Women’s agency is illustrated in how they deploy their beauty as cultural capital. But they do so amid certain factors, which shape, facilitate, and even constrain such deployment. In China, as shown by four famous Chinese women, the deployment of beauty lies at the intersection between individual agency and social, cultural, and even political structures:...
Category: Culture
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Sisterhood produces sculpture of connections
To mark its 90 years as a sorority of empowered women, the University of the Philippines’ Sigma Delta Phi (SDP) pooled its talents and resources in partnering with the state university to bring into sculptural form the characteristics that make the Filipino woman and the connections that she makes possible. Envisioned as a work by...
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She shows the way to volunteerism and empowerment
On International Women’s Day, Patreng Non easily comes to mind as a Filipino woman who constantly strives to help, to empower, and to make a difference. It would seem that Patreng—formally Ana Patricia—is everywhere. Last month, the 27-year-old founder of the Maginhawa Community Pantry was busy going to and from San Jose in Nueva Ecija,...
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Peta’s ‘Walang Aray’ balances light drama with spectacular music
The sentiment that drives the Philippine Educational Theater Association’s (Peta) full production of “Walang Aray”—itself a comedic adaptation of Severino Reyes’ 19th-century zarzuela “Walang Sugat”—is a triumphant one. From its title to its celebratory tone, the production proudly announces itself as Peta’s return to live theater unscathed, emphasizing that nothing can replace the experience of...
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Protesters vs Kaliwa Dam disheartened but unbowed
The members of the Dumagat-Remontado tribe protesting the construction of Kaliwa Dam are back home in the provinces of Quezon and Rizal, disheartened that their nine-day, 148-kilometer march to Malacañang ended without a dialogue with President Marcos Jr., but unbowed. “We won’t stop until he (Mr. Marcos) responds to our letter,” tribe leader Conchita Calzado...
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Once more into the breach: Indigenous folk march against Kaliwa Dam
Some 240 tribespeople and advocates are trekking to Malacañang to press President Marcos Jr. to stop the construction of Kaliwa Dam in their ancestral land in the Sierra Madre mountains in Quezon province, and the memory of a similar protest march in 2009 against Laiban Dam upstream in Rizal province is still fresh on their...
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Sanso’s Brittany is a show of friendships, gratitude
France’s Brittany has inspired many artists like Paul Gauguin, Macario Vitalis and The Nabis painters, but none could possibly be as inextricably linked to the long, rugged coastline of its northernmost region as Juvenal Sanso. For Sanso, a world-renowned painter who was born in Spain but made the Philippines his adoptive country, Brittany is more...
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CCP’s ‘Pasinaya’ breaks away from old notions and pandemic isolation
A wristband worth P50 allows a person to experience all the performances, workshops, art exhibits, and film showings being offered on Feb. 3-5 at the “Pasinaya 2023 Open House Festival” of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). The festival, now on its 18th year, has “Piglas Sining” as its theme—a breaking free from the...
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How ‘pangalay’ brought ‘ginhawa’ and helped me through the pandemic
I found health in conscious breathing and wave-like movements. The Covid-19 pandemic affected all aspects of our lives, not just our physical health. The lockdown and stay-at-home policies closed businesses, cancelled social gatherings, and caused shifts in working and studying setups. As the pandemic is more than a health crisis, we strived to be well...
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To (finally) launch a Philippine sex cinema book in the US
I had long wanted to launch my new book, “SekSinema (Gender Images in Philippine Sex Cinema Enfolding Pandemia),” not only on our soil but on foreign land as well. A wide distribution of my books has been on my bucket list ever since I was published by UST (University of Santo Tomas) Publishing House in...