Blogging About Macho Dancers and Gay Bars

It's been six months since I first started blogging about my learnings about macho dancers and gay bars. Originally, I didn't have anything planned on the structure and content of the blog. All I wanted to do was write about what I knew and what I experienced in the form of "lessons."

Good thing that the blog has somehow evolved from its beginnings. While it still contains information about the men and the industry I wanted to write about, I have expanded to write about the various gay bar customers, some tricks of the trade, some in-depth personal stories, and even those in the gay bar periphery. It seemed to me like I'm writing for a newspaper or magazine, with my own column. If I'd be writing like a weekly column, then I would've written almost two year's worth of material.

What I didn't expect is to be linked with anything associated with the topic I chose to write. I get requests for gay bar recommendations from curious virgin gay bar goers. I get emails from foreigners asking where to go. I get comments to reveal the real names of the gay bars. I get asked for macho dancers for bridal showers. I even get hits for the blog from Google search queries about "conyo shoes", "virgin gay", "gay strippers", and one of the top hits, "libog." 

Hmmm... what does "libog" have to do with my very conservative blog? Ganun na ba ka-libog mga Pinoy? Hehe.

What I also didn't expect in this short a time is to get featured in another mainstream blog. My friend, Rocky, who owns the Geeky Guide, wanted to do a post on my niche blog, and I happily obliged with an email Q&A. 

You'll get to read here what made me start the blog and what makes me continue doing it. So if I write about the ins and outs of the gay bar scene, then you might read here the ins and outs of the gay bar blog and the gay bar goer.

Here are some excerpts:

Q: Who or What made you decide to create your blog?

...In the months hopping from one bar to another, meeting macho dancers week after week, hearing their unique yet similar-in-essence stories, and heck, even falling in love with a few of them, I felt I had enough knowledge and insight about them and the industry to write about. Good thing that it was at the same time that a couple other blogs of similar nature appeared. So it seemed like we were painting a picture of the gay bar scene...

Q: What one celebrity do you wish would notice your blog?

A: Hmmm... the good-looking moreno actor who was rumored to be a former macho dancer. Yuhh-mee! Kidding aside, I guess other gay bloggers whom I can connect to. And why not, even a book publisher...

As part of blogging about gay bars and macho dancers, I also get to see the various types of gay bar blog readers. In my analytical fashion, I've already classified them into different types. I have briefly mentioned them in the feature in Rocky's blog. But I guess it could be more fun writing about them.... ergo, writing about YOU reading my blog now. Which category will you fall under? Hehe.

To read more, visit my blog feature from Rocky's blog: The Geeky Guide to Nearly Everything.

I thought of the feature as a great way to cap off the midyear, exactly 6 months in existence. But there are more to come. I've just added Twitter; I've yet to add a Facebook account which some readers are asking for. I've only ticked off about less than half of a list I created of possible gay bar topics. I haven't even written about a topic I've been longing to feature... maybe, on post #100 (this article is post #90). There's a lot more to this industry, just as there's a lot more to the macho dancers. So perhaps, this post can be just a sem break, or refresher, in the on-going lesson plan about macho dancers and gay bars in Manila.

Keep on reading and learning with me! :D

GB Goer
Learn more: Lessons from Gay Bars in Manila
http://machosandhostos.blogspot.com/
email: char.affairs@gmail.com
twitter: @gbgoer