One-on-one with Bee Urgello
Being different was never easy for Bee Urgello.
Even before she hit nursery, Bee has always felt effeminate. What makes her different than all the other girls who like to dress up and put on make-up was she being born a man.
“It was really hard. All of my younger years, I’ve always wanted to come out, be who I really am, but my parents are pushing me back. It was a challenging life.”
Bee has always been interested in fashion, specifically for women. Her interest started by looking up to her mom and sister ever since she was around three years old.
“(Her parents have) always known (my gender preference) but they were in denial. They were doing their very best to try and stop it. They’re thinking that it’s a choice, but it’s not. It’s who I really am.”
Her parents were okay at being gay or maya; as long as he looks straight.
“I know how my parents felt about me and honestly, I tried. I tried to be maya—to look straight but I couldn’t. Even though I love shopping so much and my mom would take me to a shopping spree to buy men’s clothes, I wasn’t happy at all.”
It became so hard for her to try and hide her true identity and she ran away from home a few months after she passed her nursing licensure exam in 2008 when she was only 22 years old.
“I ran away from home, and when I did that, I was poor but I was happy.”
When she ran away, she got to wear women’s clothes. She got to wear heels she has been dreaming of wearing since she was little. When she ran away from everything familiar, she finally started being herself.
Even though she was born with a silver spoon, there came a time after she ran away that she couldn’t eat because she doesn’t have any money.
She then found a job at a call center for two years and learned to manage salary for rent, laundry, food, and shopping.
“Fashion is a big part of my life, whether I am rich or poor.”
Bee ran away from home for two years. On the second year, her mom tried to contact her on her birthday and they often meet up after that.
By Christmas of 2009, her mom invited her to come back as her dad was willing to try to accept her.
When she returned home, Bee took baby steps to introduce her true self to her family. First she wore just skinny jeans and simple women’s shirt for a few months, and then she introduced shorts and then skirts.
“Nothing too sudden that would shock (her family).”
On 2010 when she won best-dressed award as an audience in Queen of Cebu, her parents asked her why she wouldn’t just join the pageant.
“That was my go signal. My parents said I could and I did. And I won.”
Being different was never easy for Bee Urgello. She gave up everything to be herself but in the end, she championed hardships with a crown on her head.
