Subverting Zsazsa Zaturnnah: The Bakla, the "Real" Man and the Myth of Acceptance

Abstract

This essay examines Carlo Vergara's graphic novel "Ang Kagilasgilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah" in an attempt to confront the media's discourse on homosexuality. It posits that the adaptation of the graphic novel into a musical and film to "un-stereotype" gay men by repacking the gay persona as a strong superhero. The essay seeks to figure out whether Vergara succeeds in subverting the dominant patriarchal ideologies of homophobia and heteronormativity.