• Culture
    Culture
    Filipino actors Bridgerton

    Get to know the Filipino actors in ‘Bridgerton’

    pura luka vega chappell roan church

    Matched her freak! Pura Luka Vega performs Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ at ‘Church’

    AI and deepfake porn is a form of sexual assault—and we need to talk about it

    AI and deepfake porn is a form of sexual assault—and we need to talk about it

    • Women
    • Queer
    • Politics
    • Environment
    • Food
  • Style
    Style
    Pond's serums

    These night serums are your new solutions for radiant, glowing skin

    5 original Filipino fragrance brands to check out

    5 original Filipino fragrance brands to check out

    Here’s where you can get unique, one-off accessories—designed by you

    • Fashion
    • Beauty
    • Space
    • Shopping
  • Entertainment
    Entertainment
    Filipino actors Bridgerton

    Get to know the Filipino actors in ‘Bridgerton’

    pura luka vega chappell roan church

    Matched her freak! Pura Luka Vega performs Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ at ‘Church’

    charlie’s angels totally spies!

    Our favorite onscreen spies, from Austin Powers to ‘Totally Spies!’

    • Celebrities
    • TV & Movies
    • Music
  • Life+Money
    Life+Money
    Single woman adopts baby

    Forming a family: When a single woman adopts a baby

    painting of baby

    A mother-to-be’s survival guide

    Navigating a friend breakup that has no bad blood

    It’s no one’s fault: When a friendship naturally runs its course

    • Career & Money
    • Parenting & Relationships
    • Sex & Health
    • Astrology
    • Travel
  • Inquirer.net
  • Lifestyle
Reading
I won’t let my daughters be victims of misogyny
ShareTweet
In Culture
3 min read

I won’t let my daughters be victims of misogyny

By Rossana L. Unsonon March 19, 2019
Share

Every week, Preen tackles motherhood sans the rose-tinted glasses. Our columnists L. Juliano, Marla Darwin, Monica Eleazar-Manzano, Rossana Unson, Ronna Capili-Bonifacio, and Chrina Cuna-Henson tell their personal experiences like it is—at times frustrating, oftentimes confusing, but always enlightening.

My mother raised me to believe that the love stories that came out of Hollywood were true. She raised me to expect a knight in shining armor to come and sweep me off my feet and bring me to live in his castle, where he’d take care of me forever. She also raised me by example and her example was one of strength and of doing things independently, quietly, with resolve and inner strength. My mom was simultaneously a hopeless romantic and a ball-buster.

So I carried that around with me, from when I was young into my teen years. I remember that when I was in high school I had a boy classmate who constantly called me a “Nazi lesbian women’s libber.” He wasn’t bullying me because I’d actually laugh at his words and his caricatures of me—dressed in leather with a Nazi hat and an angry face. As an immature teen, I felt like it was a compliment.

Truth be told, I’m not a complete feminist. I don’t agree with abortion and I don’t believe that because it’s my body, it’s my choice, but I do believe that whatever a man can do, a woman can do. As simple as that.

Ironically, I ended up having not one, but two daughters.

READ MORE: The “Testicular Bill of Rights” wants to control men’s reproductive system

The challenge for me was raising them in a country where although the woman is “the light of the home” (ilaw ng tahanan), the man is obeyed, revered even. I’ve known of some men who’ve told women how to dress, allowed her to do things and forbade her to do others.

Some married men are allowed to wander with the “boys will be boys” excuse. Men who sleep around are called “playboy” or “chickboy” like they’re admirable; while women who sleep with more than one man are called names such as “pokpok,” “slut,” “cheap.” I overhead one man remark, “Well, I hope she doesn’t get herself pregnant” as if women are capable of asexual reproduction. Or when asked how many kids they have, they reply the old fart way, “One…that I know of!” (with his friends laughing loudly  as if he made the funniest joke in the world). Like, “Rawr, aren’t I a stud?”

READ MORE: Being a “slut” can be a feminist experience too

Don’t even get me started on trends like scantily-clad twerking women at political rallies, rape jokes, the DOM President of the Philippines, the DOM President of the United States—let’s just say inequality and misogyny is all around us, now more than ever.

But thankfully, my two daughters won’t take any sh*t from anyone. First of all, I’ve taught them that anything—and I mean anything—a man can do, (except maybe pee standing up) a woman can do, too. I’ve taught them to believe in themselves and be strong, no matter what happens, with or without a man.

I’ve taught them they can play with toy cars the same way they can play with dolls; they don’t need to wear skirts, dresses, or frills to be considered feminine; they can like blue as much as they like pink; they can wear a t-shirt, jeans, and rubber shoes without being judged for looking too masculine.

There is no difference between what is “for boys” and “for girls.” We are equal to men and yes, there are times when we are even better. I’ve taught them all this by example and the things I’ve not been able to show them, they’ve seen for themselves as being true.

I look forward to the day when someone tries to tell my girls that they are of the weaker sex. I have their bail money ready.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author in her private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of Preen.ph, or any other entity of the Inquirer Group of Companies.

 

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

For the latest in culture, fashion, beauty, and celebrities, subscribe to our weekly newsletter here  

Follow Preen on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Viber

Related stories:
Teaching men about consent is easier than defending accusations
Fashion advice I gave to my own daughters
Why we must raise our boys to be feminists too
Terry Crews can’t be the poster child against toxic masculinity after all

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0

Action Required!

We embed Facebook Comments plugin to allow you to leave comment at our website using your Facebook account. It may collects your IP address, your web browser User Agent, store and retrieve cookies on your browser, embed additional tracking, and monitor your interaction with the commenting interface, including correlating your Facebook account with whatever action you take within the interface (such as “liking” someone’s comment, replying to other comments), if you are logged into Facebook. For more information about how this data may be used, please see Facebook’s data privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/update.

Accept    Decline

Tags
daughtersfeminismmisogynymomhoodMotherhood

Subscribe to our newsletter

Stay in the loop


By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

ShareTweetEmailShare
Rossana L. Unson
Related
painting of baby

A mother-to-be’s survival guide

Peek This

Pond's serums

These night serums are your new solutions for radiant, glowing skin

Filipino actors Bridgerton

Get to know the Filipino actors in ‘Bridgerton’

pura luka vega chappell roan church

Matched her freak! Pura Luka Vega performs Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ at ‘Church’

AI and deepfake porn is a form of sexual assault—and we need to talk about it

AI and deepfake porn is a form of sexual assault—and we need to talk about it

Preen.ph © 2020. Hinge Inquirer Publications, Inc.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • HOME
  • ARCHIVES
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
angel locsin
Previous
Is Angel Locsin going to play a Marvel superhero?
Next
WATCH: Angelica Panganiban’s take on breakups will make you bawl and reflect
  • Culture
    • Women
    • Queer
    • Politics
    • Environment
    • Food
  • Style
    • Fashion
    • Beauty
    • Space
    • Shopping
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrities
    • TV & Movies
    • Music
  • Life+Money
    • Career & Money
    • Parenting & Relationships
    • Sex & Health
    • Astrology
    • Travel
  • Inquirer.net
  • Lifestyle
  • Subscribe
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Search
Start typing to see results or hit ESC to close
fashion fashion news music Culture News movies
See all results

Subscribe to our newsletter

Stay in the loop


By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.