NAME: Velasco, Brixter R.

CODE: 3113
COURSE/YEAR: BSChe-1 DATE: Feb. 18,2021

Quietly Loud

I bit my tongue in fascination, trying to stop myself from talking; and opened
my eyes to the wonders of silence: its meaning, its depth, and its language.

Body language has immense importance to communication. Sometimes

when we don’t know how to express what we want to say, we add body
movements to give justice to the emotions and things we wanted to convey. In
addition, these gestures vary base on gender, ethnic origin, and cultural
background.

We live in a cosmos wherein there are social molds or standards we need

to follow. Thus, going against the flow will make you easily judged, misunderstood,
and stereotyped. For example, men cannot cry or be vulnerable in public
because it will make them gay. Another is that women cannot carry heavy
weights because they will look bulky and boyish. Gender became largely
dependent on body language. It is scary that we live in a world full of assumptions
and with that being said body language must not be a descriptor of someone
else’s sexual orientation. In my experience as a femme queer, many people call
me names because of how I roll my eyes and with the way my hand gracefully
moves which is very offensive not just to me but to the whole community. Rolling
my eyes and moving my hands gracefully is an act I do when I’m irritated and
when I’m confident which are universal emotions men, women, gay, transgender,
lesbian, asexuals or more usually feel. For me, femininity and masculinity are just
social boundaries that limit us to express who we truly are.

Moving forward, every group has its own different gestures that act as
signals of respect, command, or even mockery. In my case, as a Bataeño there
are gestures that we usually use. For instance, tapping your own nape is a sign of
exhaustion and stress. Sometimes it is also used to ask for a massage from your
partner. In addition, touching your enemy’s ear is a sign of the challenge of who’s
stronger.

Due to the diversity of body languages, each and everyone needs to have a
wider horizon for understanding because these movements don’t just come from
nothing. It was deep-rooted to our beliefs, upbringing, and cultural background.
As Filipinos, we are raised in a conservative society so our way of flirting is very
different. We don’t usually use wink because a stare is already enough.
Body language plays a vital role in our society but it mustn’t be a root of prejudice
because it was created for communication and for communication only.

Let’s bit our tongue for understanding and open our ears to the quietly loud
voice made by gestures.