If there's ‘bekispeak’, where is ‘lesbi-speak’?

Mumshie and beshie, have you ever wondered why we all speak the language of the beks and hardly ever hear about "lesbi-speak"?

In his Norberto L. Romualdez Lecture, anthropologist Dr. Michael L. Tan said there certainly is a need for more research on the language that lesbian or bisexual women speak, but he speculated that gay male speech is more prominent because gay women don't really draw too much attention to themselves. 

Strangely, Tan said, society is more accepting of close female relationships and this might have reduced the motivation to create a "cryptodialect."

"Mas fluid ang sekswalidad ng mga babae...ironically kasi, ang lipunan natin — kahit patriarchal — mas may espasiyo ang babae para sa woman-to-woman relationships na iba't ibang degrees," Tan explained.

A pair of women can compliment another woman they deem attractive without other people reading sexual attraction into their comments.

Men, on the other hand, are not able to remark "uy, ang guwapo ni ano a" in an offhand way. People make an assumption about their sexual orientation or identity based on these comments, no matter how objective, which leads to othering, bullying, or worse.

What is a cryptodialect?

What we know as bekispeak or bekimon or the colorful language that is "swardspeak" is a form of cryptodialect. Tan explained that this "cryptodialect" between "members of the federation" or "kabaro" fosters a sense of belonging, much like other forms of sociolects or slang.

For members of a marginalized sector, language can be a powerful tool to for self-expression and community-building. Members of the LGBTQIA+ community are often made invisible by society — left out in legislation and forced to conform — and they can bond, resist, and fight back with words.

Tan explained that, especially at the height of the development of "swardspeak", gay men were inclined to use sounds like Fs that forces the lips into a pout to make the face more feminine. Facifica Falayfay, anybody? Fafa? Fierce?

For women, speaking like a man may be judged as not being ladylike, but the jury is still out on whether lesbians consciously speak more assertively or if people associate a certain speech pattern to gay women. 

As Tan stressed, more research is required. Besides, language evolves through time and Tan said we should always be prepared for changes. "Mag-iiba ang panahon, mag-iiba ang wika," he declared. — LA/GMA News