Is being a trans girl more challenging in the Philippines?

Watching this interview with Jewel, a trans pinay in Thailand, sobrang nakakadurog puso yung contrast between cultures. We see trans women sa PH media, pero sa Thailand they have an actual cultural space, the kathoey, is beyond our Catholicism's rigid lens. Naiisip ko... what if our trans sisters could experience that fundamental recognition? Not just tolerance, but genuine dignity where gender isn't filtered through religious judgment. Where beauty clinics don't gatekeep. Where love isn't transactional or performative. Jewel's words reveal our painful truth: representation isn't equality. Visibility isn't understanding. And beneath our "acceptance" lies this deep spiritual rejection that hurts trans pinays daily. Maybe we need to confront how our cultural framework itself, not just individual attitudes, keeps invalidating the authentic self-expression of our trans sisters. To see someone as equal isn't just about allowing them to exist. It's about creating spaces where their existence isn't constantly questioned, medicalized, or spiritually condemned. Thailand isn't perfect, but it offers glimpses of what genuine cultural integration could feel like. I dream of Philippines where trans pinays are more than tolerated spectacles, but recognized sisters with full humanity.