Hoy, Pinay Ako!

pinay,
originally uploaded by sumatra_woman.

This post is especialy for Clair, who has a distinct Chinese surname but solidly claims that she is, Filipina. I'm proud of you, girl!


When news reached me about the varied search results of "Filipina" from popular search engines in the Internet, I was the least flabergasted. I wasn't upset nor offended. Perhaps I have been tempered through the years, and in the ripe old age of thirty (duh?) I can look at clouds from both sides now.

I think that prostitution is part and parcel of human history. Prostitution is universal. Is there any country or culture here on earth without one? I'm sure even Tibet or Timbuktu has. To be honest, I could not imagine life without it. It exists in different forms and manifests in various situations to all people.

For a person to be engaged in prostiution is in fact, a matter of choice. It may be an effect of a larger cause, possibly economic or social in nature, but the decision rest on the person alone. The same thing with Mail to Order Brides and Domestic Helpers. The motivation that women in this business take with them is of their own making. Whatever their intentions are, to better their lives or simply for survival, it is theirs and theirs alone. And this occur in women of all culture and race.

I'm not shrugging my shoulders on this issue. My point is simple. It happens. And it is an issue that women still have to contend with. More so, constantly struggle to rise above it. Now, if this sounds bad enough for women in general, it is worse for Filipinas in particular.

So, it is but natural for Pinoy bloggers to call upon all their powers for OPERATION GOOGLE BOMB. Though late my post seem to be, I'll try my best to catch up with the rest of them.

I am Filipina. And I'm proud that I am. Where else can a female be named opposite the male species in equal footing? Yes. I used the word equal. Filipino - Filipina. Pinoy-Pinay. Only in the Philippines. Somewhere in the deep genetic memory of all Filipinos (a generic term here for all born in the Philipines) sleeps the balance between the sexes. It is not a battle of the sexes as western literature and culture drum up so loudly, because, for Filipinos, women hold a revered place in the society and the home. It is one where women stand among men and with men.

In our folk literature of the creation, Malakas and Maganda came out from the same bamboo. While datus and chieftains hold governance over the tribe, women healed and nourished the populace's physical and spiritual well being. Think of the Babaylans. They were women and they command an inner strength that even the mightiest of men could not muster. Men fear at the sight of women dancing in the full moon because they are exposed to a vulnerability they never thought they had. Now I'm beginning to remember Tatarin! It is this inner strength and endearing allure that Filipinas possess in balancing the scale.

In the family, we are ever present. We are very good mothers and loyal sisters. We are the doting aunts and sincere nieces and cousins. We are the respected grandmother. We have a voice in the home. We speak our minds' cognitions and hearts' desires. We argue with our fathers, brothers, uncles and husbands. And the thing is, our men allow that. They recognize the Filipina women in their midst and the prowess we can weild in the family and to society at large.

Going back to history, ours is filled with women heroes. Princesa Urduja. Gabriela Silang. Josefa Llanes Escoda. Olivia Salamanca. Philippine culture and arts is replete with the achievements of Filipinas. In government and politics, in science and technology, Filipinas are in its core. Cory Aquino. Dr. Josette Biyo. Quenna Lee-Chua. Our children will never run out of Filipina role models because, they are everywhere. Even in pop culture and our local TV shows. Engkatadia is filed with women heroes that characterizes the Filipina. Darna is one sexy gal who kicks butt.

The challenge now is two fold - to live the legacy that is rightfully ours and to continue telling the stories of the Filipinas we love and admire or else, the very strength and tenderness we are so capable of will be forgotten. It is a matter of asserting what we have always been and what we are made of. I am Filipina. And I'm proud that I am.