Hundreds of readers, book lovers, LGBTIQ+ individuals and allies flocked to the Aesop boutique at SM Aura Premier in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, from 26 to 28 June for the Philippine debut of the Aesop Queer Library.

Launched in 2021 by the Australian beauty brand known for its minimalist, apothecary-inspired aesthetics, the Aesop Queer Library celebrates LGBTQIA+ literature by making queer stories more accessible and amplifying marginalized voices. The initiative has been mounted in cities such as Melbourne, Sydney, Berlin, London, Los Angeles, New York, Taipei, Toronto, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Macau.

This year, the initiative carried the theme “Body of Work: From Pulse to Page,” celebrating writing that centers on the queer body, challenges assumptions, gives visibility to stories often overlooked or ignored, and serves as an act of joyful resistance. With the participation of its Philippine store, the Aesop Queer Library marked its first-ever edition in Southeast Asia.

During Pride weekend, the SM Aura boutique was transformed into a pop-up library featuring nearly 2,000 books across 29 titles by Filipino queer authors and storytellers. Long queues formed as visitors waited for their turn to enter the space and take home one book free of charge, with no purchase necessary, while supplies lasted.

Before the opening, screenwriter and National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricardo “Ricky” Lee and Gen Z poet Jerico Silvers led an intimate discussion on queer literature and their works on June 16, introducing the Aesop Queer Library to select attendees.

Their books were among the titles made available at the library, including Lee’s Kalahating Bahaghari, Para Kay B and Si Amapola sa 65 na Kabanata, as well as Silvers’ Of Flowers That Bloomed at Night and Of Flowers That Bloomed in Fire.

The selection was composed entirely of Filipino books from local publishers such as Vibal Foundation, Anvil Publishing, Adarna House, Milflores, Komiket, University of the Philippines Press, and Everything’s Fine PH. The titles ranged from novels and poetry to comics, essays, anthologies and children’s books.

Among the books featured were Living Food by Robert Alejandro and Jetro Rafael; The Queen Lives Alone by Ronald Baytan; More Tomboy, More Bakla Than We Admit: Insights into Sexual and Gender Diversity in Philippine Culture, History, and Politics, edited by Mark Blasius and Richard T. Chu; Kinaiya: Antolohiya ng mga Makabagong Tinig mula sa LGBTQIA++, edited by Trist’n Buenaflor and Vladimeir Gonzales; Tingle: Anthology of Pinay Lesbian Writing, edited by Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz; Lamyos: New LGBTQ Fiction from the Philippines, edited by J. Neil C. Garcia; Mga Batang Poz by Segundo Matias Jr.; The Gathering Bees and The Vanished by Chuckberry J. Pascual; Nino Bughaw and Whatcha Saying? by CJ Reynaldo; Kembang Kertas: Mga Binalaybay by John Iremil Teodoro; Along and Lila’s Last Summer Before Doomsday by Ingrid Valenzuela; and Ang Ikaklit sa Aming Hardin by Bernadette Villanueva.

More than a Pride weekend pop-up, the Aesop Queer Library became a gathering place for stories, bodies, and voices too often pushed to the margins. In placing Filipino queer literature on open shelves, it affirmed the page as a space of memory, resistance, tenderness and belonging.