THE Northern Marianas Humanities Council marked the end of Pride Month on June 28 by hosting its annual Pride Talks panel discussion at Bravo Restaurant in Garapan.
This year’s theme was “The Bridge to Equality: Connecting allies and queer voices.”
Featured on this year’s panel were former Rep. Sheila Babauta, former Youth Affairs Office Special Assistant Michael Manglona and Northern Marianas College student Zenn Tomokane.
Humanities Council Board President Gin Smith opened the night by explaining the link between humanities issues and queer issues. Smith said the event promoted understanding through respectful conversation.
“Our universe of human knowledge and understanding must remain dynamic not static,” she said. “That is why we at the Humanities Council have as our mission to explore and understand the human experiences of our diverse community through dialogue.”
Event emcee Knillis Tuhuweitae said the panel speakers were selected to encompass a variety of generational and other experiences.
Manglona said his family was his safe space when he was ready to go public about his identity.
“It took me a long time to face my friends and my family and say ‘Babe, what’s up? This is me. I am who I am. Here I am like it or not,’ ” he said. “Surprising enough as it is, I got the love back. Mind you there were some that didn’t care…there’s nothing wrong with that because I had more love in my family — my uncles, my aunties, my cousins —
than anywhere else. And that’s more powerful to me.”
He also spoke of his father’s support, which was shown through acts of service. “The first acceptance was my dad,” Manglona said, adding that his father never used derogatory language toward him. “Here the islander way of showing love is not ‘I love you, hug you’ like this generation now. It’s more like ‘Hey, do my two sons have clothes, do they have food, are they going to school?’ That’s the love they show.”
Manglona also spoke about coping with discrimination and bullying.
“I didn’t know how to use [my hands] to fight,” he said. “But I had women in my lives — mothers and aunties who were larger than life, and that’s how I learned to be strong. Instead of fighting, I tease, and I have a big mouth, ladies and gentlemen. When you punch someone, they can heal, but when you tease somebody, that’s a whole other level.”
He said that through sticking up for himself he was able to be open with his identity.
As for Tomokane, who is 19 years old, he said he is currently on a journey as he discovers who he is as a person.
He said the three “anthems” he lives by are: “Your personal identity does not start and end with your queerness; you won’t always have your answers and sometimes those answers never come; and take up your own space and don’t lend any of it to others.”
He added, “We’re always questioning, we’re always wondering, we’re always exploring our identities, and if there’s one thing I would like to echo out of these three anthems, it is that you’re never always going to have your answers. If you’re in search of answers and you feel a little bit frustrated, find some comfort in the fact that they may never come and that’s OK because you will always be here.”
As a “queer ally,” Babauta said love for family helped spur her support for gay rights.
“I first got a taste of what someone different in my family experienced as a child,” she said. “My first cousin, who was really near and dear to all of us, sat with his legs crossed, and a family member told him to ‘sit like a boy,’ and that really impacted me. My love for my family has really motivated my actions in the pride space because there’s nothing more that I want than for members of my family and our community to feel welcomed and accepted and just know that they are loved.”
As a queer ally, she is for “making and holding space” for queer people, including hosting dialogues, speaking engagements, and “uplifting their voices.”
From left, Sheila Babauta, Knillis Tuhuweitae, Zenn Tomokane and Michael Manglona.
