Tropical Nature and Entangled Invisibilities in Tingle: Anthology of Pinay Lesbian Writing

In the introduction to Tingle: Anthology of Pinay Lesbian Writing (2021), the editor, Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz, points to the absence of lesbian literature and the marginalization of lesbian writers in mainstream narratives in the Philippines, as well as to a lack of critics interested in the works of lesbians, thus contributing to these writers’ “invisibility.” She suggests that this invisibility is a result of their inability to enter literary discourse, “thus rendering them mute.” It can be argued, however, that the same anthology not only highlights “mute” women-loving-women writers but does so by calling attention to other voices typically overlooked: those of nature. The connection between women and nature as represented in Tingle is evidenced by this study’s ecofeminist reading of several works from the anthology through the lens of “emancipatory strategies,” as coined by ecofeminist Patrick Murphy and expounded by Gretchen T. Legler.