Pinays on Print

Time to hit the bookstores! Here are some feminine images/texts I found which I thought were pretty empowering. Let's begin with Children's literature, the most colorful and wonderfully illustrated set of them all.

Rene Villanueva's Ang Pambihirang Buhok ni Lola tells of a town's legendary lola who had hair of extraordinary length and strength, which she used to save her barrio from a strong storm. It then connects lola's courage and character as to why we have exceptional Filipinas like Gabriela Silang. This text resists stereotypical descriptions of women's hair and how it is often just confined to "trivial" aspects like color and style. Here, a woman's hair is assigned "masculine" characteristics (i.e. strong) and given purpose, and a very important one at that. Oh, hindi ba, mahaba talaga ang hair ng Pinay!

Ompong Remigio's Papel de Liha was so well-received that it published a silver edition of the story. Here we see a housewife who does all the chores (typical image) including fixing pots and pans! But unlike your regular housewife/mega mom story, this text presents the reality of such a task: Her hands get rough and calloused because of all the work. Hence, the title which literally means "sandpaper" and was a bit controversial because the image it brings isn't exactly positive. In the story, the child overhears her aunt scolding her mother and telling her that her father will stop holding her mother's hands if they get too rough. Upon getting sick, and noticing that her mother's hands really were rough, the child also concludes that while her mother's hands are not smooth and perfect, they have the power to heal and care and love. The story ends with her father holding her mother's hands.

Now that we have images of a lola and a nanay, let's go to a generally devalued image in our society: a manang.

Kerima Polotan's The Virgin features a middle-aged woman working at a placement agency, putting her at some sort of position of power over applicants. Her speech differs from Robin Lakoff's "Woman's Language," as it is aggressive and is not concerned with matters of politeness. This story also recognizes the feminine sexual desire, and views virginity as something "undesired" to a certain point. Miss Mijares, never touched by a man, often wonders how it's like. She blames her being a spinster on being obliged to take care of her parents, a common practice in our culture. She thinks that they "took too long to die," challenging oriental views and simply expressing what it really feels to have been "deprived" of youthful pleasures. It ends with a sexual encounter with one of the applicants she was attracted to in the agency, and a feminist stylistic analysis of the ending (which I did for my English 120: Stylistics class) would also reveal how she was able do this with surprising control and power. Judging by how she affected the other character using Hallidean processes, the scene was anything but pathetic. The act, in fact, empowered her. Published in 1952, this was seen as something disturbing at the time, perhaps because the point of view presented challenged what was traditional and Maria Clara-ish. Nevertheless, it gives its readers access to an old maid's thoughts and experiences.

Speaking of Maria Clara, here is another female character which would put Rizal's character to shame: Zafira, from Francisco Balagtas' komedya titled Orosman at Zafira. Because of Orosman's minimal role in the play, some even suggest that it should've only been titled Zafira instead! I watched the Dulaan UP's version of the said komedya and I must say that awesome is an understatement. Hang on. IT WAS AWESOME.

If they show this again next year, you better watch it!

Considered a revolutionary feminist work, Balagtas' work features Zafira as the daughter of a sultan. After the assassination of her father by a competing tribe (Tedenst), she avenges his death and leads her own tribe (Marruecos) to battle, along with another dominant female character, Gulnara and the Duquela tribe. In a culture where women only serve either as slaves or wives, the other "sultan" scoffs her for attempting to do so. Zafira remains brave even after losing the first war, and tries again. She eventually wins, but the story ends with her lamenting over the destructive nature of man's never-ending hunger for power. 

And that's 1850s for you, in pure, makata, nosebleed Filipino taking your breath away and thinking, "You go, girl!"