ARE OUR PEARLS NEGLECTED?
By ALPHONSUS LUIGI E. ALFONSO
A question that one should ponder upon when one sees the Philippines, the so-called Pearl of the Orient. Garbage here, social unrest there, and killings everywhere—pearl indeed. Though not prominent, there is but one pearl that the Filipino tends to neglect: women.
Today, we live in a patriarchal society, with women often beaten up, whistled at on the street and made to wear “corporate” but showy clothing. Although indeed, women have equal rights as men do, and have a law protecting them and their children, a cultural rehash of our thinking of women is in order.
Lotsu Manes addresses these concerns with his exhibit Paraluman, titled after a well-known actress during the pre-Martial Law era. Paraluman also means pearl, and signifies exactly how women should be viewed, and subsequently treated—from the cultural myopia of machismo to the view of women as able and equal members of society.
Using art as a societal rain gauge, Manes shows how our notion of women (and in some instances ironically, their notion of themselves) digs discreetly but deeply into our consciousness. His art shows that we have indeed progressed from viewing women as the weaker sex, but regressed in a way that society views them as a plaything, trophy, or even a worker without respect.
Take for example Manes’ work Teritoryo, which shows a domestic helper ensconced on a toilet seat like a throne, with a crown and a sceptre to match. The acrid expression on her face is highly evident, and it is apparent that she is hardly happy. This could be the (dis)contentment of the domestic helper, who is often beaten, abused or even raped by foreign employers. Could this be the reason behind the preference to female domestic helpers?
Yet another portrayal of the degenerating role of women is his Mamahalin, portraying a beautiful mestiza woman, wearing a red dress and adorned with jewellery. She echoes both a manananggal and a mannequin, her rigid torso teeters on a pole. Beneath her are other trophies already won—and we presume all prizes have been won by a man—to whom success brings such spoils to define his stature.
In his “Windows,” Manes shows a woman wearing a baro’t saya while staring into an LCD showing a silhouetted figure. She seems to be using videoconferencing, a form of new media that allows people to talk and see each other in real-time. This form of new media however, is now used by foreigners to get mail-order brides and cybersex: putting both women and third world countries in a degrading light.
In Manes’ work “Photoshopped,” the same woman in baro’t saya looks at herself in the mirror, cialis and viagra mix seeming to morph herself by juxtaposing a Caucasoid nose and lush red lips over her own face. Only her distinctly Asian eyes—the only asset that the Western world values—are left. This is indicative of women folding to what men want, but cannot have: the “perfect” woman as advertised in media. Needless to say the concept is unreachable, but women are now striving to achieve it.
Women are the neglected pearls of the world and not just of the orient. Thus, we as a people must find ways to revitalize our way of looking at women, but we must first know what is wrong with our still-flawed view of women in society.
For one to find pearls, one has to dive deep into the murky waters.
Paraluman will open on August 16, 2010 6PM at blanc gallery inSalcedoVillage,Makati. The show will run until September 6, 2010.
Lotsu Manes is a graduate sildenafilcitrate-100mg-rx.com of the Philippine Women’s University, Taft and is a core member of TutoK, a collective of artists who merge art online pharmacy viagra with education and advocacy projects.
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