Summer 2016 Week 11 (August 15-21, 2016)

8/17/2016

It would be a shame if, after everything a woman has done, she would be measured by how she looked while doing them, rather than having done the deeds themselves.

On Surveys along the lines of
"Prettiest/Most Beautiful/Sexiest Women in (insert field)

These polls are prevalent in my field. While we actors are in the business of the "human spirit," we inevitably fall under the business of "looks," as well.

I was tagged in the comments section of a recent informal survey along these lines on Facebook ("pinaka maganda, pinaka charming at pinaka talented na Theatre Actress na kilala niyo 18-30 years old"). I found it interesting how I responded to it while I am in the current life phase I'm in right now as compared to how I responded to it in my early 20's in the Philippines. Whereas before, I would doubt my professional status when I wasn't included in it - now I saw it more as a reflection of the society where the survey originated.

Surveys along this line reinforce the unconscious belief that the value of women can be measured by how they physically look (and the value endowed into whether she is fair or dark skinned, thin or on the heavy side, tall or petite, and let's not even touch upon race yet, etc.) and their capacity to please and charm others, particularly men. When I was in the Philippines last July, I saw a play at the Virgin Labfest directed by Chris Martinez entitled, "Hapagkainan" - a farce and a mockery of Philippine commercials played out into a seemingly "perfect Filipino family" having dinner. The cast was filled with actors who physically fit the "commercial mold" and were directed to discuss dark issues with a smile until what they were truly made of could no longer be hidden. During the discussion after the play, Chris Martinez pointed out "ang mga Pilipino mahilig sa maganda." Ang maganda ay maputi at laging naka-smile.

The emergence of this survey reminded me of what is commonly valued in Filipino society: looks, looks, looks. And the "look" has to be in a certain way: "maputi, payat, laging naka-smile" (fair-skinned, slim and always in a smile). Youth is also a factor (the survey only asked for women between 18-30 years old). When a woman does not fit into or ages out of that mold, she runs the risk of being undervalued in spite of her many other gifts.

What about a woman's Courage? Spirit? Soul? Depth? Guts? Voice? Intelligence? Wit? Originality? Boldness? Growth? Ambition? Accomplishment? Why do we, as a culture, do not celebrate those things as often as we celebrate "prettiness" or "charm"? And because looks and youth are what is celebrated most, it is what people end up aspiring to the most: to be fair-skinned, to be thin, to put forward an image of "happiness" into social media most of the time. What kind of a society would we amount to if only those things are what everyone aspired to?

It would be a shame if, after everything a woman has done, she would be measured by how she looked while doing them, rather than having done the deeds themselves.

More cooking!

In other news, I tried cooking pasta (while creating my own carbonara sauce) and mashed potatoes for my lunch/dinner repertoire for the upcoming week. This was the first time I have attempted both dishes, and I must say that they have turned out to be my best cooking so far!