{Q} is for Queer and Quirky

Radcliffe is born on the Easter of April 1995, to staunch Catholic parents, in Manila. His hazel eyes, dark curly mane and rosey lips has people marvelling and confusing the little cherub for a girl. His orthodox parents find this very queer and quirky.

Radcliffe goes to mass every Sunday with his parents. Unlike his peers who play with cars and aeroplanes, Rady has a penchant for Barbie dolls. Mommy doesn’t know, as he plays with them at Emma’s house. Emma has gifted him one from her collection and he has managed to sneak it in. He hides it in his closet; behind a pile of other toys.

When Mommy is away to work, he wears her heels and struts around the house. Ate Melanie (Ate in Tagalog translates to sister), their housekeeper once caught Rady wearing Mommy’s fuschia lipstick and preening around the closest mirror in Mommy’s Jimmy Choos. She had burst out laughing then, but for the rest of the day her thoughts were mired with worry. She has dared not to bring it up with Mommy, knowing her adverse reaction. Ate Melanie feels Rady is definitely queer and quirky.

Rady is different from most eleven-year-olds. He prefers to play with girls, rather than boys. These days he has a crush on Edwin, the boy who lives across the street. He is adept at art and craft. He shows a keen sense of interest and desire to learn crocheting when he sees Lola (grandma) working on a scarf. Lola willingly obliges. She sees no harm in teaching a boy crocheting. Lola is ahead of her times and has never been in favour of gender barriers. When Lolo (grandpa) was alive he would do most of the cooking and cleaning. Lola loved his progressive attitude, that broke gender biases and glass ceilings.

Rady comes out to his parents at the age of seventeen. Tatay (Daddy) and Mommy are stunned beyond words. They can’t believe their child is queer. The feel utterly let down. They are aghast that their Christian upbringing has done nothing to help Rady stay “normal”.

If Lola was alive, Rady knew she would stand by him. Tatay, after a slanging match of words walks away disgusted, asking Rady to change his ways, or pack his bags and leave. It isn’t an outfit that Rady can just choose to change when he wants to; it who he is. Rady packs his bags that night and leaves home, while everyone sleeps oblivious of Rady’s pain.

Seven years later, Bangkok:

Rady has now transformed to Radelia. She works in a fashion magazine during the day and is a performer by night, at Bangkok’s most happening club. People travel from different destinations to see Radelia put up her mesmerising show. She has everyone transfixed. Her fan following keeps growing each day. Her Instagram follower base is over 1 million. She lives in a plush pent house with her partner, Gamon. Radelia celebrates her queer and quirky self each day. She always looks back at her life and is grateful that she had the courage to break free.

 

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My theme for this year’s Blogging from A-Z Challenge is April Anecdotes. These are twenty-six compelling tales of some real people, and some not so real people. These tales will be surreal, peppered with a dose of non-fiction, but some might just be a figment of my over active imagination. You can read my theme here.

You can read my previous posts from #AtoZChallenge2018 here:

A is for Anachronism or Misplaced in Time?

B is for Burden or Unburden?

C is for Control

D is for Destiny’s Child

E is for Enchantment

F is for Far from the Maddening Crowd 

G is for Goblins, Gnomes and Gypsy Spirits

H is for Heart, Mind and Soul

K is for Kiss

L is for Love Conquers All

M is for Mystic’s Magic

N is for Never Say Never

O is for One With Nature

P is for Painted Not Tainted