MANILA, PHILIPPINES — You just know it’s going to be a good interview when someone starts paraphrasing Samantha Jones. Paul Sumayao, Co-founder of queer-focused creative agency Studio Hibang, said that Sex and the City’s famously fabulous publicist’s sentiments explain exactly why LGBTQIA+ voices need to take the lead more often in creativity: “The gays will come, and the industry after.”
And, if Paul’s own beliefs hold true, after the industry comes the world we all live in.
I first learned about Paul by seeing an article on his other business Barbierro Barbershop, the Philippines’ first openly queer barbershop. It wasn’t lost on me that this complete stranger and I shared the same last name, so when the opportunity to interview him about Studio Hibang for adobo Magazine came up, I reached out to him immediately.
As soon as we started our call, any thoughts that he might be a stranger were immediately shattered. Paul is warm, gregarious, and has a penchant for saying your name with the familiarity of a friend. (As a cute little side story, we also learned that we were indeed related to each other, by way of our fathers being distant cousins.)
Paul had also recently been announced as the new Director for Membership and Regional Relations for the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce (PLCC), and he was in the thick of organizing the Pride Expo at this year’s Pride PH March. Our conversation flowed seamlessly between laughs, personal anecdotes, and real talk about his advocacies, particularly around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and how he sees his role in communications as a crucial part of bringing the concept out of the corporate world and into the everyday lives of the common Filipino.
Together with co-founder Jedi Directo, Paul started Studio Hibang in 2022 after noticing that, despite having so many queer creatives in the advertising, branding, and marketing industries, there were hardly any agencies with a strong queer focus, led by queer voices.
“At that time, sabi ko, ‘Bakit walang vocal about queer representation, eh karamihan naman sa mga agency, kabaklaan, kalesbianan?,” he shared. “Feeling ko tayo talaga yung movers and shakers, taste-makers in very specific, trendy industries. So parang kailangan yung nagshe-shape ng narrative ngayon, ng panlasa ngayon, is also coming from that exact group.”
Paul’s views certainly hold water. Across generations, LGBTQIA+ individuals have indeed been among the taste-making set, from fashion to food to entertainment and art. Some of today’s most influential voices— RuPaul Charles, Chappell Roan, and even the Philippines’ very own Vice Ganda — are very vocally and visibly queer. Mainstream lexicons have more queer-originated words and phrases than ever before, with the likes of “slay,” “it’s giving,” and “clock” being used in the gay slang sense even by cishet people.
According to Paul, this phenomenon could partially be due to economic reasons. Queer people are more likely than straight people to be DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids individuals), and the relatively higher level of disposable income they have compared to those who go the traditional familial route means they’re more likely to explore multiple options of the market and determine which ones are best.
By having queer people at the helm of their creative communications, brands then have the advantage of working with taste-makers — which is, by all accounts, great for business. But that’s probably the lesser of Studio Hibang’s concerns.
The agency is envisioned as a transformative force for DEI, using its position in public communications to advocate for the rights of all marginalized sectors. That Studio Hibang actually curates its clients based on their views on DEI shows that Paul and his team are serious in their advocacy.
“We also made sure that the clients that we work with, may SOGIE policies in place sa kanilang mga kumpanya,” he shared. “By branding ourselves as a queer creatives, branding, and marketing agency, we’re really asking them, ‘Uy, bago kayo makipagtrabaho sa amin, dapat malinaw that you guys are okay with working with queer creatives.’”
“I think that will somehow give them that consciousness na okay, hindi lang pala pera ang ibibigay ko dito. I should really support the Pride effort holistically,” he added.
“When [brands] become Studio Hibang clients, it’s automatic na it’s part of the package that we educate them about making conscious efforts on inclusion, not just in HR, but also in marketing and comms. Yung inclusion, hindi nalang siya HR terminology; it should be a marketing and brand comms terminology. Mas malakas yung hatak ng marketing comms versus HR kasi masyadong internal yung kalakaran ng HR. Pag nilabas mo siya sa audience mo, the change is initiated at a bigger scale.”
This is true, he said, for companies of all sizes. While those in the Fortune 500 have the most capability to create widespread change, smaller queer-led businesses like Studio Hibang play a role in establishing safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ individuals in their respective communities.
“Yung pagka-safe space mo is not only for yourself na as an entrepreneur,” Paul explained. “It’s no longer your safe space; it’s a signal to your community — the barangay, for example — it’s a signal that people are welcome here.”
“The more safe spaces, the more welcoming the barangay or the street is, and it’s better for the economy. We hope the government supports these safe spaces also, making sure that they stay safe for all their lives; yun yung mahalaga.”
As may be expected of a genuine DEI advocate, it was only natural for Paul to use the topic of safe spaces to cover ground outside of Studio Hibang, sharing his thoughts on why society in general seems to be more open to queer people than previously. A big part of it, he said, comes from how our experiences of generational trauma have shifted with the internet.
Whereas Boomers and Gen X were more likely to sweep the trauma created by homophobia under the rug, the generations who grew up with the internet and social media simply couldn’t escape it. Having an entire world’s worth of personal experiences on display 24/7, accessible to anyone with a device and a connection, exposed us to how things are — and more importantly, how they should be. This is particularly pronounced in Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who tend to have much higher political awareness at an early age than prior generations.
“They grew up with social media, and they saw the evils kaagad, the evils and the good in the world,” Paul explained. “Tayo kasing mga Millennials, medyo na-shape pa tayo ng konti at some point sa evils, because filtered yung ating worldview and values when we were growing up. But [Gen Z and Gen Alpha], nakita talaga nila yung extremes. They saw Palestine, sovereignty issues, and rigged elections. They grew up in a post-9/11 world. Tayo [Millennials], nakita natin ang 9/11, but sila, mas bukas. Mas bukas yung utak nila and they can weigh na, ‘Ito, mali ito; ito, tama ito.’”
“They’re responding to the trauma tremors that the Millennials have been experiencing because of the Boomer, Gen X psyche. Nakita nila ‘yon, as in, ‘We don’t wanna be like you guys. I’m sorry, but we don’t wanna be like you, and we’re trying to look for ways [to fix that].’”
“We’ve seen younger queer people now holding top executive positions in companies or maybe holding office — may mga nauupo na sa government,” he added. “Some of them are starting to own businesses as Millennials. For Boomers and Gen X, wala sa sphere of consciousness nila yung queer people being on top. But the younger queers, the Millennials, sila na ‘tong naghohold na ng mga position sa mga companies. They’re slowly changing the narrative, and people are seeing that.”
Having more queer role models in key positions of influence has also led Gen Z and Gen Alpha to be much more vocal about LGBTQIA+ rights, and this, according to Paul, has been forcing brands to keep up or fall behind. They are, after all, the next generation of consumers, and being out of touch with their values could prove disastrous for businesses.
This is also where the issue of authenticity comes in. Because it makes business sense to be outwardly supportive of queer people, we’ve seen a rise in rainbow-washing — the practice of capitalizing off of queer people without committing to any tangible support for LGBTQIA+ struggles — in the last five years. Companies switch their profile pictures to rainbow-colored ones, hold special Pride promos, and attach their names to as many queer events as they’re willing to spend on more as an investment than advocacy.
It was surprising, quite frankly, to hear Paul say that he didn’t have much of a problem with rainbow capitalism. He believes it’s simply part of the growing pains that come with the shift to better LGBTQIA+ rights; what matters more is that the conversation about rainbow-washing and authentic advocacy continues to grow.
“The good thing is, the concept of Pride capitalism started growing in the last five years. I think it’s gonna grow some more. Because of that, paulit-ulit siyang conversation na nangyayari,” he explained. “Brands are getting more conscious about, you know, ‘Okay sige ako, I’ll sponsor you guys for 50,000 [pesos], but I’ll also commit na magkaroon kami ng SOGIE policies in place.’ Paulit-ulit na tsinitsika hanggang maging normal sa kanila ‘yon.”
What Paul hopes to do through his work with Studio Hibang, as well as with the PLCC, is to make sure that the conversation is supplemented with tangible action. Educating brands on how to be authentic allies to the cause is a major thrust of what he does.
“Importante, I would say, unahin si founder. Authenticity comes from the top. Kasi kahit ano pang taga ng mga empleyado sa baba, or HR, kahit anong taga nila about DE&I in the workplace, workplace inclusion, if the founders themselves, walang ganung sensibility, that’s gonna be difficult to communicate. Mahirap ipaglaban kasi even the top management, hindi naman pala supportive of the causes,” he said.
“Number two, do it the whole year,” he added. “Have initiatives outside June, and don’t just pander on the LGBTQIA+, but also touch into the marginalized groups — women, PWDs, indigenous peoples, elderly. If brands are doing that, at nakikita ng tao na yeah, sige, they’re also touching into marginalized groups, then they see the authenticity. Darating sa punto na okay, they’re doing this pala for everybody, hindi lang kabaklaan.”
“It’s nice to see brands do it not just for us, but also for other people or groups, sectors that are marginalized.”
LGBTQIA+ rights are human rights, and therefore, in order for one’s advocacy to be authentic, it must be intersectional with the fight for human rights across all marginalized sectors. This is especially true for brands with a significantly larger sphere of influence than the average person.
With Studio Hibang, for example, this includes the rights of our farmers. One of the clients they proudly work with is Que Rica, a pili nuts brand that aims to bridge local farmers in Sorsogon with an international market. Paul and his team helped Que Rica rebrand itself to a more luxury-oriented approach, successfully capturing markets in Paris, Dubai, and Japan, among others. These markets, in turn, have broadened the reach of the Sorsogon farmers and improved their livelihoods.
Towards the end of our conversation, I asked Paul to honestly rate the state of DEI in the Philippines. He answered with a laugh.
“Ten ba ang highest?” he asked, before giving his actual answer: “Three.”
He explained that, despite the conversation around DEI steadily growing in the country, a ton of work still needs to be done. The SOGIE Bill, for one thing, has yet to be passed despite having been in legislation since the early 2000s. We still don’t have same-sex marriage in the Philippines, despite neighbors like Thailand and Taiwan recognizing the very basic right to legally marry those we love, regardless of SOGIE.
At the end of the day, Paul said that brands, especially those in the Fortune 500, have the greatest influence in moving the needle towards equality for all. “99.6% of businesses in the Philippines are MSME-owned, which means they’re integral in shaping the economic narratives. However, with Fortune 500 companies serving as the ‘financial powerhouse,’ their collective voice is important in pushing for legislation in government that advocates for SOGIE equality.”
“If they say ‘Hindi kami magne-negosyo sa bansa ninyo kapag walang SOGIE Bill in place,’ then they’re doing their part in pushing for an inclusive nation,” he added. “Hindi lang puro sponsorships sa mga Pride events.”
The truth is that money talks, and it’s especially loud when it comes to public policy. If brands can get on board with DEI beyond having it as an HR requirement, we stand a greater chance of having equal rights for all marginalized sectors.
Until then, it’ll be smaller, queer-led agencies like Studio Hibang working to get those brands on what is our best path forward.
