VP/Spotlight: Sassa Gurl As The Household Name That She Is

I turn my phone on, switching from one social media application to another. Yet, I don’t find myself getting entertained. So, I settle on TikTok – scrolling through videos after videos which is somewhat addicting. Until I found one that made me “LOL,” which basically meant letting out a huge breath out of my nose. Then, I found another video from this creator that made me chuckle. Then, another one that actually made me laugh. So, to keep myself entertained, I stalked the creator. I find myself thinking of this creator, whose videos remain entertaining, should be a household name. Sassa Gurl should be a household name.

VP/Spotlight: Sassa Gurl As The Household Name That She Is

Just as quickly as this thought appears, I thought of how this creator has probably faced a whole lot of discrimination. She seems to have a very good attitude when it comes to people making fun of the way she looks. Although even when that remains the case, she finds humor in it. Then, I started thinking about how, as part of the LGBTQ+ community, Sassa Gurl continues to face bigoted comments about her sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. When I was told that Sassa would be on the cover of our magazine, I instantly thought of one of the most viral videos on TikTok and applied it as the theme of her photoshoot.

It was of a young girl dancing to Nicki Minaj’s Hey Mama. A part of the lyrics goes, “Yes I do the cooking, Yes I do the cleaning. Yes, I keep the nana real sweet for your eating, Yes you be the boss yes I be respecting.” 

 

 

So, as a finale for this pride month, Village Pipol Magazine presents you Sassa Gurl as the household name that she is. 

During our e-mail interview, Sassa detailed her struggles as an LGBTQ+. She acknowledged that there are people who assume that members of the LGBTQ+ community just, suddenly, choose to be queer. Sassa points this out as one of the most annoying things people had assumed when it comes to her gender identity.

“Straight daw ako noon tapos naging bakla na lang ako. Bakla akong pinanganak. Yes, hindi ko pa alam na bakla pala tawag doon. Pero, I know sa sarili ko na ganoon na talaga ako.”

 

 

Queer people are born queer. Nobody chose to be queer just as nobody chose to experience the discrimination that comes along with it. Speaking of discrimination, Sassa told us a short story of her recent row with prejudice and intolerance. Unfortunately, due to internalized homophobia, even members of the LGBTQ+ community remained bigoted.

“Ang pinaka-recent na discrimination na naranasan ko is within the LGBTQ+ community din. May tinatawag kasi na pagirl which means either malambot kang bakla o trans ka. Karamihan ng nakakasama ko kasi ay mga nagtransition na and tingin nila sa akin is hindi pagirl. Hindi ako pwedeng maging babaihan. Which, I think, is a valid opinion naman. Kasi, di naman talaga ako nag-transition. Pero, sa loob loob ko, babae ako. Bahala nalang sila diyan.”

 

 

As an LGBTQ+ online personality.

Of course, this means Sassa Gurl has an influence on the people that follows her on all her social media accounts. This could also mean that if she wants to avoid collaboration with problematic personalities in order to stop her followers from idolizing that kind of attitude and behavior, she could. Instead of delving into dramatic rows, she utilizes her humor to open people’s eyes in accepting and respecting the LGBTQ+ community – as seen on some of her videos online.

“Meron akong mga videos na nagpapakita about gay culture at paano nagiging important ang LGBTQ+ community sa lipunan. Gusto kong maintindihan ng masa na ang pagiging LGBTQ+ ay walang pagkakaiba sa lahat. Gusto kong ibaba ang diskurso ng gender at sexualidad sa languange na maiintindihan ng lahat. Well, I’m trying. Hahaha!”

 

 

Pride month is thirty days where LGBTQ+ individuals don’t need to hide their true and authentic selves. However, there are people who remain in the closet due to the unaccepting environment that they reside in. Finding a friend that continues to support and accept you becomes one of the most important things that Sassa can say. She said that this way, that friend could at least understand what you’re going through.

“Ang message ko naman sa mapang-aping lipunan, huwag kayong masyadong mapangmata. Dahil lahat tayo ay may pinagdadaanan. Ano dahil LGBTQ+ kami, masama na kami agad? Kahit, wala namang ginagawang masama sa inyo?”

 

 

Living her most authentic self.

Although she has 2.5-million followers on TikTok, Sassa Gurl doesn’t consider herself as an LGBTQ+ role model. She also admitted that her constant trolling and not-so-kind attitude make her problematic.

“To be honest, problematic din kasi ako. Hahaha! Dahil hilig akong mang-troll. Atsaka, di ako ganoon kabait sa personal. Halos lahat ng ginagawa ko is kinda bare minimum. Hahaha! Kaya feel ko di ako considered as an LGBTQ+ role model.”

 

When asked why is it important for her to remain genuine and authentic, her answer pertained to the tedious monotone of achieving perfection.

“Para sa akin, nakakapagod magkunwari. Mahirap pantayan ang standards ng mga tao. Madidisappoint ka lang. Atsaka ‘pag masyadong fake… Gurl! Nakakaboring panuorin ‘yun kasi they are aiming for perfection. Ano, walang mali? Dapat meron naman kahit papano.”

A message to her fans:

“Maraming salamat sa pag-support. Wala man kayong modo at hindi niyo minsan nirerespeto ang mima, aliw naman aako sa inyo. So, quits lang din. Love you all, mga nakshit kong pasmado. ❤️”

 

About Chikana:

Chikana is Sassa Gurl’s collab merch with clothing brand Graphiko. Selling an array of wonderfully designed graphic shirts and sweatshirts, she explained the story behind it.

“Chikana Loccah El Zhupladita, in short Chikana, is my GM name. Hindi ko original name ‘yun. Pinadaan lang sa akin ‘yung may air ng name na ‘nun ‘yung GM niya. Tapos ninakaw ko. Siyempre, di ko siya pinadaanan ng GM ko baka maganda-gandahan… [Kaya t-shirt at sweatshirt,] dati kasi nagtinda ako ng t-shirt. Kaso, nag-flop kasi na-scam ako ng printing. Papa-blotter ko sana kasi ang kayo. Sa Pansol pa ‘yung barangay nila. So, ngayon, gusto ko bumawi sa dati kong business na nalugi.”