Eunico Marco B.

Renomeron Lit 125b

BA Communication Arts MTh 8:30-10:00

Women’s Clothes

Mga Sano Buwas by Eduardo Makabenta and Paghalipot Hin Bado Pedro Separa’s Paghalipot
Hin Bado talk about the trend in women’s fashion where less cloth is being worn. The persona on both
the poems expresses their concern about this.

In Mga Sano Buwas, the persona warns about how the body particularly that of a woman would
be like in the future if the trend of less clothing would continue. He starts by first stating the declining
neckline; how it barely covers the breast and how the shoulder straps are disappearing. From describing
clothing in the abdomen, he then describes women’s clothing on the lower limbs. Same as clothing in the
abdomen, the persona also tells the decline of clothing in the legs. He describes the hemlines to be going
up; a contradiction to the previous statement of the hemline which is going down. The poem closes when
the persona a scenario where the neckline and hemline would meet and the “tie about the waist may yet
become the dress”. The contradicting direction of the neckline makes a human smaller that a tie can
become its clothing.

The way the persona stated his concern over what is happening is witty and sarcastic manner but
beyond the sarcasm is the underlying thought of how clothing is a measurement of a dignity of a person.
As the clothes get smaller in size, the dignity of the person is lowered. But despite his conservative view
he sounds like an open-minded person.

The same concern is addressed on the other poem Paghalipot Hin Bado. In this poem, the persona
directly states the consequences of a woman wearing skimpy clothes. He exaggerates by saying that even
the blind can see her and the dead would dare look at her. And whenever she bends to pick up something
her buttocks would glow, signifying that it would immediately get attention.

In this poem, the persona sounds as if he’s like desperate for the woman who addresses to stop
wearing daring clothes. The identity of the woman is someone who has very close relationship to the
persona because he wouldn’t use hyperbolic statements just to justify his concern. Unlike Mga Sano
Buwas, this poem doesn’t necessarily view human dignity based on clothing but rather emphasize the
importance of chastity, especially to women.

Both poems address the same theme which is the trend of less clothing. The personas on the two
poems are conservative people who are isolated with the fact that the preference for less clothing happens.
In the 60’s and 70’s when these poems were first published, society might have found these pieces as a
wake up-call but now the thought of it may seem obsolete but the values of dignity and chastity is still
relevant today.