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What’s wrong with Darna?

By JHOANNA LYNN B. CRUZ

Can we blame young women today who think that the feminist movement is passé? After all, we are bombarded daily by media images of sufficiently “empowered” superwomen like Darna and her ilk; or real-life tragicomic heroines like Kris Aquino, demonstrating how she has successfully risen from being a battered woman to an ecstatic bride-to-be (finally!) just like the mythical phoenix. These “role models” seem to prove that all is well in the world and that Pinays can now sit back and reap the rewards of the efforts of our “foremothers,” who had to fight actively for the freedoms we seem to be enjoying now. The modern Pinay, exemplified by the “fun, fearless female” of Cosmopolitan magazine, can glory in exposing her body and actually enjoy being ogled at by men because she is convinced that this gives her power. She relishes the “power” to dangle the bait, to give it, or refuse it to whomever she chooses. This is her version of the old feminist mantra, “my body, my choice.” The fact that the T-back thong can be had for only Php 25 from the tiangges is proof positive that there is a burgeoning market for it—and it’s not just the sex workers! Spend a few hours in Baguio City’s Nevada Square and you’ll be breathless at just how empowered teenage Filipinas are. Or terrified, if you have daughters.

Just what is wrong with this scenario? Isn’t this what feminists burned their bras for? Women’s liberation?

When I joined the feminist movement in 1994 as teacher of a course called “Women and Literature,” no one could match my enthusiasm. I believed in what I was teaching and endeavored to raise my students’ consciousness and move them to action. We talked about why everyone should become feminists; that is, why we should all fight against special privileges accorded to men and pursue equal opportunities for women in all aspects of life. I would tell them about the “Hundredth Monkey” phenomenon and how I wished that one of them would be feminism’s hundredth, the one who would trigger the great change – what is now called the “tipping point.” My syllabus was divided into the four streams of feminist literary criticism: Sexual Politics by Kate Millett, Gynocriticism by Elaine Showalter, Ecriture Feminine by Hélène Cixous, and Post-feminism by Julia Kristeva. We celebrated female experience, reveled in sexual difference, and finally, lamented the fact that the Philippines remained an extremely patriarchal society in which true female liberation could not yet be realized. Deconstructing sexual identity was not quite the vogue at that time and seemed an unreachable dream. While my classes were composed mostly of females, by the time I left that university, more males had begun to take interest.

Flash forward to ten years later. I am not teaching anymore and sometimes feel like a “manang.” Pinays these days with their “f*ck-me, f*ck-you” attitudes make me wonder whether I had something to do with that kind of empowerment. I still believe that beauty contests are degrading to women – but fewer women would agree. While they used to nod, they now shake their heads, as if saying, “Look at this pitiful artifact of the feminist movement…” It seems that people are now convinced that it’s all right to have a Ms. Baguio (it’s spelled “Ms.” anyway) because we have a counterpart Mr. Baguio – so that means equality. And what about the Extra Challenge-inspired Ms. X-Baguio? Isn’t that a wonderful feminist idea? Sure – but only if the contestants do not have to be pretty and sexy to qualify in the first place.

According to Rosalind Miles, in an article from London’s The Independent, “history loves to flirt with the idea of female freedom, only to shove women back in the closet as soon as their hour is done.” That is, after Darna is done with a particular save-the-world-feat, she will have to regurgitate the magic “bato” and turn back into mild-mannered, lovesick Narda, who has to endure all the sacrifices of a woman with a mission and still look fresh and lovely. (And by the way, no matter how high-tech the fabric is, that costume is extremely provocative.) That is, the “fun, fearless female,” if you look closely, still harbors the ultimate female dream of catching Prince Charming, but her sexual abandon is driving away the men, who remain caught up in the Madonna/whore complex, so it’s a proverbial Catch 22. That is, we career women out here, should be working full time while trying to complete a PhD in Nuclear Physics, while mothering our children so well, they too become summa cum laudes (and don’t forget the housework!). The old female predicament of the double burden has now tripled, even quadrupled, and we cannot help but wonder whether women were better off when nothing else was expected of them except making babies and keeping house.

Are we the victors of feminism, or its historical casualties?

It is obvious now that an insufficiently changed society has placed a greater burden on women today. The shifting gender roles of men and women have caused confusion, instead of true emancipation. The country’s ever-worsening economic situation demands that both parents work, but the culture still places child-rearing and household duties squarely on the shoulders of women. Therefore, while some people may view feminism as a thing of the past, it remains urgent to carry on the struggle and perhaps redefine our strategies in order to accommodate the thong-flashing generation. It would help to look into the agenda of the national women’s liberation movement which presents a more comprehensive view of the Filipino woman in a feudal-patriarchal setting. #

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