May 9th, 2005
n Essay I Wrote for the Girl Scouts
Challenges Faced By Todays Young Women
by
G*R*RD*L* *NN *P* B*L*NT*C
LEYTE COUNCIL
Although men and women are equal in today’s society (in theory), in actual practice they are not.
With increasing urbanization and industrialization of our country, gender roles are continually being altered. Women still has to conquer gender biases, which limits themselves into their prescribed sex roles-modest, quite, gentle, sweet, if not submissive.
The Philippines, has a young population; six out of ten Filipino is aged 24 and below and half of these are girls. One of the biggest problems of society is the commercialization of education. With the privatization of education, tuition fees keeps on getting higher causing many children to drop out of school and eventually stop studying. They would then get a job to help support their family.
Female students are open to discrimination by men just because they are a “she” and not a “he”. All women, whether oppressed or the oppressor are considered by society as inferior to men.
In and out of the school campus, they are open to sexual exploitation. Many women are raped or else sexually abused by their own father, brother or else an uncle and even worse, by their own grandfathers! In school, many are abused by their male teachers with the “kama or kwatro” scheme. Women are continually being shown signs of disrespect by the opposite sex. They get catcalls, pawed at and gets dirty looks and hear trash talks from men in the streets.
Women are considered as temptations. They are said to lead men to sin and the Church with the story of Adam and Eve further supports this. This is why the initial reaction of authorities is to find fault in the female sexual abuse victim. And this is also the main reason why women would choose to keep silent about their case.
With economic pressure, poverty and insufficient family income, a lot of women students especially those in college falls into the oldest profession, prostitution; a symptom of basic structural problem in our semi-feudal and semi-colonial society. With the imbalance of the development of rural and urban areas, a wide disparity of access to wealth and jobs results. Women in this profession are considered as an economic commodity and a sexual merchandise that can bring profit. Students would often engage in sexual relations in an impersonal transaction for financial gain. They use what they earn to tide over the expense of their tuition fees, thus this profession is often referred to us prosti-tuition.
Pregnancy at an early age is also a major crisis a young girl has to face.
With the feudal-patriarchal society and ideology we have, women are under the authority and influence of a male member of her family considered as the padre de familia: the decision maker.
In this system, the home is considered to be the place of a woman. Even if she may be working in the field or in factories or offices the whole day, she is still expected to do all the household chores. The womans affinity to doing household works affects the her role in our economy. Womens production output is considered secondary. Often times, they are obliged to stop going to work or else do overtime just to be able to do the household chores and take care of the children.
Women would usually have jobs that are an extension of their role in their household. Often they would be hired as waitresses, dressmaker or assembly line worker or else as teachers, nurse or as a secretary. This in a way is also a form of brain drain, an under employment where women are deskilled just because of their sex.
Women are often at a disadvantage especially when they are young or on the childbearing stage because employers would think that their services would be disrupted by maternity leaves and by their children being ill. The take-home pay of a wife as well as her successful career is often the source of tension within the family. The husband often develops certain inferiority because of the status of his wife.
Not only has the Church, government, our family and educational institutions plays a role in polluting our way of thinking, mass media also breeds in us a mentality that women are mere sex objects. Products being sold would often include beautiful, sexy women in semi-nude state. A beauty contest wouldn’t be complete without the swimsuit competition.
In radio and tv programs, movies and books, women would often be depicted as the good housewife, martyr wife or mother, and adulteress and homewrecker or a victim of lust and abuse of men.
Mass media influences society to measure womans worth by her ability to attract a guy. Imperialism has exploited the beauty and ability of women to attract men. In job ads, you would often find “pleasing personality” as a requisite. With this measure of beauty, Filipino’s continually foster their colonial mentalities. A beautiful woman according to mass media is someone who has fair complexion, rosy cheeks, a high nosebridge, slim and sexy, tall and always smells good. This kind of mentality pushes women to buy expensive soaps and lotions to smoothen and lighten the color of their skin, rouge to redden their lips and cheeks and take supplements to increase their height. No wonder papaya soaps and Cherifers don’t go out of stock!
Imperialism makes a business out our bodies. Companies would use women to sell their products. At times even a Filipina’s body is used as a commodity in the sex industry here and abroad. In the tourism program of the government, the Filipinas beauty and submissiveness is used as an attraction for foreign visitors. Mail order brides, sex trafficking and sex tourism are high dollar earners in our country.
The double standards of society is a perpetual struggle for us women. It is a challenge for us. A roadblock we need to conquer. We, as women should have full and equal rights as men. Our potentials should be used to the fullest because we are the other half in the road to a successful nation-building.
We should overcome the constraints society has imposed on us. We should participate in politics and economy in order to ensure recognition. We should not allow ourselves to be constrained by societies double-standards. We, in our own little way should impose our rights and make a difference. This will not only benefit ourselves but also the future generation.
Go girl power!
by
G*R*RD*L* *NN *P* B*L*NT*C
LEYTE COUNCIL
Although men and women are equal in today’s society (in theory), in actual practice they are not.
With increasing urbanization and industrialization of our country, gender roles are continually being altered. Women still has to conquer gender biases, which limits themselves into their prescribed sex roles-modest, quite, gentle, sweet, if not submissive.
The Philippines, has a young population; six out of ten Filipino is aged 24 and below and half of these are girls. One of the biggest problems of society is the commercialization of education. With the privatization of education, tuition fees keeps on getting higher causing many children to drop out of school and eventually stop studying. They would then get a job to help support their family.
Female students are open to discrimination by men just because they are a “she” and not a “he”. All women, whether oppressed or the oppressor are considered by society as inferior to men.
In and out of the school campus, they are open to sexual exploitation. Many women are raped or else sexually abused by their own father, brother or else an uncle and even worse, by their own grandfathers! In school, many are abused by their male teachers with the “kama or kwatro” scheme. Women are continually being shown signs of disrespect by the opposite sex. They get catcalls, pawed at and gets dirty looks and hear trash talks from men in the streets.
Women are considered as temptations. They are said to lead men to sin and the Church with the story of Adam and Eve further supports this. This is why the initial reaction of authorities is to find fault in the female sexual abuse victim. And this is also the main reason why women would choose to keep silent about their case.
With economic pressure, poverty and insufficient family income, a lot of women students especially those in college falls into the oldest profession, prostitution; a symptom of basic structural problem in our semi-feudal and semi-colonial society. With the imbalance of the development of rural and urban areas, a wide disparity of access to wealth and jobs results. Women in this profession are considered as an economic commodity and a sexual merchandise that can bring profit. Students would often engage in sexual relations in an impersonal transaction for financial gain. They use what they earn to tide over the expense of their tuition fees, thus this profession is often referred to us prosti-tuition.
Pregnancy at an early age is also a major crisis a young girl has to face.
With the feudal-patriarchal society and ideology we have, women are under the authority and influence of a male member of her family considered as the padre de familia: the decision maker.
In this system, the home is considered to be the place of a woman. Even if she may be working in the field or in factories or offices the whole day, she is still expected to do all the household chores. The womans affinity to doing household works affects the her role in our economy. Womens production output is considered secondary. Often times, they are obliged to stop going to work or else do overtime just to be able to do the household chores and take care of the children.
Women would usually have jobs that are an extension of their role in their household. Often they would be hired as waitresses, dressmaker or assembly line worker or else as teachers, nurse or as a secretary. This in a way is also a form of brain drain, an under employment where women are deskilled just because of their sex.
Women are often at a disadvantage especially when they are young or on the childbearing stage because employers would think that their services would be disrupted by maternity leaves and by their children being ill. The take-home pay of a wife as well as her successful career is often the source of tension within the family. The husband often develops certain inferiority because of the status of his wife.
Not only has the Church, government, our family and educational institutions plays a role in polluting our way of thinking, mass media also breeds in us a mentality that women are mere sex objects. Products being sold would often include beautiful, sexy women in semi-nude state. A beauty contest wouldn’t be complete without the swimsuit competition.
In radio and tv programs, movies and books, women would often be depicted as the good housewife, martyr wife or mother, and adulteress and homewrecker or a victim of lust and abuse of men.
Mass media influences society to measure womans worth by her ability to attract a guy. Imperialism has exploited the beauty and ability of women to attract men. In job ads, you would often find “pleasing personality” as a requisite. With this measure of beauty, Filipino’s continually foster their colonial mentalities. A beautiful woman according to mass media is someone who has fair complexion, rosy cheeks, a high nosebridge, slim and sexy, tall and always smells good. This kind of mentality pushes women to buy expensive soaps and lotions to smoothen and lighten the color of their skin, rouge to redden their lips and cheeks and take supplements to increase their height. No wonder papaya soaps and Cherifers don’t go out of stock!
Imperialism makes a business out our bodies. Companies would use women to sell their products. At times even a Filipina’s body is used as a commodity in the sex industry here and abroad. In the tourism program of the government, the Filipinas beauty and submissiveness is used as an attraction for foreign visitors. Mail order brides, sex trafficking and sex tourism are high dollar earners in our country.
The double standards of society is a perpetual struggle for us women. It is a challenge for us. A roadblock we need to conquer. We, as women should have full and equal rights as men. Our potentials should be used to the fullest because we are the other half in the road to a successful nation-building.
We should overcome the constraints society has imposed on us. We should participate in politics and economy in order to ensure recognition. We should not allow ourselves to be constrained by societies double-standards. We, in our own little way should impose our rights and make a difference. This will not only benefit ourselves but also the future generation.
Go girl power!
Posted by weepingwillow at 02:17 AM | keep me awake!!!