Beyond gender and labels

Rain Mabelin walks path to fulfill father's wish

- By REYNALD MAGALLON

With the flick of his fingers, the rouge sparkling on his cheeks, and the hips swaying with every graceful step, one would never guess that he would be under the sweltering summer sun and on the burning tracks compet-ing in a showdown meant to display the strength, endurance, and the rough edges of manhood.

For one, society has long placed people like him in narrow boxes as typical contestants to gay beauty pageants, being salon stylists or simply by becoming the happy pill in a group or crowd - spaces that usually allow them to freely express their femininity.

But he was not the type to be confined in the gender stereotypes the society has made for members of the LGBTQ community like him. Not when he has a dream, and more so when he has an important promise to fulfill.

The queen slays on the tracks

At the New Clark City Athletics Stadium during the Philippine Athletics Championships last May, Rain Mabelin, a young walkathoner from Cavite, stood out during the scrum interviews at the end of the boys U18 5000-meter walk where he won a silver.