How have Ateneans’ views on variant sexuality changed since the 1970s? It was then the era of sexual revolutions, rising feminism, and an emergent gay rights movement. It was also the time of an all-male Ateneo and a bakla student population beginning to assert its place on campus.

More than forty years after the article “Survey Probes Stude Views Towards ‘Bakla’ on Campus” was published in this paper, The GUIDON, together with the Ateneo Statistics Circle, once again probes the community’s attitudes towards variant sexuality*, using the old survey as a lens for today’s changing social mores. Read the cover article for more context.

292 respondents – January 1970

151 respondents – February 2011

248 male undergraduate students

7 graduate students

18 faculty members

14 office and maintenance staff and five cross-registrants

All Loyola Schools (LS) students

73 males, 78 females

· 6 identified as bisexual

· 5 identified as gay

· 2 identified as lesbian

Respondents’ perceived percentage of variant sexualities in the LS student population (modal value)

1.3% – January 1970

10% – February 2011

Affirmative responses to the original questionnaire used by The GUIDON (See the “Outgrowing closets” sidebar on page 3 for the original questionnaire.)

“The bakla is an effeminate person who usually approaches the female appearance in his way of talking, in gait, attitude, and attire.”

January 1970 – 100%

February 2011 – 79.5%

“Thebakla usually finds pleasure in the adornment (making attractive and beautifying) of persons.”

January 1970 – 84.9%

February 2011 – 72.2%

“The bakladoes not usually participate in manly sports.”

January 1970 – 77.7%

February 2011 – 21.2%

“The presence of the bakla is a problem in the Ateneo.”

January 1970 – 51.6%

February 2011 – 9.9%

Reaction to the bakla in the February 2011 survey using the most common responses in the January 1970 survey (i.e., disgust, indifference, repulsion)

33.7% disgusted

71.5% indifferent

26.5% angry

66.2% pleased

28.5% concerned

73.5% delighted

*The new study focused only on the bakla for direct comparison with the old survey. Thus, this does not include data for lesbians, bisexuals, and other variant sexualities.