, Remoto obtained his MA English Lit., 1989; then, on a British Council fellowship, another MA in publishing studies, 1990, at the University of Stirling, Scotland.
He was a Local fellow for poetry at the UP Creative Writing Center, 1994. He was at Hawthornden Castle, 1993, and later, at the Cambridge Seminar. Remoto teaches at AdMU where he manages the Office of Research and Publishing. He is also studying for his Ph.D. in creative writing at UP. He was an associate of PLAC and a member of the Manila Critics Circle since 1989.
He has won various awards, among them, the ASEAN prize for the essay, 1979; the Palanca for the essay in 1987; the CCP literary award for poetry; the Stirling District Arts Council award for poetry and the short story.
Among his works: Skin , Voices , Faces , Anvil, 1991; Black Silk Pajamas / Poems in English and Filipino , Anvil, 1996. He edited Buena Vista [Alfrredo Navarro Salanga's poems and fiction], 1989 and co-ed., Gems in Philippine Literature , 1989. More importantly, he has co-edited the Ladlad series with J. Neil Garcia.
He was a Local fellow for poetry at the UP Creative Writing Center, 1994. He was at Hawthornden Castle, 1993, and later, at the Cambridge Seminar. Remoto teaches at AdMU where he manages the Office of Research and Publishing. He is also studying for his Ph.D. in creative writing at UP. He was an associate of PLAC and a member of the Manila Critics Circle since 1989.
He has won various awards, among them, the ASEAN prize for the essay, 1979; the Palanca for the essay in 1987; the CCP literary award for poetry; the Stirling District Arts Council award for poetry and the short story.
Among his works: Skin , Voices , Faces , Anvil, 1991; Black Silk Pajamas / Poems in English and Filipino , Anvil, 1996. He edited Buena Vista [Alfrredo Navarro Salanga's poems and fiction], 1989 and co-ed., Gems in Philippine Literature , 1989. More importantly, he has co-edited the Ladlad series with J. Neil Garcia.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 11, 2015
The word GAYDAR is the blend of “gay” and “radar”. Radar as you learned from your science book is a scientific method of finding position of things such as missiles by sending out radio waves. In other words, figuratively speaking, GAYDAR as defined in the book is the innate ability to spot another gay man no matter how hard he tries to hide his being gay. In this way, a gaydar associating with straight-acting men or paminta in Filipino after drawing off his radio waves will break the news under his breath that a very Adonis man women slobber over turns out to be part of the confederation. Yaaayy!
My university gay friend introduced me to Danton Remoto’s Ladlad : An Anthology of Philippine Gay Writing. The book is a collection of different stories and poems written by different gay writers including his own oeuvres. In fact, some were written in Filipino. Most of the articles are erotic in language, so my reaction then since it was my first time to read such genre was some kinda prudish pursing my lips and arching my brows. I thought that reading such book is balderdash; it’s raunchy. So I did not like reading it much, especially I had no any ideas of his literary styles. But over time, I realized why Remoto , along with his award-winning co-author J. Neil C. Garcia, published such LAMBDA-Literary- award-winning piece . Danton Remoto then was an active LGBT advocate. Thus, I had a rude awakening as though I had come out of my made-in-narra closet.
This is a compilation of Danton Remoto’s personal essays which were published in The Philippine Star from 1997 and 1999. He wrote about his growing up as a student abroad , with his family and friends , and his advocacy for the LGBT community. In effect, all of his essays are seethed in the same theme: life of being a gay in the Philippines. Also, he even wrote about the dilemmas such as the political circus and irresponsible journalism with which he had faced when he was still an advocate of the LGBT community.
I appreciated Danton Remoto’s writing styles now. As one of his commentators put before, he writes with substance. Most of his articles cling to reality, which knock the day light out of an idealistic reader, notably the clerics for an example. He associates his ideas with the social issues in metaphorical forms-typical of Philippine writing. You can relate to what he is trying to drive at such as mentioning some Philippine culture to justify his conspicuous advocacy. In addition, I am envious of his beautiful prose and clarity of writing. He really knows his stuff which must have given him a credible name in the modern Philippine literature.
Some writers are like crusaders . They put their talent for writing , although such skill can be learned, to good use , especially to making a big difference in society. For instance, black writers in the past just the likes of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, not to mention one of my favorite contemporary writers, Toni Morison , et al used their writing skills as their weapons to express their suppressible and dormant desires to revolt against the culture of racial discrimination. In terms of crusade against putrid perception about homosexuality, the only one popped into my mind was Oscar Wilde. Alas, he ended up in jail, for the society at that time was too vast to engulf him. As the history serves and since I have not been familiar with famous Philippine writers yet, Danton Remoto , along with J. Neil C. Garcia , is the only openly gay writer who has the audacity to do so using his flamboyantly decorated saber of writing.
A salute to you, Professor Danton Remoto! ^^
My university gay friend introduced me to Danton Remoto’s Ladlad : An Anthology of Philippine Gay Writing. The book is a collection of different stories and poems written by different gay writers including his own oeuvres. In fact, some were written in Filipino. Most of the articles are erotic in language, so my reaction then since it was my first time to read such genre was some kinda prudish pursing my lips and arching my brows. I thought that reading such book is balderdash; it’s raunchy. So I did not like reading it much, especially I had no any ideas of his literary styles. But over time, I realized why Remoto , along with his award-winning co-author J. Neil C. Garcia, published such LAMBDA-Literary- award-winning piece . Danton Remoto then was an active LGBT advocate. Thus, I had a rude awakening as though I had come out of my made-in-narra closet.
This is a compilation of Danton Remoto’s personal essays which were published in The Philippine Star from 1997 and 1999. He wrote about his growing up as a student abroad , with his family and friends , and his advocacy for the LGBT community. In effect, all of his essays are seethed in the same theme: life of being a gay in the Philippines. Also, he even wrote about the dilemmas such as the political circus and irresponsible journalism with which he had faced when he was still an advocate of the LGBT community.
I appreciated Danton Remoto’s writing styles now. As one of his commentators put before, he writes with substance. Most of his articles cling to reality, which knock the day light out of an idealistic reader, notably the clerics for an example. He associates his ideas with the social issues in metaphorical forms-typical of Philippine writing. You can relate to what he is trying to drive at such as mentioning some Philippine culture to justify his conspicuous advocacy. In addition, I am envious of his beautiful prose and clarity of writing. He really knows his stuff which must have given him a credible name in the modern Philippine literature.
Some writers are like crusaders . They put their talent for writing , although such skill can be learned, to good use , especially to making a big difference in society. For instance, black writers in the past just the likes of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, not to mention one of my favorite contemporary writers, Toni Morison , et al used their writing skills as their weapons to express their suppressible and dormant desires to revolt against the culture of racial discrimination. In terms of crusade against putrid perception about homosexuality, the only one popped into my mind was Oscar Wilde. Alas, he ended up in jail, for the society at that time was too vast to engulf him. As the history serves and since I have not been familiar with famous Philippine writers yet, Danton Remoto , along with J. Neil C. Garcia , is the only openly gay writer who has the audacity to do so using his flamboyantly decorated saber of writing.
A salute to you, Professor Danton Remoto! ^^
November 2, 2012
I feel that I haven't paid the correct amount for this book. I was able to snag it for 5 pesos during the Anvil Warehouse sale and it doesn't justify the price (I think I should've paid for the regular price) Though people may say otherwise since this is just a compilation of his articles in the Manila Times, I haven't read anything so researched. I really liked his choice of books, and gained a lot of insight from his articles, especially on sex and the LGBT community, and how to view it in the light of Catholicism here in the Philippines. His views on sex enlightened me somehow, where he says that Sex is not just Sex for Procreation, but its not just for recreation either; how sex cannot be separated from Mind and Spirit, that it can't be "just sex", that it takes someone whose emotionally and mentally prepared for it.
I must admit his views and how he wrote it down are convincing though. But well, I'm a Catholic who should be "blindly/faithfully" following church teachings.^^'
I must admit his views and how he wrote it down are convincing though. But well, I'm a Catholic who should be "blindly/faithfully" following church teachings.^^'
June 14, 2013
Book #24 for 2013: It's no secret that I'm probably one of the staunch supporters of Ladlad albeit my straightness just like Divine Lee and Bianca Gonzales (yes, sa kanila talaga ako lumevel haha). What can I say? I think Sir Danton is amazing. I regret not being given the chance to be his student during my college days.
I loved his essays. They felt real na parang nagkakape ka lang kasama ng isang intelektwal at progresibong kaibigan. Nothing but praises and love for him. Should he run for President, I will so vote for him. :)
Favorite lines:
Scotland, my Scotland (p. 25)- Loved the whole essay just because it reminded me of my own nice and sweet moments in a foreign land talking about everything and nothing (okay oversharing stop na). :)
These are also my words for my dear friend who tells me how sad it is to go home after a busy day to a house full of silences. - Gifts of Sadness (p. 128)
I loved his essays. They felt real na parang nagkakape ka lang kasama ng isang intelektwal at progresibong kaibigan. Nothing but praises and love for him. Should he run for President, I will so vote for him. :)
Favorite lines:
Scotland, my Scotland (p. 25)- Loved the whole essay just because it reminded me of my own nice and sweet moments in a foreign land talking about everything and nothing (okay oversharing stop na). :)
These are also my words for my dear friend who tells me how sad it is to go home after a busy day to a house full of silences. - Gifts of Sadness (p. 128)
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews