Signs of a Newbie Macho Dancer

(Or the opposite: Signs that a Macho Dancer is NOT New in the Industry)

A question that's asked to a tabled macho dancer: How long have you been working as a macho dancer?

I don't know why, but for some reason, macho dancers want to give that aura to their customers that they're new in the business. Either they claim that this was their first time in this job. Or that particular bar was the first bar they entered in. Or that they say they're new in that particular bar, like 2-4 months or always less than a year (but don't mention that they've worked in other bars before). 

Lolobelles, retire na po.

Would customers not like them if they knew that the guy has been a macho dancer since he was in his teen years? Is there a "turned off" factor when we customers find out that they're not new in the industry anymore?

I don't think so. But maybe it's because there's a perception that older gay guys like fresh young meat, and not over-the-hill dancers in their late 20s. Or that virgin gay bar goers, girls and gays alike, would prefer tabling someone also new in the industry, for fear of being manipulated in their chosen guy's hands. 

Perhaps there are those who mind and those who don't. Matter of preference. 

To spot a macho dancer who has been in the business for quite some time (years of experience plus number of bars he has worked in previously) can be easy for a regular gay bar goer. The frequent customer can determine if the newly employed dancer in his favorite bar has had macho dancing experience before, just by the way the guy acts. That customer can also spot a very fresh newbie macho dancer, especially once that dancer steps on the stage to perform.

Here are the signs that a macho dancer is new in the industry or is just claiming that he's new (ie. working in the industry for a long time now) -- or the bagong-bago vs the bagong-lipat:

The Korean Invasion: Part 2

(Continued from Part 1)

Based on the number of tourists from South Korea that the Philippines gets yearly, it is estimated that around $1 billion (or P44 billion) is being pumped annually into the Philippine economy. That means that if there are around 500K-700K tourists yearly, then the average Korean tourist spends around P70,000 per trip. That's just the average tourist; what more for the immigrant Koreana who stays longer for education or business.

That's why targeting these moneyed demographic is so lucrative for these gay bars. Before it used to be the Japanese and Taiwanese, but recent years saw an influx of young or middle-aged Korean tourists, even to the point of seeing bus loads of Korean women going to some of these bars. The challenge for these gay bars is how to market to these tourists, to ensure the constant influx of revenue.

In gay bars where a lot of these Koreans go to, you'd see the gay bar's obvious tactics of attracting that specific market, just by looking at their selection of men. In their line-up, you'd see this particular type of boy (see previous post on types of macho dancers and hostos). These are the few macho dancers with the unique K-Pop boy band-inspired haircut, that's long, layered, with bangs or fringes, and often with light brown highlights or in entirely blonde with their natural dark roots showing. These guys intentionally alter their entire look to mimic the young popular men of their customer's homeland (see styles below).

Take your pick from Super Junior ♥ 

And somehow, the Koreanization makeover actually works. The ones that Korean women always get are the same-looking guys who have not only adopted the distinct hairstyle but also East Asian-sounding names like Koji or Ryu. Interestingly though, these same guys who look so attractive to the Korean women oddly don't get picked by the typical Pinoy gay bar customer or matrona market. That's why some dancers are labeled by their workmates as "Pang Koreana lang yan (Only for the Koreans)."

I remember talking about hair cut with Japoy*, a macho dancer I met in Home Base* and who somewhat looks like Eun Hyuk in the photo above (top right most). Being a half-Chinese, he was very popular among these Korean customers, as feedback was he really looked like someone these women would meet in their home cities. He shared with me how he once got tired of his glorious blonde hair, and had it cut short and re-colored to its natural dark shade. The effect: his sales went down, especially among Korean customers. Without his blonde layered locks, he wouldn't stand out to catch the attention of his target market.

Not only do these men alter the way they look, they also dance to K-Pop just to attract this specific customer group. If the typical Pinoy-looking macho dancer would gyrate to an English R&B track or an OPM Ballad, these Koreanized guys would dance to a fast-paced K-Pop dance song or a romantic song from a K-Pop balladeer (I will dedicate another blog post entirely on top K-Pop songs heard in a gay bar). And it's even sometimes obvious when the entertainment manager starts to cue a series of Korean songs a few minutes after a group of Korean gay bar virgins arrive in the bar. Halata kung sino tina-target so that these women would be enticed to choose among the "Only For Koreans" guys to table with.

What happens when these Koreans table a Filipino macho dancer? They are either very quiet or very noisy. The silent ones I understand. The one-word discussions between the Korean and the dancer stem from language barrier obviously. So unless the tabled dancer would understand the broken English of these women (eg. "You just talk and talk there okay" or "I give beer why not kiss you me"), some men actually learn to speak Korean (not just "Annyeong Haseyo") to the delight of these customers, to help them converse easily.

But the noisy ones? Urg.

In some websites, I've read that some Korean tourists are observed as "difficult to deal with. They are demanding and rude." While I haven't had first-hand experience on dealing with these supposed "spoiled" and "aggressive" Koreans, I've heard a lot of stories of their attitude in gay bars already. Like how they seem to do anything they want to do in the bar. Some just go up on stage as if drunk ledge-dancing in a disco or dance club, while a macho dancer is in the middle of his performance. A lot I hear just cheer wildly when their favorite man is onstage.

What do the gay bar managers do? Sometimes, encourage them more to have the most fun they could have. "Kailangan lang patawanin yang mga yan (You just need to make them laugh)," a gay bar worker informed me. Another said, "bola-bolahin mo lang yan, matutuwa na sila (Just flatter them, they'd enjoy it)."

The most extreme cases I've heard, and even seen at one point, were regular Korean guests who would actually get so jealous and make sugod (charge, advance, like in an army) to other customers tabling their guy. Like there was this Koreana matrona I wrote about before who got so jealous and angry that she got up and "attacked" the other Korean women who previously tabled her guy. A few weeks back, I also saw a young Korean woman who was obviously drunk and from her booth, she went inside the enclosed booth of a Pinoy gay guy with another macho dancer. Apparently, the guy was also a regular guest of that drunk Koreana's chosen macho dancer. She wanted to confront the other customer, but the bar's staff blocked her, and tried to lead her away. She refused to leave the customer's booth, and sat on the couch like a spoiled brat. Guess who was the only one who could force her out of the gay man's area. Her macho dancer, the guy in the middle of it all.

I guess with the money they are bringing in, they'd want to get even more special treatment. As the gay bar obliges with some special requests they have, such as coming as late as 5AM and requesting for an all-cast show up, even when the dancers are already departing from the bar. With their attitude, do these Koreans even care how much money they spend? No, according to Japoy and the gay bar managers I've chatted with. While their receipts can average about P3K to P6K per person, the tips they give can get really high. Especially the regular ones, who sometimes even get tricked into tipping every single waiter in the bar. And that is the main reason why this demographic, with their demands and eccentricities, are so lucrative for Manila's gay bars and their macho men.

So not only do Korean tourists in general bring in the money to the Philippine economy. They also bring in money to Manila's gay bars too.

To some of the macho dancers, I even give advice, that if they want to really earn in their industry, they'd just change their hairstyle to look more Korean. Because if an average Korean spends around P70K per visit in Manila, and would just decide to go to one gay bar at 5AM, then the Koreanized macho dancer has more chances of getting picked to be tabled and getting some share of the P70K spend. The question then is how that single macho dancer, or the whole gay bar industry of Manila, or even the entire Philippine tourism, can ensure that their Korean guests, their Korean customers, or their #1 Korean tourists, would keep coming back for more.

GB Goer

Learn more: Lessons from Gay Bars in Manila

http://machosandhostos.blogspot.com/

email: char.affairs@gmail.com

twitter: @gbgoer

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Photo credits: http://superjunior.me/picture-gallery/attachment/super-junior/

The All-the-Way Who Shouldn't Be

Half past midnight, in one of the top macho dancing gay bars in Manila, the dj introduced the next set. Eight men stepped onto the stage. They were naked, with only a piece of cloth tied around their waists. As the romantic ballad song crescendoed into the chorus, all of them stripped all-the-way, removed their only clothing, to reveal what was hidden underneath it.

Except for one. The newcomer.

This was Luigi's* second stint as a macho dancer. This 5'8, fair, gym-fit, 25 year-old had some macho experience three years before, in another top bar in Quezon City. At that time, he only danced "sexy", as the gay bars called those dancers who would only bare their torsos and legs, but nothing more beyond a bikini. In these gay bars, not all macho dancers are all the way, only a select few.

But this was his first job as an all-the-way macho dancer.

What happened to Luigi, after the jump:

Kilig o Libog?

Hindi ako maka-decide kung sino sa dalawang macho dancer ang aking iuupo noong isang gabi.

Inisip kong iupo si Japoy, na kapag nakakakuha ako ng mapaglarong text mula sa kanya ay naalala ko ang pag-ngiti ng kanyang mga chinitong mata sa tuwing kami'y naghahagikhikan. Hindi nga lang sobrang maganda ang katawan nito, at kung sumayaw ay parang naglalakad lang sa mall.

O maaari rin namang si Beatty, dala ng kanyang sobrang senswal na pagsayaw gamit ang katawang moreno't matipuno, na tulo-laway na pinagnanasahan naming magkakaibigan. Ngunit, kapag iupo na, tahimik, lalo na sa simula. Hindi rin masyadong malambing sa katabi.

Yung isa ay masarap makasama sa isang mall habang sa kainitan ng araw, tipong holding-hands kayo habang kumakain o naglalakad. Yung isa naman ay masarap lang sa kama sa kainitan ng gabi, kahit hindi na kayo mag-usap.

Syempre, may budget din ako kaya't hindi puwedeng pareho ang iuupo ko. Siguro puwede namang pagsabayin sila sa ibang okasyon, ngunit hindi sa gabing kung kailan maaga kami uuwi dahil sa may pasok kinabukasan.

Kaya't tinanong ko ang mga kaibigan ko sa gay bar: Kung ikaw ang pagpipiliin, yung lalaking nakaka-kilig o yung lalaking nakaka-libog?

Ipagpatuloy kung ano ang mga sagot ng ilan. Ikaw, ano ang sagot mo?

Tabling the Top

First it was Beatty. Then, Phoenix. Derek was supposed to be in the same list, but left the bar. I then found out Russell was the same, a long time ago. Last week it was Japoy. This particular list of men surprised me.

I used to shy away from the top macho dancers of a gay bar.

When I was new in the gay bar scene of Manila, as I would choose which among the available macho dancers I'd request to sit with me that night, I'd select from only the bar's new models. Not the popular ones. Not with regular guests. Not one in the top 10 of monthly drink sales. Not the Mr. Gay Bar competition reigning title holder.

So my usual lines to the gay floor managers who would push me to "table" a guy were "Wait, which are the new ones?" or "I like that guy. Is he new?" or "I'll just wait for the modeling (or 'all-cast') when all of them are on-stage and get from the fresh-looking boys." If I find out if the guy I fancy is one of the bar's star macho dancers, I'd just scan the bar for someone else to sit with me.

So among the guys in the macho bar, how would I identify these top dancers? Continue after the jump:

The Conyo Macho Dancer

"Phoenix"*, top macho dancer in a gay bar in Metro Manila, couldn't fully hide where he came from.

In a setting where most of the performers come from the underprivileged who worked for "easy money", Phoenix seemed to stand out amongst his macho dancer companions. On the surface, he did not look or sound like the others. In this country where his above-average height, lean and toned build, fair skin color and a good command of English could reveal his mid-to-upper class upbringing, he could be described as a "conyo" (not the literal Spanish meaning of that word, but meaning "English-speaking maarte rich kid", colloquially). When he danced on-stage, he seemed not to be doing the routine typical macho-dancing, but like a very-choreographed form of sultry interpretative dance infused with slow hiphop dancing. From his stories about his pre-gay bar days, one would think that he might have a background rich of experiences.

"Bro, tingnan mo ito (look at this)", Phoenix said to me. I tabled him last weekend, the last among my group of friends to get him in the gay bar over the past months.

What he was showing me was a graphic of some gaming paraphernalia, freshly inked to a patch of his skin. That tattoo was his first, done at a very sensitive part of his body filled with nerve endings (the hands!). For him, it was a reminder of his "risky business" past. 

Before, "Phoenix" seemed to have small brushes with success out of the gay bar. While he had previous stints in the gay bar years back, there was a time that he dabbled in the entertainment industry. He was part of an in-demand group, who guests in tv shows and concerts. He has appeared in commercial ads already, not as the main lead, but as part of the extras. He even had bit roles on and off-cam in a big-budget movie, as part of the crowd and as choreographer of some dance sequences. From these "rackets", he had some earnings, enough for him to start his own business.

Then came his fall middle of last year. Phoenix seemed to have lost everything on a "risk" he took. He was lost, with no one to turn to. In desperation, he returned to the gay bar, the same one where my friends and I saw him months back as a thin disheveled 25 year-old. He was looking for a hiding place, a shelter, to rest, re-start, and be reborn.  

When I was talking to a healthier and recharged Phoenix that night, I noticed our conversation revolved around topics I could relate to. We had a conversation about colognes and perfumes, where he mentioned brand after brand of men's perfumes he owned, a few of which I haven't even heard of (He also had more than ten bottles of Clinique Happy, his favorite as well). He shared how he was eyeing an LV shoulder bag, but because of the price, bought a Lacoste one instead. He talked about cars (the time when I started to tune out), and how he was planning to sell his after he has finished setting-up the car with various race car-related paraphernalia or whatever. He also started talking business with me, how he plans to re-start with his own by saving up from his earnings in this bar. It seemed I was having a conversation with a classmate, or some kabarkada of a school mate.

And apparently he was. To our shock, we found out that we had a few common friends. One of those was someone from the lower batch who became popular because of the same commercial that Phoenix appeared in. Even Mary and Ringo, my two other gay-bar going buddies, knew friends whom he knew as well.

It seemed Phoenix was from our circle, someone who we may have met somewhere outside the gay bar.

"Hindi alam ng marami na dito ako nagtatrabaho. Iba ang buhay ko dito, sa buhay ko sa labas. (Lots of people don't know I work here. I have a different life in and out of the gay bar)." he admitted. The reason that he worked so far from where he lived was to ensure that no one in his circle could see him working in such a place. He may just be working in this bar for the meantime, as a quicker way to support his family and save up possibly, before venturing out into the world again.

I admire him for trying to rise again after his fall.

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

*Note: This is not his real name nor his stage name. Though, his stage name is somehow related to this.

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Photocredit: http://pelotonjim.wordpress.com/2007/04/30/like-the-phoenix-operation-puerto-rises-from-the-ashes/

The Rumored, The Curious, and The Doubted

Yes, there may be a misnomer of the term “gay bar” in the Philippines. Lots have been written in the web how Manila’s “gay bars” don’t actually employ dancers who are homosexual, effeminate or “bakla”. What one finds inside gay bars are straight uber-macho-looking stripper-dancers, to cater to the mostly-gay clientele, hence making the terms “macho dancers” and “macho dancing bars” interchangeable with “gay bar.”  

Well, Pinoys know these by heart, such that despite the dichotomy of the terms “gay” and “macho”, adding the word “bar” at the end of each will refer to the same thing.

But what if the gay bar has macho dancers who are gay and gay customers who are macho-looking? Last weekend, I got to experience this so-called “silahis”, may it be bisexuals or discreet gays.

Who are they? Read after the jump:

Macho Dancer and Hosto Typology

This time last year, when I haven’t had any experience inside a macho dancing bar or gay bar, I had a chat with a gay former officemate. The topic was about gay bars, and I asked if he had been inside one before. He then shared his mostly-exaggerated experiences. But what interested me most were the different types of guys one could find inside these bars.

“You have lots to choose from. Whatever your type is – boy next door, athletic, tall, etc” was his line. I got intrigued to find out more with his quite generic descriptions of these boys.

Now, based on my personal observations of going to gay bars, here are the top 10 most common types of macho dancers or hostos, based on their physical attributes, working in a gay bar:

1. Masculado (Muscle Man)

This is obvious. Why call a bar a “macho dancer bar” if no dancer is at least muscular? Bulging biceps, broad shoulders, well-toned back, 8-pack abs (whew!). They’re blessed with Adonis-like bodies, but not all are blessed with looks. Pati mukha matigas din (Even the face looks hard).  

Synonym: “Er” types, ie. Constuction Work-er

2. Actor look-alike

Their claim to fame is that they resemble someone famous in the local celebrity scene.  Gerald Anderson with the crooked smile of William Martinez. James Yap with bigger nose and wider eyes. Aljur Abrenica with a more-wooden machete face. Hayden Kho with a face lift gone wrong. Roderick Paulate with a muscular build. Oops.

3. “Junjunin”

The name “Junjun” is a common Filipino boy’s nick name, like Nene for girls. A “Junjunin” is the dark slim skinny 18 to 22 year old, who looks too young to be working as a macho dancer. You might mistake him for your neighboor’s teenage child who was instructed to buy vinegar from the nearest sari-sari store, but never came back home, to earn money as a hosto.

4. Korean pop star wannabe

You’ll notice this one as he automatically stands out. He transformed himself to appeal to the filthy rich Korean woman. He looks like he came out of a Korean teen pop fashion magazine – large hair, with long strands dyed blonde. And he dances on-stage to K-pop. It’s obvious who the boy, and the bar, want to extort money from. See related post about Koreanas.

5. The Boylet Next Door

My favorite. Especially chinitos (1st) and mestizos (2nd). You can choose from this wide spectrum of endearing guys -- either the clean-cut gentleman, or the pilyo kid (mischievous kid), or the college-aged out-of-school youth, or the undiscovered next matinee idol. But take this advice – Humanda ka. Marami kang kaagaw! Mahirap kalaban ang bading, lalo na mga tandercats!  (Be prepared. Competition is fierce. Gays, especially old ones, are tough to compete with).

6. “Mama sa Kanto” (Man from the Street Corner)

You’d wonder why the bar hired this guy. Was the bar too desperate to hire anyone, just anyone, from the streets? Fine, he may have the body, but please, the fez (face)! And the guy may be obliging – he gets paid to drink free booze in the bar. At least the bar offers some service to the neighborhood – more jobs, less crime. (Shet, ang sama ko!)

7. Shampoo Commercial boy

Just because of his perfect, long, black shiny hair. Shinampoo lang daw yan. Of course, there are guys which look like the “Before” shot, while the younger ones look like the “After.” I still wonder how shoulder-length hair on a guy can look appealing. Spill-over of the 80s-90s popular look, perhaps.

8. Angas boy (Tough Boy)

Shaved head. Tattooed. Pierced. With or without a goatee. He dances with his dagger eyes looking sharply at you. Either he wants to f*ck the hell out of you on your bed tonight… or make you the following day’s tabloid headlines (Bading, pinatay ng macho dancer). Still, bad boys do have their appeal. Ask Mariel. Or my friend, Mary.

9. Higantes (Giants)

Those 5 foot 10 and above, towering over the Junjunins and the Boylets-Next-Door. Most of them don’t wear boots anymore, as the heeled footwear will give them more unneeded height. I find them both impressive and terrifying at the same time. Just like a gi-normous d*ck about to enter you.

10. Golden Guy

Golden Guy, in homage to the Golden Girls or Home of the Golden Gays. When you look at this guy, you’ll think “Dude, ilang taon ka na nagtatrabaho dito? (How many years have you been working here)” His looks reveal the years he’s been working in the bar – the gut from all the beer, the muscular frame that’s now under layers of fat, the obvious wrinkles on his face and the hairline that’s already receding. All these at the ripe senior age of 30.

Of course, there are the other rarities – those types that are too few to be classified into their own groups. Some examples are the Amboys (Fil-Am boys), the Pasan Ko Ang Mundo boy (emo boy with long bangs hiding his eyes), and the occassional obviously promdi (from the province). Those not classified under the types above are just your regular-looking not-outstanding Pinoy guys whom you can easily find in a mall on a weekend.    

There are also overlaps, with the most common as boylets next door who can also fall under masculados, or a Golden guy higante with long silky smooth hair (I am thinking of one now, who I heard used to work for the now-closed Valentino).

I didn't know way back that there was this huge spectrum of boys to choose from. All along I thought all macho dancers or hostos were one and the same -- good-looking dark-skinned muscled men. I shouldn't have believed all the gay-themed movies I've seen in the 90s. Wait, there was just one.

If you have experiences with any of these kids, boys, guys, men, feel free to share and comment. If not, why not take a trip to your friendly neighborhood gay bar, and take a pic, errr, pick from one of these boys?

Enjoy! Skemper na!

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

All the Way: It’s a Hard Life

What you see on stage looks different up close.

Do you know how an all-the-way macho dancer’s dick stays hard for so long? The secret is at the base of their penises. It’s not obvious when they’re on stage, but when you look closely (admit it, you’d like to see a hard dick up close), you’ll find a rubber band tied at the base. These constrict blood flow to the already erect penis, making it stand longer. But before tying their dicks, they’d lather their genitals with lotion first. Without lotion, the rubber would stick to the skin, making it more painful to untie.

“Do these hurt?” I asked the tigas seated beside me last Saturday.

It was the first time ever I tabled an all-the-way boy. His name was “Rogers”, working there as a newbie tigas for two months (which I didn’t believe, because the manager told me he has been working there for almost a year, but had to “rest” for some time). From the stage amidst the deceptive bright lights, he looked twinky-boyish enough to pass as a G.R.O/model. I wondered though why he hasn’t caught my attention yet, having been to the bar numerous times already. Possibly, I was just so focused on the more handsome models and dancers, that I shun the buff-bodied monstrous tigas when they’re on stage.

Monstrous. And I wasn’t even referring to the size of their dicks.

It’s common to see not-so-handsome full-frontal boys in these bars. Maybe I have high standards (yeah as if), or that these more mature buffed-up guys aren’t really my type (I like ‘em chinito young ones). But it seems that the good looking (or at least passable average-looking) guys are reserved to be models or dancers. One manager even remarked, "why make a handsome boy do all-the-way, if he can get tabled with his looks alone." So the ones left to bare everything somehow fail the looks test.

No wonder I hardly notice these boys seated with the customers. No one buys them drinks, hence, no commission. No one tables them, hence, no big tips.

Maybe they get more indecent proposals by D.O.G.s (Dirty Old Gays). Maybe they get requested in private VIP rooms more often. Maybe they get tipped higher with more customers when they roam around the room naked. At least, maybe they get a higher daily budget than their non-exhibitionist co-workers.

Apparently, not so much. Almost the same budget for all, with a difference of P50-P100 per night, with or without clothing. And I originally thought that the superstars of any gay bar, those earning the most, would be those boys exposing their entire bodies.

Come to think of it, who gets higher pay -- Hollywood actors who rarely expose themselves, or full-frontal pornstars doing every imaginable thing in a straight-to-video handbook for gay sex? That's a rough comparison for this industry. But hey, paid boys for entertainment are still paid boys.

Even when they do their rounds among the customers during their "area" (see related post on definition), as they approach the tables with their schlongs hanging out, a few tigas boys would simply plead “tip lang po, para pamasahe lang (Just asking for some tip, for fare)." After weaving through the customers in the "area" they were assigned to get tips, they go back to their dressing room with maybe P300 or P400 per boy; lucky if they get P1000 each. And that’s on a customer-filled Saturday.

So if these all-the-way boys exert much more effort than the others in the bar, then why won’t they switch to being regular models or pa-sexy macho dancers? I never asked. Maybe because I knew the answer. Which is the same reason why I haven’t tabled a tigas for almost a year since I started going to gay bars.

They weren’t just that good looking. Harsh, yes.

“Nasanay na kami sa sakit (we got used to the pain),” responded Rogers with my question on tying their dicks with rubber bands.  

He showed me how his was tied when he approached me during their naked dance routine. He stood up in front of me, and let me feel where the rubber touched skin and hair. He teasingly asked for me to remove it, which I declined. I didn’t want to hurt him more, by accidentally breaking the rubber band. I just told him to sit beside me, so he could comfortably remove the rubber band himself. I let him lean on me the entire night, while he was still bare naked with only a piece of cloth covering his assets. Up close, I finally saw what he really looked like.

That night, I did not exchange cell phone numbers with Roger. I knew I wouldn’t table him again. Not because of his personality, or his dick size, or the fact that he’s a tigas. It was something more superficial.

The reason? What I thought I saw on stage looked different up close. It’s the hard truth.

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

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Photo Credits: http://www.inmagine.com/ev017/ev017037-photo

All the Way: The Long and Short of It

The macho dancers of any gay bar can be generally and loosely classified into three groups, based on the amount of flesh they bare.

First, there are the models / GROs / hostos -- those who are fully clothed the entire night, and are not allowed to dance on-stage. Then, there are the typical macho dancers, those popularly imitated in television or movies, who would dance seductively in their bare torsos and underwear, but never removing this last piece of clothing on their body (except if there’s another bikini inside it). The last group, which is usually the reason why a gay guy or woman goes into a gay bar in the first place, is the so-called “all the way.”

Before my initiation to the gay bar world of Manila, I had an impression that every single macho dancer showed their private parts. So if I liked a macho dancer who resembled last year’s most popular matinee idol, all I had to do was wait for him to get up the stage and strip.

Apparently, only a select few can apply as a so-called “all the way” boy (ATW; like stripping all the way) or tigas (in English, “hard” = showing hard dick).

All customers expect ATW boys to be uhmmm… well-endowed, just like in porn. But, wait, well-endowed Filipinos? It may sound like an oxymoron, but, yes there are some. Based on what I see, the average tigas had a thick 7 to 9 inch cock. And that’s why only a select few can join this privileged circle.

But even if they got it, not everyone can do it.

I’ve asked some macho dancers why they didn’t choose to be all-the-way strippers. Most said they were nahihiya or shy to reveal all. Another said he didn’t want to lose his dignity, protecting his only remaining “private” part. Some simply just smiled and shook their heads. Kudos to their modesty, or decency.

Once a tigas, always a tigas? Maybe. According to one dancer, an ATW boy applies to be as one. They are not forced nor required by management to expose, except if the boy entered into the biz as such. In one bar, all newbie applicants are asked if they’d be applying as a tigas, where the usual answer is no. This somewhat freaks out some applicants, especially when the only openings in the bar are for full-frontal boys. In another bar, due to their special skill, the ATW boys have a clique group of their own. I won’t be surprised if all ATW boys know each other, after months or years being employed from one bar to another as an “all the way” dancer.

Then I got a chance to meet personally one of these all-the-way, tigas boys. As Ringo said that night, I've already crossed the boundaries -- from a more wholesome macho dancer to the more daring ATW boy. That’s the topic of my next post.

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

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Photo Credits: http://www.inmagine.com/ev017/ev017064-photo