In fact, their whole album 'Reflection' features songs with lyrics that will really empower you to believe and have confidence in yourself. Fifth Harmony is definitely the right girl group young ones should look up to and admire because they represent a powerful voice of a generation that's actually trying to make a difference on how the world, especially pop culture, sees women. That's why they're entirely deserving to be called our Girls of the Month!!

- Reign Gonzales
click photos for sources
slideshow photo

       As an emerging artist in the Philippines, Patricia "Patti" Ramos continues to use visual art and spoken word as a platform for promoting nationalism and feminism. Check out our exclusive interview with her and a video of her spoken word piece, Stone.

How did you get into art and spoken word?
      I got into the visual arts a very long time ago; I'd been obsessed with illustration and animation since I was a kid. I discovered art styles that appealed to me and I took inspiration from them until I came up with a style of my own.

      My family encouraged me to read voraciously so I guess that's where my love for really beautiful art comes in. It also inspired me to write, but I didn't know about spoken word until I first participated in open mics and later, developed my poetry. I've always wanted to be a performer and connect with a live audience but I didn't know how to sing or act or play any music. So, spoken word is the next best thing!

Who are your influences and inspiration?
        My list of visual influences changes and updates constantly mainly because I find someone new to take inspiration from or call my "art god" whenever I feel that their style fits my aesthetic or how I want my own art to look like. My heroes in the visual arts include Tony DiTerlizzi, Brett Helquist, Mary GranPre, Arnold Arre, Elbert Or, Em Carroll, Mike Mignola, Albert Gamos, Glen Keane, James Baxter, Bruce Timm, and so many others.

       As for spoken word, Sarah Kay exposed me to the whole scene, but I also love the work of Jesse Parent, Taylor Mali, Clementine von Radics, Gypsee Yo, local groups such as Words Anonymous, White Wall Poetry, and KM64, and a lot of others whose work I stumble upon online.

Do you think it's important for art and spoken word to be a medium for nationalism/feminism? If yes, why?
       Yes, I do! Art always has the potential to hold all kinds of meaning and to be revolutionary, subversive, and political. Viewers take one glance at art and immediately they'll start to feel things without even noticing or having to process too deeply yet. There's a possibility that when something catches their eye, they'll want to learn more about it, so I do think visual art is a very effective vessel not just for nationalism and feminism, but also for human rights in general and all their respective branches.

      Modern spoken word sprung out of North America from the African-American civil rights movement and up to now is a platform not just for "hugot" or love poems but also for speaking out on social issues.
I do believe it's important that artists and poets look beyond themselves and how only they feel so they could use their skills and media for higher causes and hopefully benefit other people.

What can you say about the art scene in the Philippines? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
        I find that the art scene in the Philippines is pretty solid from where I'm seeing it. In every medium there's a local artist with their signature style, whether it's visual arts or performing arts or literature or music, or even fusions of any of them. We Filipinos are constantly told that we're a talented people and I agree.

        On weaknesses, I find that some traditional Filipinos have a stigma about the arts because we get hung up on the salary aspect of careers to see that art really is everywhere - some people just get stuck on a specific definition of "art" to notice.

You have an interest in making pieces set in a historical background, precolonial and colonial times. What can you say about the evolution of the Filipino ideals on feminism through time? What can you say about feminism here at present?
       I believe that the Philippines, historically, has always possessed a feminist culture. Even though male datus were the head of the village, women (whether cisgender or transgender) played vital roles in their society too and were treated with about the same amount of respect as the men. We even have a hermaphrodite goddess. Look up Lakampati! Filipinos used to be so much more open with sexuality and equality until the colonizers mandated our actions according to their beliefs. Today, our society is extremely conservative and views sexuality as something immoral or to be ashamed of, and that women should conform to a certain modest, conservative attitude while at the same time condoning their hypersexuality and objectification. We're still a long way from moving on from these traditional, patriarchal attitudes, but hopefully with the emergence of the internet and of women's rights groups, Filipinos are opening up to all these "new" ideas and ways of thinking.

What about our Filipino Pride? From most scenarios we've seen it becomes a double edged sword. Do you agree or disagree?
      Haha, I agree! I find Filipino Pride misplaced at times... I don't know where this whole phenomenon even came from. Sometimes it's a weird mix of crab mentality and cynicism, then a kind of zealous fanaticism and imposed affinity when someone of Filipino blood achieves celebrity. I wish everyone were more supportive of one another from the start and not be fixated on the definition of "success" as fame, wealth, and the approval of foreign white folks, instead focusing on the real roots of the poverty and hardship they think that this "success" will bring.

How often do you perform spoken word? If often, do you still get stage fright? What do you do to calm yourself down?
       I perform spoken word when I'm invited, if it's for an organization I'm in known as Mga Apo ni Lola Basyang (check them out here), or when there's an open mic event and I have the chance to borrow the stage. My stage fright stems from my fears of forgetting my piece, embarrassing myself, or making myself look obnoxious or mean. I just try to be as laid-back as possible during the performance and imagine that everyone in the audience is a close friend. I think I also cope by awkardly rambling out my introductions.

What advice can you give to budding artists and performers?
       A lot, heh.  Have fun with what you do. Don't forget why you started getting into the arts and started performing in the first place. Don't stop doing what you're doing, don't be ashamed of sharing your work. It's okay to feel afraid of being judged, but don't let the opinions of others get to you if all you want to do is share your ideas with the world - there are always going to be people who won't agree with you, but there's usually people who will agree with and encourage you. And if there aren't any, that's okay too. Just don't stop improving and honing your skills, because there's always a better version of yourself. :D *two thumbs up*

QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS

What's the song you sing in the shower the most?
      Usually Broadway songs or Sia songs! Sometimes I even rehearse spoken word in the shower so I can memorize them, hahaha.

If you were a pizza topping, what would you be?
      I'd say barbecue chicken because it's my favorite, and not a lot of people I know order it much.

Shrek or minions?
       Shrek. I like the story and ideas better!

What's your favorite Ice cream flavor?
        Green tea! Or vanilla.

How do you like your potatoes?
       Mashed, fried, or rosti a.k.a. latke a.k.a. hashbrown/pancake! I'm not picky. :P


       Below is a video of her short spoken word piece, Stone.

Follow Patti on her social media!
Facebook | Tumblr | Behance

     From overly sexualized TV commercials to blatantly putting naked bodies on the front page of certain reading materials, we cannot deny that wherever we go, we can easily see proof of the objectification of bodies of people. Through some elements both on print and online, certain aspects of the human body and how it is perceived has changed for the worse and has become more of a source of income than something that should be respected.

     A lot of other problems have stemmed through this: like how people see themselves and their own bodies and how people present themselves in public. Some women, for example, have burdened themselves with the thought that if they achieved some physical expectation set by the people behind these marketing techniques, they will be more accepted and loved. Some women would also go to the extent of adjusting their whole wardrobe and how they generally feel about things just to feel better about themselves. These are problems because some things, like certain body parts and the human body in general, have been reduced to existing for the sake of someone else's pleasure or benefit and not as a person's own body.

     A few months ago, Caitlin Stasey, a firm believer of equality and women empowerment, put up a website called Herself. In this website, women from different places and walks of life come together to 'reclaim their bodies'. They pose naked, in their truest, most vulnerable forms, and each entry is accompanied by the insights and stories of each woman featured.

     Herself aims to provide a platform for women everywhere to be more than what is being shown on TV or on the internet. It aims to show that women everywhere are more than their breasts and their vagina and their other body parts. There are more to women than their bodies and they should not allow themselves to be enslaved by what they see in the mass media or by what other people are telling them.

     Your bodies are not for someone else's pleasure or enjoyment. It's time to reclaim your bodies.

Know more about Herself!
Website | Twitter

       Wanna know what starts heated arguments on feminism? It's the misconceptions of feminism. Is it surprising that even if we have the Internet at our disposal at almost any given time that we still have this wrong idea of feminism? I don't think so. Some people don't need to Google what feminism is because it's drilled into their skulls that it's automatically a bad thing. Maybe the Internet's partially to blame as well with all those opinions floating around in space. 

        Well, here let me clear a few things up to end all of this chaos.

      Here is the definition of feminism, according to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary:

      "the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities."

      Woah, look at that. Apparently feminists don't oppress men! In fact, all they want is both men and women to be equal, not for men to be crushed under our heels. Although I acknowledge the existence of feminazis or radical feminists, they are not real feminists. What they believe in is that all men are worthless meat sacs filled with bodily fluids. There's actually a term for that: sexism. Here's a definition:

    "Sexism is the gender discrimination is prejudice or discrimination based on a person's sex or gender." (x)

       Feminazis treat men with this stereotype that they're all prone to committing misogyny. Of course that isn't true and that is also being unjust. Feminism doesn't believe in that. We believe that women and men should stop treating each other with hostility or unjust inferiority. We're all humans. Let's just keep it at that. 

       What most people believe is that women are always the victims of the deeply established patriarchy. This is not quite true because are also affected by these ideas imposed on society. Again, feminism believes in equality of genders. We believe that men can cry, men can be feminine, and men do not need to follow this preconceived idea of "being a man". What do I mean by this? I mean they don't have to sleep around to be a man. They don't have to lift 200 pounds to be a man. They don't have to watch straight porn all the time to be a man. They don't have to have a penis to be a man. (x) They don't have to be anything they are not to fit into society's cutout of a man. And feminism is there to help them do exactly that.

       There are two cases of women who don't support feminism as far as I have researched. If you check out this Buzzfeed article, it gives you 14 women who say they don't need feminism. But in actuality, it's their reactions to the wrong type of feminism or feminazis. Feminazis are traumatizing and they are not afraid to tell someone to kill themselves because they defend men. This movement has affected women who were looking for equality and has made them disassociate themselves with the true movement of feminism. This is very disappointing but the way people should address is to consider their situation first as to how they could have come to this belief rather than viciously attacking them for being slightly wrong.

     The second case is of women who slut-shame or shame other women in general for their interests and hobbies. Have you seen those posts that say "date a girl who reads" or "date a girl who watches [insert TV show]" or etc? I don't think there is anything wrong with that because I'm pretty sure dating a girl who reads or watching this certain TV show does have its advantages. But when people put too much context into what was said, that's when they cross the line. I have seen people react to those posts practically saying that those who love books or a certain TV show are so much better than girls who like to party, who like to go out and be extroverts (which is a whole other argument) or whatever. That's called internalized sexism. Those who slut-shame also do the exact same thing because they shame women for wanting to have sex or for wanting to dress provocatively. Those who shame a woman for crying and not being what we call "strong" do the same. This is not what feminism's all about. 

       We don't need all this criticism in the world. We just need to be more open, accept people as human beings, and treat them equally with respect. That basically sums up feminism. 

- Anna Cayco
click photos for sources

- Jiona Lagmay
click photos for sources

References: 1 | 2 | 3

      Malala Yousafzai earned her badge of honor by becoming the youngest Nobel Peace Prize Winner last October 2014 because she believed that women and children deserved to be educated just as any person should be. She believed that everyone had the power to voice out her thoughts about the world and what seemed wrong about it.  She used her courage to defy existing norms that called out injustice so that she can bring herself and her community to better circumstances.

      She was very vocal about the Taliban’s banning of girl’s education in Pakistan. In 2008, she gave a speech entitled “How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?". In 2009, she wrote diary entries for BBC under the name Gul Makai (a heroine’s name from a Pashtun folk tale) on the experiences she was going through. She became a huge threat to the Taliban and was eventually shot by a gun man - the bullet penetrating through the left side of her head. She went through several measures to ensure her recovery and luckily survived.

       Malala is recognized internationally for her phenomenal efforts to fight for her cause. She has won and has been nominated by many prestigious organizations for awards, has released a book ( I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban), and has immersed herself in causes that bring education to more children.

       EDUCATION IS A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE – they all dare say. But how do we convince ourselves that this is indeed reality? How are we to convince ourselves that anyone is entitled to this no matter what her circumstances may be when we still strive in a world where people hover off to great extents like hungering or abusing themselves just to be able to reach a classroom, sit, and open their minds to new knowledge. How could something so fundamentally simple as receiving an education be a complicated feat to accomplish? When will the sun rise to the day we see all children have smiles on their faces because we all know they knew something new from the classroom that day without having to face the threat of danger in return?

       For anyone privileged enough to be receiving education, never take what you have learned for granted. Pour in effort to your schooling. This is not to say that you have to drown yourself completely in books. Learn things you think will benefit you, refine the ideas you receive, challenge rules and theories, and surround yourself with mentors and friends that will help you establish your identity and purpose in the community.

       We own the power to change our world’s circumstances and drive our own future  – the only thing we have to do is to convince ourselves we can. 

- Bea Ticsay
click photo for source
video courtesy of Youtube

References: 1 | 2 

     When you speak and the person with whom you’re speaking with doesn’t listen, what do you do? You try to get their attention so they listen to what you’re saying, right? 

     That’s exactly what Emma Sulkowicz did when her complaint for the mishandling of her sexual-assault case fell on her university’s deaf ears. And she caught their attention in a really massive way. 

     So what is rape culture? It’s not really just a group of people who promotes rape, but a society that collectively thinks that rape is acceptable. Rape culture consists of “practices that we engage in as a society that excuse or otherwise tolerate sexual violence.”

     Rape culture is blaming victims for what happened to them. Rape culture is justifying their rape based on what they were wearing, or how they were acting, prior to their rape. Rape culture is calling victims who report their rape “liars,” that they’re “overreacting,” and that they probably deserved what happened to them.

     Rape culture is letting rapists run free, with no consequences whatsoever. Rape culture is only 3% of rapists serving a day in jail. 

     Rape culture is joking and making light of a violent crime. Rape culture is t-shirts and other merchandise with slogans that make rape a joke.

     Rape culture is having media, songs, shows, movies, that objectify women, that sexualise them. Rape culture is making men in charge of women’s sexuality instead of having women themselves be in control of their own bodies.

     Rape culture is saying that men who are raped shouldn't complain, that they should enjoy it. Rape culture is refusing to acknowledge that anyone can get raped regardless of gender.

     Rape culture is the fetishization of minorities: of people of color, of trans people, of non-binary people, of genderfluid people, of non-monosexual people. Rape culture is refusing to kink-shame sexually immoral and illegal acts like pedophilia.

     Rape culture is pornography that is easily accessible, pornography that always depicts sexual violence and dominance towards women. Rape culture is sex workers who are dehumanized constantly.

     Rape culture is saying that rape is just “kinky” sex, when it is in fact an act of violence. Rape culture is teaching how not to get raped instead of not to rape. 

     The list goes on and on, and rape culture will not end unless we, as a society, make active steps to fight towards it, even in simple ways. We may not all be like Emma Sulkowicz who is strong and brave enough to carry the symbol of her oppression, but we can help her carry the weight so that victims of rape culture won’t have to suffer anymore.

- Isis Evangelista
click photos for sources
video courtesy of YouTube

References: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

        Africa is probably not the first thing that comes into mind when one says the word feminism. Actually, I do know that feminism isn’t rampant in Africa since it does rank the lowest in the global gender equality index and has some of the highest numbers for domestic abuse. And I don’t even want to go into the extremely painful punishments they give women there. And yet, we don’t hear much from the African women. It happens, but where are the complaints? Media of course plays a key role in this. It’s the reason why neither you nor I know much about Africa to start with.

          But of course there are women who have risen against patriarchy and did something quite commendable with their empowerment. I’m talking about Minna Salami. Minna has worked all over the world and has worked with journalism giants such as Huffington Post and the Guardian. Her site has been nominated and won many awards such as the Africa Diaspora Award for Outstanding Achievement in Media in 2013 and has been featured on Applause Africa 2012 for “40 under 40 African change makers”.

    Those awards, nominations, and achievements are portraying to her blog. She is the founder and creator of the site Ms. Afropolitan, “…a site that aims to unravel myths surrounding Africa and womanhood from a feminist perspective and which provides narratives that remain largely obscure from mainstream media.” This is what I believe is a necessity for every emerging country, to have a well of knowledge and thought-provoking articles at one’s fingertips. Not only African women read her blog but women from all places and of all races who just want to talk about Africa. Yes, feminism is the key focus of this site, as well as pop culture, and other African affairs.

     I could go on, honestly. But just check out her site and it will explain its glory on its own. 

Follow Minna on her Twitter!

- Anna Cayco
sources: 1 2 3 4 5

     Whenever the Middle East is brought up, what comes to mind? What is your perspective on the people who live there? Western media and culture heavily influence the rest of the world’s perspective on this region of our planet; heck, even the term “Middle East” is Euro-centric (the more accurate, Asian-centric name would be “Western Asia”). So because of this, we tend to have a lot of stereotypes—usually negative ones—about the Middle East and the people who live there.

     One of the most prevalent stereotypes is that Middle Eastern = Arab = Muslim = terrorist. Yes, Arab is the most predominant ethnic group, but there are also plenty others, including Persians, Turks, and many more. Same goes for Islam—it is the predominant religion, but there are many others, including Judaism and Christianity (which were, if you’ll recall from your world history class, both established in this area of the world). Also, Arab and Muslim are not necessarily the same, as there are Arabs who are not Muslim and Muslims who are not Arab. The Middle East is actually really diverse with their many cultures and religions, that just doesn’t get represented in the media very often, if at all. As for the terrorist/bomber/criminal/violent/etc. stereotype, which I believe was further propagated after the 9/11 attack, that is definitely not true, thinking that is way outdated and if you do think that I suggest you get some perspective. You’ll find that terrorists can come from any part of the world. (Just saying.)

     Another common stereotype is that the Middle East is all desert; again, false. Having traveled to the Middle East a couple of times in the past, I can assure you that you can see more than just sand, oil, and camels. Though the climate is more on the warm side (it reaches over 40 degrees Celsius in the summer!), there’s plenty more to see other than the desert. Aside from the existence of fertile forests and mountain ranges, the architecture of buildings in the cities there are amazing. Even all the roads and highways look very well planned out and paved, you wouldn’t even think you were in a desert.

     But the one thing that irks me the most about the Western view on the Middle East is their perception of women. In Western media, Middle Eastern women are almost always represented as either belly dancers or concubines part of a harem. These women, oftentimes the women who wear veils or hijab, are viewed as oppressed by their religion. To those people who think that, let me ask you this: aren’t a lot of women from various parts of the world also oppressed? And aren’t these women battling their oppression, to claim the rights they rightfully deserve?

     Just as women in all parts of the world are fighting oppression in its many forms, so do the women in the Middle East. There are feminists in the Middle East: women who are fighting for their rights, much like feminists in other parts of the world. It’s just a lot harder for them in the Middle East, because as mentioned earlier, Islam is the predominant religion in this part of the world, and for the longest time, Islam has been interpreted and promulgated as a male-dominant religion. So, in response to this, Islamic feminism was born.

     Islamic feminism is vastly different from Western, secular feminism because it is more radical, and basing its ideologies and arguments on the Qur’an. In the present, Islamic feminists fight against the Muslim Personal Law (MPL) which includes laws on polygyny (polygamy in Islam), divorce, marital property, etc. They also debate on the laws regarding dress code, whether or not the veil (hijab/burqa) should be banned, required, or optional. Additionally, they call for equality in the Mosque, and in leading prayers. This brand of feminism extends beyond the Middle East, as there are Muslims in other parts of the world as well — in Pakistan, Indonesia, and many others. Islamic feminists are seen protesting for the rights in the streets, making discourse about Islamic beliefs, and in some cases, even leading countries. Little by little, they are gaining power, not to dominate their male counterparts—which is the common misconception about feminism—but to be equal to them.

- Isis Evangelista
sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

    
      Women have come a long way from the first wave of feminism in the 19th and 20th century. Since then, they have worked hard on gaining their rights as women and gender equality in the society. Now, women have more rights than we can compare to the generation of women in than last 20 to 30 years. Women are slowly dominating the different industries in different occupations. But now, can we really say that their hard work paid off? 

   In the speech delivered by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian author, during the TEDxEuston last April 2013 which was sampled by Beyoncé in her song ***Flawless, she talked about how the gender norms and roles did not really change since then. The society still expects women to think of themselves inferior to men. Society, although it recognizes women and their abilities, still puts men first. Even if women have proved that they can do most, if not all, the things that men can do, people are still not satisfied. There are women weightlifters, female bodybuilders, policewomen and soldiers; what proof do they still need? Why do they still think that we should only be stuck doing house chores? Why do they still think that we are only good for family matters and nothing else?

     According to The American Association of University Women (AAUW), women get only 77% of what men were paid since 2002 until 2012. This gets worse if you're not White (source). This statistic is only from the U.S., what more if you're from smaller and third world countries like India and countries in Africa where gender inequality is more evident? 

     Now, I know that there are things that men can do that women can't and vice-versa, because duh! there are really some natural things that we can and can't do, I accept that, but at least respect our capabilities and talents. At least acknowledge our rights and that not all women are the same. At least let us have a chance to show you that people in our gender can do things spectacularly. Let us show you that we are people who can do things with more finesse and grace, something that boys sometimes lack.

     I know that all this coming from a teenager is a bit petty, but it's not. Me, my generation, grew up to this, and the future generation will too. They will grow up in a world where after 100+ years, they're still thought of as little. They will grow up knowing that they won't be able to conquer the world because a man will beat them to it. They will grow up with the thinking instilled in them that they should not succeed too much to make way for men. And this issue concerns me because this is my future. When I work, this is what people in my workplace will treat me. As a teenage girl living in the 21st century, I want to be really successful and have a good future where I'm happy. I want to be like J.K. Rowlling or Beyoncé or Michelle Obama, conquering the world and making a difference. I want to be like them, the minority of people who has achieved so much in this world, women.


- Kim  Alivia xx
source: 1 | 2 | 3