Fighting discrimination requires resilience, which the transgender Filipino community has in spades. There are five common themes to this, which are:

1. Being able to define their own identity;
2. Having a strong sense of self-worth;
3. Being aware of the oppression they suffer;
4. Having connections with a supportive community; and
5. Having the capacity to cultivate hope for the future.

As you might expect, feeling connected to and within a community is crucial for all of these. How, then, do they gather safely without risking being “outed”? Where can they go to learn from their fellow community members when the general public has nothing good to say about them?

In 2025, Facebook was the most used social media platform among Filipinos. Through Facebook people can reunite with old high school classmates, childhood best friends, distant relatives, and more along those lines—but they can meet new people, too. Transgender Filipinos have been using the platform to share information with each other for years now, taking advantage of Facebook’s potential for visibility, anonymity, and association. In these groups where marginalised people have found a place to belong, creating and sharing information happens in many ways.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt Alea, the founder of Transmasculine PH (TmPH), about the Facebook group the organisation runs. As transmasculine Filipinos came together under this name, they not only felt validated in their identity, but also learned how to act from others like them. What set TmPH apart from other organisations already existing in the Philippines was their inclusion of non-binary transgender people—individuals whose gender identities went beyond the binary of male and female. Because TmPH encourages non-traditional expressions of manhood, it proves itself more diverse than other organisations in the country.

Information is not only shared indirectly through learned behaviours, but also direct posts and comments. A common Facebook Group feature used by the organisation is the anonymous feature, as anonymous questions to the group’s page show up several times a week. Most common queries are related to hormone therapy, which Philippine insurance companies still do not cover as of this writing. “Saan nakakabili ng T (where can I buy [testosterone])?” one post reads, followed by “may re-recommend po ba kayong endo (can you guys recommend an [endocrinologist])?” With the use of this feature, transmasculine Filipinos in need can feel safe asking about confidential health information. Interestingly, those that answer them tend to do so under their real names, but this makes sense when it’s hard to trust someone you can’t attach a name and face to.

Scrolling through a Facebook group can show you exactly what that group is about and what behaviours it approves of. Though anonymity might be used for safety reasons, posts and comments still reflect the resilience of a community where everyone talks to everyone else. This resiliency can be seen when the members of TmPH are willing to look at, consume, and even comment on non-educational transmasculine content being shared. There’s an obvious sense of encouragement and approachability within the community, which allows more questions to be asked and answered, and often the most relevant information isn’t just about what a transgender person is and how they should act. Rather, sharing information on what it’s like living the day-to-day life as a transmasculine Filipino (through sharing holiday wishlists, humourous reels, reviews of transmasculine products, photos of pets, the best place to get a haircut, etc.) can show others like them that there is hope for a better, ordinary life, even in a country still discriminating against LGBTQIA+ people.