Walterina Markova
Walter Dempster Jr. (May 20, 1924 – June 24, 2005), better known by his alias Walterina Markova, was a Filipino gay man who was forced as a "comfort gay" (sex slave) for Imperial Japanese Army soldiers during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II.[1]
Walter Dempster, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 20, 1924 |
| Died | June 24, 2005 (aged 81) Pasay, Philippines |
| Other names | Walterina Markova |
Biography
After Markova left home, he joined a group of six cross-dressing performers. It was as part of this group that he was arrested by Japanese soldiers, and taken to a camp which is now the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. For several years he and his companions, and other "comfort gays", were put to forced labor and abused sexually by Japanese soldiers, as the "comfort women" were abused.[2]
His story was made into a film called Markova: Comfort Gay in 2000, directed by Gil Portes. It was included in the 2002 Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.[3]
Personal life
He spent the last years of his life at the Home for the Golden Gays in Pasay. He died at the age of 81 when he was hit by a bicyclist.
He was quoted as saying: "As humans, we won’t live long. Revealing my own story is my way of inspiring other gays who continue to be oppressed today. By my act, I may have probably given freedom to many other gay people."
References
- AUBREY SC MAKILAN (2004). "Walterina Markova: The 'Comfort Gay'". bulatlat.com. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
- Ronald D. Klein (August 13, 2006). "Markova: Wartime Comfort Gay in the Philippines". Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
- "MARKOVA: COMFORT GAY". October 19, 2002. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
External links
- "26th San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival". Archived from the original on July 9, 2006. Retrieved September 9, 2006.
- "Markova: Comfort Gay IMDB web page". IMDb. December 25, 2000. Retrieved September 9, 2006.
- Diaz, Robert G. (2007). "Film Review Queer Undoing : Comfort Gay". Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory. Taylor & Francis. 17 (1): 113–116. doi:10.1080/07407700701246448. S2CID 219614860 – via tandfonline.com.
- Probe Archives: The Probe Team - Comfort Gay - Ang Istorya ni Markova on YouTube