Word of the Day: “Abunas” Carries Queer Storytelling’s Weight
If there’s one word swirling with the spirit of queer storytelling today, it’s “abunas.” This swardspeak gem might flutter lightly off the tongue, but don’t be fooled, its presence is anything but light. For the Filipino LGBT+ community, “abunas” does what language does best: it holds stories, shadings of meaning, and enough sass to color our world in bold, defiant strokes.
From Whisper to Watchword
If you’ve spent time in a parlor, pagupitan, or a raucous barkadahan group chat, you’ve likely heard “abunas” dance in and out of conversation. Swardspeak, or gay lingo, is our lingua franca, a private, playful, protean code that’s always one step ahead of the mainstream. As Wikipedia’s deep-dive on Swardspeak reminds us, these words do more than amuse or exclude. They bond us, hide us in plain sight, and let us make the mundane magical. “Abunas,” with its ever-shifting connotations, might mean “enough,” “over the top,” or “wala na, tapos na!” depending on the flick of a wrist and the arch of a brow.
One Word, Countless Stories
Swardspeak resists rules, living as an act of collective creation and resistance. It springs from Taglish, slips in celebrity nicknames, and borrows shamelessly from Kapampangan, Spanish, even K-pop. In this ever-glittering patchwork, “abunas” is a wink, a release, an in-joke that says: “We see each other.” It’s the punchline to a drag brunch roast, the sigh after a grueling shift, the high-pitched shriek after hearing yet another microaggression, “‘Abunas!’ I’ve had it up to here, mars.”
Why Stories Still Matter
Language carries the weight of memory and hope, heartbreak and pride. As the Queer Lakbay Summit celebrates, the journey (“lakbay”) and the inward wholeness of being bakla are entwined. Each time we use “abunas,” we are not just surviving, but audaciously thriving, acknowledging our exhaustion and our joy. It’s not just a word, it’s a mirror, a battle cry, an inside joke, and a love letter to our community.
A Living Language, a Living Heart
In the echo of “abunas,” I hear the collective “kain tayo,” “tara shot,” “laban lang”, those words we toss like confetti across our days and nights together. Our words are never just words. They are our weight, our armor, and the laughter that keeps our stories alive.
Do you have a favorite swardspeak word? Share your own queer word of the day in the comments below! The story keeps going as long as we keep telling it.
