thefilipinafeminist

[thefilipinafeminist]

Rape Culture in the Philippines

I was speaking with a friend a while back about feminist issues and then he suddenly asked me to define and explain rape culture. As I tried to give an apt explanation of rape culture, I noticed how distant my examples were to the Filipino experience. I thought to myself, how is rape culture to be framed in the Philippine setting? This post is my answer to this question. I believe that by making the concept of rape culture more applicable to the Filipino context,  the understanding of rape culture can be understood not just by those who have access to its western notions but also to  people who have no prior understanding of the Western definitions of rape culture. With this post, I aim to show how rape culture is evident in Philippine society and to furthermore give suggestions on how to eliminate it. 

Defining Rape and Rape Culture

What is rape?

From numerous definitions, the general meaning of rape has come to be forced or non-consensual sexual intercourse. According to the Anti-Rape Law of 1997, rape occurs when a man inserts his penis or an object into a woman’s anus, vagina, or mouth forcibly or without consent. It also occurs when the victim is under 12 years of age or is demented. This defintion however, is incomplete because it neglects the fact that men can be raped and that homosexual rape can also occur.

What is Rape Culture?

In Transforming a Rape Culture, Emily Buchwald and Pamela Fletcher (2005) describe rape culture as

…a society where violence is seen as sexy and sexuality as violent.… [it is a culture that] condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as the norm… [and a culture where] men and women assume that sexual violence is… inevitable

Although I am using a Western definition, I will attempt to show how this applies to the Philippine setting by elaborating on the three main points given by this definition. I aim to show how Philippine society propagates the notion that violence is sexy and that sexuality is violent; I aim to prove that we are part of a culture that normalizes physical and emotional terrorism again women; and I aim to show how certain aspects of Filipino culture lead to the assumption that sexual violence is inevitable.  Please note that the examples I will use in this post are only a few manifestations of these three main points. 

Violence is Sexy and Sexuality is Violent

Media is one of the main propagators of knowledge and information in almost any culture. This is why journalists and other scholars and professionals in the discipline of media must be wary of the kind of information they let out to the public. In her book, “Rape Love and Sexuality”, Syliva Estrada-Claudio (2002) tackles the way rape is portrayed in Filipino tabloids. Tabloids, being some of the most widely consumed literature of the masses, plays an important role in the spreading of ideas and knowledge to the people. Estrada-Claudio’s findings from analyzing over 70 news clippings are as follows:

Rape is more often than not depicted as a man on woman crime, portraying the woman as the helpless and innocent victim; and the man as pathological and mentally unstable perpetrator

This is problematic because first, this gives the idea that only women can be raped and that rape is purely heterosexual. It ignores the possibilities of women raping men; and of same-sex rape. Second, it makes invisible the victims of rape who do not express the pitiful demeanor that society expects from rape victims. Not all victims of rape exude traumatic tendencies but are expected to do so. Third, the painting of the perpetrator as mentally unstable ignores the fact that rapists are more often than not those who have close relations to the victim - most of whom are not mentally unstable. 

The writings on rape, although portrayed to be violent, are characterized with subtle praises for the man and discrimination towards the woman.

The way women are painted to be perfect victims in these stories becomes a tactic for victim-blaming despite the violence that is caused to these women. The woman’s past sexual encounters are highlighted in these stories to emphasize how she somehow asked for what happened to her and to show that she is devastated beyond repair afterwards. In most of these stories, she is called ‘victim’. This gives us the confirmation on who was raped. On the other hand, the fact the men who raped are often described as ‘suspect’ “denies us certainty as to who the rapist is.” This gives readers space to doubt perpetrators but to be reassured about the woman who was raped. 

The Normalization of Physical and Emotional Terrorism Against Women

It is a fact that certain victims of rape are are made invisible due to their gender, ethnicity, or socio-economic status but most importantly, the ignorance that surrounds their experiences. Erin Gilson (2014) writes about how willful ignorance plays a role in the perpetuation of ideas that surround the normalization of rape. Willful ignorance refers to “a subconscious refusal to know as well as an active and repeated cultivation of ignorance... [it] protects one from knowing something that one implicitly does not want to know.” Willful ignorance results from the privilege of some within unjust structures. Someone remains willfully ignorant of the inequalities and disadvantages of the oppression of others; and of their own privilege because subconsciously, they refuse to comprehend these forms of oppression.

Willful ignorance in accordance to rape culture is seen in the Philippine setting simply by looking at the different articles and posts published about instances of sexual harassment. In one article published on Rappler, Sandra dela Cruz recounts her experience with a man she caught staring at her, masturbating in a jeepney. She posted about this experience on Facebook and said that she received a number of responses - some of which defended the man or told her that she was overreacting because of how she was not really hurt during the incident (Pobre, 2017). The fact that there were people who discredited the way she felt violated shows that despite the number of legislations and information that tackle rape culture,  there exist people who enjoy certain privileges that prohibit them from acknowledging the injustices that victims of sexual harassment go through. This is willful ignorance at play in the sense that it shows how there are people who have grown to be so accustomed to their advantages that they end up becoming ignorant to the disadvantages of others. 

The Assumption That Sexual Violence is Inevitable

The way our justice system frames sexual violence is inextricably linked to the biases present in the legal education of our current and future lawyers. According to a law student from the Ateneo Law School, the legal education provided in the Philippines is based on an outdated code. This implies the engraining of the code as law despite how certain aspects of our legal system may not fit into today’s context. This entails grave consequences for Filipino women such as the consequences present in Article 266 of the Revised Penal Code which makes adultery (when a wife cheats on her husband) a crime that is more severe than concubinage (when a husband cheats on his wife).  Laws such as these imply that violence against women is inevitable. Thus, with the engraining of the code as law, the implications these laws contain are carried on to the understanding of our present and future lawyers.

Moreover, the subjectivity that goes into legal education comes into play when looking at the monetary aspect of the law. Only those who have money are thought able enough to receive a legal education; only those with great economic bearing can be provided justice. It is this mindset that allows for the discrimination of poor women in the justice system. It is this class based approach to legal aid that intimidates poor women to seek for help and likewise allows for legal professionals to form biases against poor women. Our legal system thus acts as a socio-economic class control rather than as a form of crime control. Poor women who experience sexual violence, intimidated by the elitist nature of our legal system, shy away from seeking legal help. This fosters the idea that they are alone in facing the troubles of sexual violence. 

What Can We Do To Change This?

Western third-wave feminism has affected the way many young Fiiipinas’ perception of women’s issues in the Philippines - including rape culture. One of the facets of this influence is the concept of no means no. It is the idea that when someone says no or displays aversion towards any sexual advancement, it must be accepted fully by the person taking action. However, while no means no is an important concept in tackling rape culture, I believe that it is incomplete.

The fact that Philippine society views sex as malicious is at the core of rape culture in the Philippines. Although the concept of no means no propagates the idea that the lack of informed consent in sexual intercourse promotes rape, it also reinforces the negative connotation attached to sex.  We cannot simply counter rape by deconstructing the negative aspects of the societal view on sex. Together with this deconstruction, we must be able to construct positive views on sex - we must talk about sex and understand that sex can be good; that pleasure is not to be feared. 

Rape culture is propagated because of the reinforcement of its negative connotation. For us to dismantle rape culture we must not only be able to understand what it means to say no - that the absence of consent as the main reason for rape; but we must also understand what it means to say yes - to give consent to what we prefer, to what we want to do. This can only happen if we start accepting that yes weighs as much as no in the context of sexual relations.

References

Buchwald, E., & Fletcher, P. (2005). Transforming a Rape Culture. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions.

Estrada-Claudio, S. (2002). Rape, Love, and Sexuality: The Construction of Women in Discourse. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.

Gilson, E. (2014). The Ethics of Vulnerability: A Feminist Analysis of Social Life and Practice. New York, NY: Routledge.

Pobre, A. (2017, January 29). VIRAL: Terrified woman shares sexual harassment trauma in jeepney ride. Rappler. Retrieved May 17, 2017, from http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/159531-viral-woman-sexual-harassment-man-masturbated-public

#rape culture #feminism #philippines

[thefilipinafeminist]

New post coming up

I would like to apologize for the lack of posts recently. I've been very busy with final requirements for school and so, I haven't been able to update my blog as much. Rest assured however, that a new post is coming up in the next week or two :) Stay tuned! Xox Cai

[thefilipinafeminist]

Hi! Let me just say, you run an interesting blog. Feminism isn't discussed enough in the Philippines. But I had a question about your last post, the one regarding pornography. While I do believe in individual freedoms to explore sexual desire, there have been cases wherein the women in the videos weren't willing participants in real life. Is it still the exercise of individual sexuality then, when one is possibly supporting an industry that commits what might as well be rape?

Thank you so much for you feedback, it’s much appreciated. :) what first comes to mind when you mention porn without consent is fucking glasses porn and casting couch porn. Ive watched a number of those videos and here’s a list of the things I noticed:

1) yes, the women in these videos did not know about the men’s plans to have sex

2) however, as I watched the videos, I noticed that the trend is that the women later on agreed to have sex (ex. this fucking glasses video )

3) and that they were always informed that they were being filmed (ex. this casting couch video)

Moreover, as I have said in my post, many psychological studies have been made and a causal relationship between porn and rape cannot be found. Added to this, you can look through every company in the pornography business and you will find reenacted rape time and time again. However, there is not a single company that films real rape. Any incident of genuine rape that is caught on camera is most likely a home video which has no affiliation with the legitimate porn industry. So yes, I believe that supporting the porn industry is still an exercise of individual sexuality because for one thing, it is a way for a woman to explore her fantasies. In a fantasy, the woman is in control of the smallest detail of every act - from pausing to playing; to exiting and to fast-forwarding.   Additionally, a rape fantasy, for example, has no connection with genuine violence, which takes away control. Watching porn is an exercise of individual sexuality because if she thinks the porno she’s watching is terrible, she can click on another video - each woman is given the privilege to act as her own censor, judging what is appropriate or not for herself. 

[thefilipinafeminist]

On the Side of Pornography

I am a feminist. I believe that women should not be objectified; I believe that she has the right to her own body; I believe that she must not be a victim to violence and coercion. Oh, and I watch a lot of porn.

 How my beliefs and pornography can go together was a question I’ve constantly asked myself. See, I fell in love with feminism because it has answered a lot of questions that I have been pondering on as I grew up: From questions like “Is it okay to masturbate even if I’m a girl?” to “What constitutes rape and assault towards women?”

However, it never really gave me an answer to “Is it possible to like porn and be a feminist?” 

I never really had an answer until I stumbled upon this book from my school’s library.

And although this material is pretty outdated (it’s a year older than me an I’m turning 20 in a few months), it gave me some good insight into feminist perspectives on porn.

What is pornography?

There are generally two stances in the feminist argument on porn in the West. The anti-porn feminists’ (i.e. Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon) stance on the issue states that pornography is the theory and that rape is the act. To quote Ntozake Shange, “pornography is the use of sex to intimidate and /or control women.” This is the line of thinking that these feminists subscribe to. They believe that porn is a gateway to violence against women and children. It is this point-of-view that has, for a while now, dominated feminist thought. Feminists for porn (i.e. Nadine Strossen and Wendy McElroy), on the other hand, state that  pornography is the explicit artistic depiction of men and/or women as sexual beings. This definition allows pornography to be seen as a type of artistic genre, in a sense that something can be categorised as porn if the artistic depiction of the subjects’ sexuality is done as clear as possible.  It presents porn in a way that it is seen as as “the genre of art or literature which focuses on the sexual nature of human beings.” To my understanding, the depiction of men and/or women as sexual beings is pornography - whether it be a painting, a sculpture, a video, or whatever else if the subjects in the depiction are explicitly shown as sexual beings. 

Defending Pornography

The principle of self-ownership lies at the centre of individualist feminism - the school of feminism that stands against radical feminists like MacKinnon who states that “if pornography is part of your sexuality, then you have no right to your sexuality.” McElroy emphasizes that self-ownership implies that a woman has the right to her own body. In relation to this, the concept of choice plays a key role in asserting self-ownership - a woman must be allowed to decide for herself; to be able to weigh the evidence presented to her and to come to her own conclusions. She must have the freedom of choice to do what she pleases with herself - including the consumption of pornography or the avoidance of it. As McElroy writes, “My decision to consume pornography in no way infringes on another woman’s ability to walk right past it.”

Pornography is also one of the methods that a woman can use to learn about the sexual alternatives available to her. It gives the woman a space to experiment and to satisfy her curiosity. Porn presents to the woman all these possibilities and moreover gives her total control of the timing, the content, and the duration of her enjoyment. She can opt to fast forward, pause, rewind, or to shut down what she is watching. The woman is given the power to have control over what she consumes. Added to this, porn gives the woman a safe environment to explore her sexuality because looking for real-world experience, especially by those who have little to no knowledge on sex,  often involves putting oneself in risk. “Real-world sex carries the risk of real-world [dangers]” says McElroy. Thus, in this light, it is fitting to assume that “pornography is safe sex. No diseases. No violence. No pregnancy. No infidelity… Pornography is one of the most benevolent ways a woman can experience who she is sexually.”

Added to being a safe space for exploration, pornography allows women to vicariously experience an array of sexual scenarios. As stated by McElroy, “Knowing about a sexual preference is one thing. Experiencing it is quite another. Even if that experience is vicarious.” Women who watch porn come to have emotional knowledge about what they like and dislike. The indirect experience they receive from watching various kinds of porn allow for them to gauge their preferences. “They indicate where that woman draws the line dividing pleasure from pain, excitement from disgust.” By gauging her preferences, a woman is more sexually self-aware. This way, when she is ready to engage with someone else, she will not be going into it blindly. Instead, she will be equipped with informed desire.

More than giving the woman a vicarious experience, pornography eliminates shame. Women have constantly been made to feel apologetic for their sexual thoughts and desires. When society tells women to be ashamed of their sexuality, pornography tells them to accept and enjoy it. “Videos make no comment on which sexual preferences are acceptable…no sexual question is wrong to ask; no sexual preference is wrong to pursue.” says McElroy. Additionally, pornography offers alternative sex education saying that “sex is good for its own sake.” As sex education often focuses on the negative aspects like AIDS, early pregnancy, molestation, and the like, “pornography balances the picture reminding us that sex can be fun.”

Lastly, contrary to common belief that says pornography leads to violence, viewing pornography has a cathartic effect on men who have violent urges on women.  Many psychological studies have been conducted on the relationship between porn and violence. However, the only consistency found in these studies is the inconsistency. When one study shows that exposure to pornography did not alter the subjects’ attitudes towards rape,  another study will show that there are indeed only some rapists that consumed pornographic material. With all these conflicting reports from psychologists, one thing has been proven: there is no causal link between consuming pornography and causing sexual violence. On the contrary, as what McElroy states, many studies on rape indicate that pornography may prevent violence against women. This is because viewing pornography has a cathartic effect on its viewers. Symbolic material such as pornography could actually serve as a harmless release for male aggression. Those who oppose pornography are prohibiting the investigation into other possible causes of rape, which could lead to new forms of prevention.

“The real cause of rape is not pornography, patriarchy, or men as a class. It is the individual men who rape individual women. Pornography is a scapegoat.” - Wendy McElroy

[apology]

I would like to apologize for not being able to post something for the past two weeks. For the purpose of this post, I was trying to get an interview with a former porn star. However, this did not push through.  Again, I apologize for the delay.

#pornography #liberal #feminist #defense of pornography #thefiilipinafeminist

[thefilipinafeminist]

Sorry, no post for today

Due to academic constraints and need for more research time. 

I’ll update you guys once this post is good :) For now, catch a glimpse of what I’m reading for my next post.

[thefilipinafeminist]

Defining Feminism: The Philippine Edition

There are many definitions of feminism. Kamla Bhasin and Nighat Said Kan write: “There is ... no specific abstract definition to feminism applicable to all women at all times.” What feminism meant back in the 17th century would not be applicable to what it is today. Feminism is defined differently in different parts of the world where different realities come into play. 

Feminism can mean different things to different people and so, to see if feminism's definition is truly varied, I took to Twitter and asked my followers the following question: 

What is Feminism? 

To which I got the following responses

I realized that feminism truly has different meanings to different people. You look around the Internet and you would probably find posters with statements such as "eradicate the patriarchy!" or "feminism is the radical notion that women are people" or "equality for all people". With all these different definitions of feminism, how do we define it as one, unified movement?

To define feminism as a movement in the West is more feasible given the numerous literature on the issue. Added to this, feminists from the West are a lot more vocal on social media, making the movement more known around the globe. On the other hand, to define feminism in the Philippine context is tougher. In "Possibilities of Theorizing the Women's Movement: The Philippine Experience", Carolyn Medel-Anonuevo writes: 

“Assumptions and paradigms from the West are adapted by feminists in the Third World without due consideration of the particular socio-cultural, political, and economic context that they live in.”

With the view that Western feminism is the global model for feminism, defining feminism in the Third World setting becomes problematic. In the Philippines, where colonial mentality plays a role in appropriating western feminism in the country's situation, many young feminists see Western feminism as the primary model of feminism, disregarding the fact that the Filipina's situation differs from the Western woman. 

This blog's purpose is to link feminism to the Philippines and thus, I would like to use a definition from literature that comes close to the Philippines. In “Some Questions on Feminism and Its Relevance in South Asia", Kamla Bhasin and Nighat Said Khan write:

“[Feminism] is an awareness of women’s oppression and exploitation in society, in work, and within the family, and conscious action by women and men to change this situation”

Since this definition was set for women from India, Nepal, Pakistan, and their other South Asian counterparts, let me show you how this definition links to the Philippines as well. Note, however, that I will only be writing about certain facets that relate to the aspects of the said definition.  To write a thorough analysis of each aspect would require more than just one post.

Women’s Oppression and Exploitation in Society

There are many details about feminism’s link to society and to talk about all of them would require a lengthier discussion. Thus, I’m going to focus on the societal aspect of sexuality. I chose to focus on this because I believe that female sexuality is something that is constantly under attack in the Philippines and thus, I would like to give some light on the issue.

In her essay, “Love, Desire, Sexuality”, Sylvia Estrada-Claudio writes “Contrary to the patronizing view of some left parties, academics, and religious groups, sexuality is of great importance to women, especially poor women.” When I first read this, I was shocked because I believed that sexuality was an issue that was concerned mainly with upper and middle class women. I did not think that impoverished women were to be concerned with issues such as catcalling and manner of dress. However, in an interview with the said author, she gave me a thought experiment that changed my point-of-view on this issue.

photo credit: Ritchie B. Tongo

Claudio told me to think of myself in an informal settlement and there, I would see many men walking around shirtless. She asked me: “Are they being shamed for showing their breasts?” I answered with a quiet “no.” She then told me to think of us, two women, standing at one corner, topless, staring at the crotches of all the men that passed by, to see if the markings on their crotches were big or small; and as they passed, we would rate them 1 to 10. If it was small, we’d laugh and tell them they had no hope; and if it was a big, we’d whistle at him, telling him we were getting wet.

Now, turn the picture around, and you see what happens to women on a daily basis; you begin to see the dichotomy between men and women. Men get to walk around shirtless; wear tight jeans; wear whatever they want - and yet, it hardly ever happens that he gets his crotch glared at and rated from 1-10. But for a woman? No woman would dare walk around shirtless on the street. She can wear whatever is in her closet and still receive uncomfortable glares from strangers. And since we’re already talking about clothing, let me ask you about underwear: You don’t see testes enhancing briefs, but you do see breast enhancing bras, right?

The sexualization of the woman in Philippine society does not just happen to the upper and middle class woman. It happens to every woman in our society. 

Women’s Oppression and Exploitation in Work

Now, let’s move on to labor. Although women, because of gender stereotypes, are known to be more confined to reproductive work, or work such as cleaning, cooking, washing, and the like, they are often forced to more than just reproductive work, especially when these women are impoverished. Much of these women must find ways to earn income. Thus, there is a double burden put on these women. This means that the amount of time women spend doing both paid and unpaid work is much longer.

Likewise, women in the workplace are put under a form of oppression as well. For example, unmarried women are more likely to be hired as compared to married women because a married woman spells out more costs for employers. This added cost comes in the form of the maternity leave. Added to this, in companies that are failing, women are often the last to be hired and first to be fired. 

Oppression and Exploitation Within the Family

photo credit: pri.org

One example of oppression and exploitation of the woman within the family would be the prevailing notion that reproductive work is not real work.  As  I have said, reproductive work is often linked to the woman. Although times are now changing, it still remains a fact that biological determinism plays a role in defining the woman as the homemaker. This is especially true for families that have men as the main breadwinner.

Many believe that housework and child rearing do not have value the same way paid work does. However, many have not stopped to think about how the economy would function if women stopped what they were doing in the private realm. If no one was designated to cook, clean, take care of children, etc., the national economy would falter. Those who are designated to do “real work” would not be as efficient. Thus, women, especially those who are seen to designated caregivers, contribute indirectly to the national economy

Conscious Action by Women and Men to Change This Situation

To make action with an impact, I believe that we must first have a good grasp of the situation we are in. Today, more and more people are becoming aware of the female situation. It makes me happy to have met both men and women alike, who are eager to discuss feminism, and likewise have a genuine thirst to truly understand the movement. Although gender inequality still prevails, many strides have been made to better the condition. In the Philippines, we have laws such as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act, and The Women in Development and Nation Building Act. Added to this, every police station in the Philippines is requried to have a Women’s Desk where women and children can approach someone in authority to report cases of violence.

These laws are only a few examples of the strides made for the Filipina. As more people become aware of the female situation, there are more opportunities for progress. One thing that we must not forget, however, is that the male population is vital in achieving gender equality. The laws mentioned, for example, may not have been passed if there was no aid from our male counterparts. I believe that it is important to realize that men are not the enemy; rather, I believe that we must see them as partners.

For this to happen, both men and women must understand that before equality must come equity. In Khan and Bhasin’s words, “it does not take a peasant woman very far even if she becomes equal to a peasant man who is himself brutalized, exploited, and oppressed by society.” As I have said, strides have been made to better the Filipina’s situation. RA 9262, for example, is an equitable law that has given women more leverage.  However, there are some critics, such as the Diego Silang Movement, that see this as putting the woman above the law. With the patriarchal nature of our legal system, I believe that this was an act that did not make the man and woman unequal. Rather, it made the woman equal to men. Many must realize that the road to equality is paved with pitstops of equity. And although these pitstops may slow us down, the journey becomes easier when there is teamwork between both sexes. Men and women must work together in understanding the female situation and to know what they can do to make it better. As Rick Riordan states, “fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they need.” 

#feminism #feminist #Filipinos

[thefilipinafeminist]

Welcome to The Filipina Feminist

Hello, beautiful people. My name is Cai Antonio and I am the Filipina Feminist.

Welcome to The Filipina Feminist - a blog about feminism and its relation to the Philippines. In this blog, you’ll find posts about feminist issues that intersect sexuality, gender, class, religion, body positivity, equality, and the like. I’ll be posting something new every Thursday so watch out for that. I’m really hoping you can learn a thing or two from me and that I learn something from you as well. I’ll tell you why I started this blog in a bit but before I do so,  let me first explain my roots as a feminist.

My Feminist Roots

photo credit: Amazon UK 

I first dabbled into feminism last year when I stumbled upon a book called “Everyday Sexism.” I found the book in an airport while waiting for my flight. From the terminal gate and all throughout my flight, I was leafing through the pages of the book. I couldn't put it down because I was astonished by the rampancy of sexism that Laura Bates was able to document. I was alarmed by how it has become so normalized; how it has come to a point where being sexually harassed has become something that we don't even notice is wrong anymore. Before reading this book, I thought it was normal to have people call me out as I walked down the steet; I thought it was normal to be given disrespectful attention for my clothing. I came out of the plane more aware of my surroundings; of the people around me. I came out of the plane thinking this was all there was to feminism. However, I was wrong.

After reading this book, I started to research more about feminism. I found myself getting increasingly interested in female sexuality because it was something that I could very much relate to. See, in high school, I was outcasted for being a girl that was pretty open about being sexual. Coming from an exclusive, all-girls, Catholic high school, being sexual was looked down upon. Feminism made me realize that the societal standards attached to the woman do not necessarily have to dictate what kind of woman she truly is. I was, and still am, known to be a slut. However, that does not mean that I am a bad person nor does it mean that I am unworthy of love and respect. Feminism allowed me to realize that I am so much more than just a label. More than that, it allowed me to find positivity in the negative labels that have been attached to me. The more I learned about feminism, the more my passion grew. I started to read more books, to watch more documentaries, and I interviewed prominent feminists such as Sylvia Claudio and Natalie Verceles. My journey with feminism has helped me clarify my path to finding an identity. It has helped me understand what I truly want to do - to help women through finding ways to alleviate the female situation

Why I Started This Blog

After learning so much, I started forming my own opinions on certain feminist issues. I became more vocal on Twitter and felt like I was doing my part in spreading awareness about these concerns. However, I felt like I was lacking. I felt like there was more that I could do. Hence, I started this blog. I’m looking forward to playing a bigger part in bettering the Filipina’s situation in the future. And I’m starting by educating people on issues of the Filipina. I hope you guys enjoy and learn something from me and likewise wish that I learn from you :) I’ll catch you next Thursday.

xo, Cai

#filipina #feminist #feminism