For most people, getting a haircut is pretty much a straightforward affair: you go inside a barbershop or salon, pick out a stylist, discuss the cut you want, listen to the precise snip-snap of their scissors for the next half-hour or so, pay, and then leave.
This is not the case for Queer people.
According to a 2019 survey by Pantene, LGBTQIA+ individuals—especially those who identify as non-binary— often face discomfort in salons, with a good number of them reporting feeling stress ahead of their salon appointment.
The same, sadly, rings true in the Philippines.
According to Paul Sumayao, the director for membership and regional relations of the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce (PLCC) and the co-founder of creative agency Studio Hibang, the Philippines currently has a gap in the market that addresses comfortable places for Queer individuals looking to get their hair cut.
“When (masculine-presenting) queer women and trans men go to salons, tatawagin silang ‘ma’am’ and when feminine-presenting men and trans women go to barbershops, tatawagin silang ‘sir.’ So saan kami magpapagupit? Ba’t wala kaming space to call our own na comfortable kami, na di kami tatanungin kung magjowa ba kaming sabay nagpapa-haircut?” Sumayao said.
Barbierro, the Philippines’ very first queer-owned and queer-friendly barbershop, came about as a response to this very need.
“As Queer people, we feel like hair is one of the things that make us different from the rest. We like to play around with our hairstyles, we like getting pampered, so I feel like it makes sense to me to have a barbershop business,” Sumayao explained, noting that while opening a Queer-friendly barbershop had already germinated in his mind over seven years ago, he and his partner Jedi Directo were only able to push through with it in 2022. “I thought of it in 2017 pero pinatulog ko muna siya kasi I was still in grad school then. Tapos 2022 was when I decided talaga na ‘sige, let’s open na the barbershop,’” he added, citing the results of that year’s national elections as another factor that affected their decision.
The rest, as they say, is hair-story.
Its name a portmanteau of "Barbie," which is frequently used as a slur by Filipinos to refer to effeminate, gay men, and "Barbero," the local, masculine word for “barber,” Barbierro opened its doors in July of 2022, with the shop—known for its bright-colored facade, cozy art-filled interiors, impeccable service, steady stream of pop tunes, and a #fierce bearded and tatted merman as its symbol— welcomed with much enthusiasm by the LGBTQIA+ community.
In addition to providing top-tier service, Sumayao says Barbierro’s success can be attributed to them being a safe space for Queer people to be themselves.
Barbierro’s crew, for instance, undergo routine Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression (SOGIE) training up to two times per year, which helps them to be more empathic and sensitive towards their clientele—a sharp contrast to typical pa-macho barbershops which, more often than not, are hotbeds for misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia.
“There have been instances na nago-open up yung customers sa amin on their own, na hindi namin tinatanong. Or minsan tatanungin namin ng ‘saan kayo nagpapa-haircut before?’ tapos sasabihin nila ‘ah nagpapagupit ako dati sa barbershop na ‘to pero lagi kasi ako pinepresyuhan ng gupit-babae kasi babae ako,” Sumayao relayed. “Dito kasi we are charging them based on hair length and the complexity of the haircut, hindi sa (gender) nila,” he added.
“Another story naman is about a masculine-presenting queer woman tapos nung pinakita niya yung hairstyle na gusto niya, which is a very masculine hairstyle, doon sa barbero, tiningnan yung chest niya, parang it was a gesture na sabi ng barbero ‘ba’t ka magpapagupit ng ganyan, eh babae ka?” Sumayao said during our interview.
Sumayao then relays the story of two other clients, a gay couple who found it hard to express affection at their previous go-to barbershop and often had to book separate dates for their haircuts.
“Nahihiya talaga sila magpagupit sa barbershop together na nage-express talaga sila ng kanilang relationship—di nila afford maging intimate with each other. Pero dito sa shop namin, nagaakbayan sila, they would hold hands, so that makes it really special for us.”
“Yun yung little pockets of stories na dun namin inangkla yung kwento ng barbershop,” Sumayao said.
“Sabi namin ‘why do barbershops and salon personnel make a big deal out of it if we want short or long hair, or if we want a specific hair color na hindi akma kunwari sa gender expression namin?’” he added.
“It’s really founded on that, na pareho naman kami ng ibabayad as the other cisgender clients pero why do we feel uncomfortable? So yun yung premise namin na dapat comfortable lahat because we are paying the same rate as everybody else.”
Two years after its opening, Barbierro is set for expansion, with the shop’s branch in Laong Laan, Manila already in operation.
For most people, getting a haircut is pretty much a straightforward affair: you go inside a barbershop or salon, pick out a stylist, discuss the cut you want, listen to the precise snip-snap of their scissors for the next half-hour or so, pay, and then leave. With Paul Sumayao and Barbierro, this just might soon be the case for Queer people. And we can’t wait.
Article and Photos by : Michael Rebuyas (@itsmikerebuyas)
Art Direction : Jobo Nacpil (@jobonacpil)
Special Thanks to Paul Sumayao (@paulsumayao) Buboy Borbe (@linojosegabriel)
Barbierro Address :
Laguna Branch
RJ Titus Bldg, Brgy San Francisco Biñan (Flying V Gas Station, Southwoods Exit)
Manila Branch
2157 Laong Laan Rd, Sampaloc, Manila, 1008 Metro Manila
Instagrame: https://www.instagram.com/barbierrobarbershop/
Comments