MONTANO, Mikaela Maria R. Sir Louie Sanchez R04 – ENG12 April 6, 2016 The Unkabogable Vice Ganda: Gay Representation on Mainstream Media INTRODUCTION In recent years, Vice Ganda has risen to be a phenomenon known nationwide; everyone of all ages at some point would have heard of the infamous "Petrang Kabayo" and "Benjamin Santos." her "sharp, witty" one-liners earned him a spot in Punchline and The Library, and eventually her name "Vice Ganda," which was taken from her last name Viceral (Biography, 1). Soon after, she made guest appearances in various shows including Comedy Central Market, Wowowee, Maging Sino Ka Man: Ang Pagbabalik, until she took a permanent seat as a judge in the noontime variety show Showtime (Biography, 1). From then on, she made phenomena happen one after the other, from her late night success that is Gandang Gabi Vice, to the highest grossing movie of 2011, The Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin ("The Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin", 1). However, what she is truly known for is her bold and loud expression of being gay. Self-proclaimed "The First Openly Gay Superstar in Asia (Biography, 1)," Vice flaunts her sexuality as a badge, a loud proclamation of her identity. She dresses exuberantly and wears possibly at least 5-inch heels with every public appearance, and she face always has at least a bold shade of lipstick on. Her behavior is distinctly feminine, and she admits as such: though she never calls himself a transgender, and her biological sex is male, she consistently announces that she is a girl and that she is truly homosexual. With the flux of platinum record songs, consistent, award-winning movies, and nonstop exposure to mass and social media, she creates her niche in show business; she specializes and dominates the brand of sexual deviation more than her fellow gay celebrities. Truly, she is a force to be reckoned with. Along with her strong sense of identity comes a similar perception in media. With the rising LGBTQ issues, Vice takes the stage and is the first to be interviewed when such issues are brought up. When Manny Pacquiao's controversial statement about how he likened homosexuals to animals, the media quickly got on Vice's case and immediately drew a statement against him ("Vice Ganda tells Manny Pacquiao", 1). Though the media is so eager to draw news, the Filipino community would say otherwise. While he does represent the gay minority, there is still a sector in the public who disagrees and bears ill-will against the comedian. When his statement in response to Pacquiao was released on Youtube, a large number of comments