Meet Adel, the fierce and fabulous boy in pink, and the main character in a groundbreaking children’s book: Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki.
The story was penned by Palanca Award-winning author Rhandee Garlitos and illustrated by Tokwa Peñaflorida. It is published by Chikiting books. Garlitos had earlier written the very well received Chenelyn! Chenelyn! Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki talks about Adel, an effiminate young boy. When interviewed by Interaksyon.com, Garlitos was quick to note that his book isn’t about homosexuality in children nor does the story follow the stereotype of effeminate boys being bullied or beaten in the hopes of straightening them up.
The author instead describes Adel as “a boy with a feminine face, lithe body and very graceful demeanor. The color pink, often associated with femininity, is appropriated by the boy to be the color of his choice, not dictated upon by anyone else, whether by family or society.”
Ang Bonggang Bonggang Batang Beki is one of the first, if not the only one, to make effeminate boys the topic of a children’s storybook. According to Garlitos, his narrative simply aims to leave a message to children that there are different ways to grow up as a boy. For parents, the lesson is that there is no hard and fast rules to raising kids. There are boys who are effeminate inasmuch as their are young girls who are boyish.
For more information on the book or the author, you may visit: www.facebook.com/bonggangbonggang.batangbeki
