The Golden Bekis is a community-based organization in the Philippines dedicated to supporting older members of the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly elderly gay men. The group’s livelihood and intergenerational friendship program brings together elderly members, middle-aged members, and university students to foster queer liberation and solidarity in a predominantly Catholic country where taboos and stigma against the LGBTQIA+ community persist.
The Golden Bekis provides a rare space where awareness and acceptance are actively promoted. Intergenerational members and partner youth organizations collaborate with the Golden Bekis in various ways: they help create bracelets as part of the livelihood program at a salon, sell merchandise at youth-led bazaars, and invite elderly members to perform at university LGBTQIA+ festivals.
The program began when youth groups across the Philippines reached out to the Golden Bekis for interviews and inquiries. Seeing an opportunity to build lasting friendships and provide financial support for elderly members, the organization’s director, Kyle Mendrez, established an open program facilitating regular interactions between the elderly and youth organizations every month or two.
Activities typically start with making bracelet designs and other merchandise together at a salon in Baclaran, owned by a Golden Bekis member, Joel Castillo (known as Mama Jo), who has worked as a beautician for years. Once the merchandise is ready, the director coordinates with members about which university or youth group they will collaborate with next.
For example, from March to April 2025, the Golden Bekis partnered with the mental health youth organization Talang Dalisay to create bracelets, and with Adamson University for an intergenerational friendship program. Youth volunteers from Talang Dalisay joined Golden Bekis members at the salon to help make bracelets.
At Adamson University, students and the queer community led efforts to raise intergenerational awareness about the Golden Bekis’ work and how to be better allies. The Golden Bekis sold their merchandise and performed drag for the student body. Additionally, the youth provided free health check-ups and delivered speeches and performances to show appreciation for the elderly and update them on ongoing community initiatives.
The Golden Bekis’ work highlights the importance of mutual support, skill development, and intergenerational connection in empowering marginalized LGBTQIA+ elders, while also fostering greater understanding and acceptance within the broader Philippine society.
What is the value of generations coming together in programs like this?
Golden Bekis founder and director Kyle Mendrez emphasizes that advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights knows no age. He notes the importance of youth organizations reaching out to Golden Bekis, as it broadens networks and perspectives in an ever-evolving world. “We love working with youth and people of different generations because it really widens opportunities for our elderly queers and the queer community as a whole,” Kyle says. “It gives our people more strength and opportunity.”
Kyle continues, “It is important to work with all kinds of Filipino communities and to educate our people through advocacy building with each other. We need more people to look after the elderly LGBTQIA+ community here in the Philippines, because once they do, the next generation of queer people can thrive in the country. When students and youth volunteers see our space at the Golden Bekis and interact with them, learning is truly cultivated. When conversations and friendships are honed through our activities, what we really learn is that there are no gaps between generations. We are all uniquely different, but the same. We are all human beings, bound to live a happy and rightful life.”
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