DE PAULA, KEN JOSHUA B. Prof. Maychell B.

Jastia

Let’s paint the town PINK!

Gender as we know it to many cultures around the world is a man-woman dichotomy – it is the
immovable, nonnegotiable, distinct classes of individuals (Villarta, 2020). This construct was further
amplified by the deeply rooted ecclesial influence of the 333-year Spanish Catholicism over the
Philippines.

Which explains why growing up, we were told: pink is for girls, blue is for boys; dolls are for girls,
trucks are for boys; cooking is for girls, office is for boys; girls are nurses, boys are police; girls must be
submissive, and boys should be dominant; girls should be more body-conscious, while guys can do
anything. This culture of conditioning the people in younger ages results in a well-constructed, and a
boxed ideology of gender norms and roles (. There is no grey area in between, it is either for girls or for
boys. But as the Philippines became more culturally permissive (Villarta, 2020), social norms became
more liberal in thought – that there is really something in that grey area, and at its fullest extent, there
actually are no areas at all!

In the Philippine context, gender norms and roles are explicitly evident in schools, workplaces,
churches, and even in politics. Perhaps, the most revolutionary step of women representation in our
country was the prominent election victory of the late President Corazon “Cory” Aquino back in 1986,
while in modern-day politics, the first-ever transgender woman to be elected in the Congress is
Geraldine Roman in 2016. It both sparked the quintessential idea of women and transgender people in
authority.

On the other hand, this cognitive conditioning of which is for boys and girls is widely rampant in
media platforms. Take the case of the Colt 45 advertisements, it encourages and suggests the idea of
what ‘real men’ should not do, like: being fashionably conscious, using oil papers, wiping a glass before
using, being sweet over the phone. Such manner of publicly setting the standards of “men should act
like real men” is promoting a culture of toxic masculinity. This idea of throwing away emotions, being
invulnerable, adhering to violence, being aggressive, and destructive behaviors is not just harmful to
society but also to men themselves (Verceles, 2021).

We often see posts in social media about male femininity: men can be artistic, men can be
scared, men can wear pink, men can bake, men can cry too, and many more. This kind of micro
propaganda is an effort to raise awareness against toxic masculinity. On a webinar by CNN and San Mig
Light Philippines entitled: ““Detox Masculinity: Mahaba-habang usapan on how to beat gender
stereotypes,” Lao (2020) suggested that raising boys to be in touch with their feelings has to be
institutionalized in schools aside from their own homes, which cannot be further from the truth, as the
cognitive conditioning of a person’s mind is highly influenced in homes and schools (PHD essay.com,
2020).

As we see in the current landscape of our society, it can be implied that our generation became
more embracing with women and people from the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgenders,
Queers, Intersex, Asexuals, plus everything else). We can see women taking-up space, and not just any
house-material; LGBTQIA+ escalating far from being entertainers (Patiag, 2020) – which only means our
country is beginning to free the traditional mentality of gender norms and roles. After all, it is up to us all
to how we manage our very lives.