Armor Sparknotes

The life of Ronnie, a gay man in Davao who battles the conflict between his past identity as a beauty queen and his current life, is explored in John Bengan's gripping short tale Armor. Bengan presents a complex picture of queer identity through this character, paying special attention to the ways that class and society perception interact with gender and sexual orientation. The narrative challenges readers to think about how LGBT people deal with social pressures, financial limitations, and the need to conform to inflexible, antiquated stereotypes. The story shows the tangled sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE). Ronnie, the main character, is a man who is both defined and limited by his queerness; he is not only an authority figure of his community. His
Ronnie's queerness is strongly associated with his class and provincial identities. Ronnie lives in a working-class area of Davao, and his financial limitations make his problems with sexual identity worse. He is bound by his lower socioeconomic status, which restricts his possibilities and exposes him to further shame, in addition to being marginalized because he is gay. Ronnie's marginalization is shown in a point in the story where he returns to the neighborhood market. His previous success as a beauty queen hasn't helped him rise in society, and his queerness is viewed more as a show than as a source of authority or respect. Ronnie continues to practice a suppressed kind of gay agency despite the outside forces he encounters. He still embraces his beauty queen character despite the fact that it may be out of style, bucking social pressure to fit in or become obscure. He is asserting his personality and independence by continuing to project a flamboyant public persona despite mockery. A subtle type of resistance is demonstrated by Ronnie's resilience in maintaining his individuality even when it no longer conforms to social