In Preview Philippines, there is a fashion spread entitled, "Beauty and the Geek." The first line of the blurb is, "Ugly is the new pretty." All they did to make the (thin) model (with high cheekbones) "ugly" was to add glasses, make her hair frizzy, dress her up in tops with high necklines, and add books and pencils as her props.
Fail.
Cosmo Philippines has an interesting spread on women entitled "Fun Fearless Female Awards." There are articles on Filipinas Charice Pempengco, Jessica Cox, Divine Lee, Kiri Dalena, Melai Cantiveros, Alex Eduque, Kate Torralba, Joy Rojas, and Maritess Mendoza. These women are celebrated for going the extra mile. Charice has a rags-to-riches story (at nasa Glee na siya ngayon, okay. Siya na talaga.). Joy Rojas was the first Filipina to run across America AND Luzon to Mindanao.
It's important to note that femininity is still the "marked" gender. I've never seen any magazine features on "fun fearless males," or even "brave Filipino men." But (I think) this is better than not recognizing these "fun fearless" women. It shows that fashion magazines aren't just about pretty pictures and makeup, but it could also be a venue to celebrate women's achievements.
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