CCAD Senior Research Aide Maybelle Grace Aton, a BA Communication Batch 2025 alumna, presented her undergraduate thesis as a poster at the Philippine Queer Studies Conference (PQSC) 2026, a national conference that brings together scholars, artists, and advocates to advance critical conversations on gender and sexuality in the Philippine contexts.
Aton’s study examines the lived experiences of six Filipino queer voice actors and how they negotiate gender identity within the Philippine voice acting industry. Focusing on vocal performance as a space where the body is unseen, the research explores how queerness is expressed, regulated, and reimagined beyond traditional on-screen or stage-based performance.
Anchored in Queer Theory and Gender Performativity Theory, and using a Queer phenomenological approach by Sara Ahmed, the study draws from in-depth interviews and reflexive memos to surface seven key themes. These findings position voice acting as a space for transformation and self-discovery, while also revealing how queer practitioners navigate industry expectations, discrimination, and representation.
Participants reported both subtle and blatant forms of gender-based discrimination, while also demonstrating agency through subversion, visibility, and advocacy, articulating forms of queer optimism within their professional practice. The study frames voice acting as both a liberating and constrained space, where queer actors reshape what gendered voices can sound like and push for more inclusive media labor practices.
The thesis was also awarded the Hamiling Paniksik sa Komunikasyon Outstanding Thesis Award (Best Thesis) during Pagbudyong 2025, the college’s graduation rites.
🔗 Read the full abstract and view the poster here:
https://rainbowresearchhub.up.edu.ph/pqsc/2026-posters/poster-40/
🔗 Learn more about PQSC 2026:
https://www.balangaw.ph/2026-pqsc