“Kanang 'shine' nga ginaingun, mao na sya ang 'oral sex' ('Shine' means 'oral sex'),” Queen Michelle, a 32-year-old gay who is offering sex services in the city, said in an interview.
“There were only five of us here in 1999, but now midaghan na gyud mi (our number has grown),” she related. “Daghan na kumpetensya, mao na nga ang uban, P50 lang, go na (Due to stiff competition, [other gays] would offer as low as P50),” he explained.
The “queen gay” said that their sex services are actually priced at P100 for a “hand job” (masturbation), P200 for oral sex “and P500 for anal sex, pero kung wa gyud mahalin, P300 lang go na” (but we accept P300 for anal sex if we could not find any customer).
Most of these gays have enlarged breasts. Michelle explained that most of them take contraceptive pills regularly until the desired breast size is attained. “We become more effeminate by taking pills,” he said.
Michelle said their customers vary from teen boys to professional men. “Daghan man dinhi mga de kotse mukuha sa among serbisyo” (Many car-riding men get our services).
Being the eldest and the ‘pioneer’, Michelle is recognized by other gays as their leader. “Mao na nga Queen Michelle and tawag nila sa akoa.” (That's why they call me Queen Michelle).
Michelle took an information technology course in a university here but was unable to graduate. He said, however, that he has been able to survive even if he did not finish the course.
He admitted having painful experiences with some customers. He said he suffered cigarette burns in his legs inflicted by a client who paid P3,000.
“The scars are still fresh,” he said in the vernacular, adding some clients are really sadistic and that he would just think of the big money and ignore the pain.
Michelle also warned that there are gays from nearby Tagum City who are thieves. “They stand by near Gaisano Mall. While giving pleasure to their clients, their hands are quick to steal cellular phones or other important belongings and flee afterwards.”
He admitted they also fear contracting sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV (Homo Immuno-deficiency Virus) but that they are using condoms for protection.
“We know through the color of the seminal fluid if a man has STD. If the color is greenish or yellowish, naa na sya'y sakit (that person has a disease).”
“Ing-ani gyud ang among kapalaran (This is our fate), life must go on,” he said.