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We’ve all heard the stereotype of Filipinos having parents that are engineers and nurses or that all Asians are good at math and science. I’m sure we all know that this isn’t always the case, but when you think about it how many Filipino-American engineers or scientists do we know of that are recognized for anything significant. Did you know that a Filipino-American invented the first successful moon buggy used by Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission. Most people wouldn’t because this man is not even listed as the inventor in any books or scientific journals. Eduardo San Juan may not have been recognized officially, but we will recognize him right now for his achievements.

 Eduardo San Juan (aka The Space Junkman) was born in the Philippines and graduated from the Mapua Institute of Technology as a mechanical engineer. He later studied Nuclear Engineering at the University of Washington which was one of the first programs of its kind in the 1950s. In  1966 he was hired by Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporations where he was able to produce many concepts for the new field of space technology. His greatest achievement was being the main inventor of the moon buggy. Although the Apollo 11 mission was a success, many critics debunk Eduardo San Juan’s contributions. Even today his family has to answer to these false accusations, but the Filipino community has made efforts to recognize him for his achievements. He did however receive one of the Ten Outstanding Men (TOM) awards in science and technology in 1978. A special print issue of a Philippine postage stamp commemorated San Juan's invention and honored him during a celebration of the golden foundation anniversary of the Filipino Inventors Society in 1993.

Elisabeth San Juan, the proud daughter of Eduardo San Juan, had the following to say about her father.

“When my Father submitted the conceptual design for the Lunar Rover he submitted it via Brown Engineering, a company owned by Lady Bird Johnson.

During the final test demonstration to select one design from various submissions, his was the only one that worked. Thus, his design won the NASA Contract.

His overall concept and design of the Articulated Wheel System was considered brilliant. Each wheel appendage was mounted not underneath the vehicle, but were placed outside the body of the vehicle and each was motorized. Wheels could work independently of the others. It was designed to negotiate crater ingress and egress. The other vehicles did not make it into or out of the test crater.

In addition to his passion for his work and his love for his family, he was a huge mentor to local students. He spoke at school science fairs and to children in challenged economic areas to encourage them to follow their dreams and not be deterred by anything. He 'reached for the stars' and encourage them to do as well.”

Although Eduardo San Juan was not given recognition he deserved for the moon buggy, he continued to work hard and encouraged others to work hard as well. The very creative San Juan also conceptualized other designs for NASA like space shelters as well as jet propulsion and missile trajectory control systems. Although he had a good life abroad, he decided to go back to the Philippines in the late 1970's to become a university professor and speak at school fairs. He overcame a stereotype that he was consequently also a minority in, but that did not stop him from being an influential engineer.

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Don't Stop Believing...

That's the message sent to us fromArnel Pineda, the lead singer of the bandJourney!

Not only is this Pilipino native living out his dream after struggling with his mother's death & being homeless at a young age, he's also dedicated his success and funds to a non profit organization for street kids!

"Arnel Pineda Foundation, Inc. (APFI) is a non-stock, non-profit, and independent Philippine foundation that provides underprivileged children quality education, health services and medical attention.

For millions of youth in developing countries like the Philippines, education is seemingly beyond reach. Poverty and inadequate government support stifle the future aspirations of Filipino children. Hence, Arnel Pineda Foundation, Inc. (APFI) was formed, principally to address their sad plight by preparing them for a brighter future through education"

http://vimeo.com/13014937

This week's highlight isArnel Pinedawho struggled growing up in poverty & loss of family. Rather than following the stereotype and falling victim to what cards has been dealt to him, he rose above all of it in order to achieve his dreams and goals.

"I've seen enough pain and poverty in the Philippines. I've never been that big. All I wanted was to be able to get out of it -- the pain and the poverty - and live decently everyday," -Arnel Pineda

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Do you remember when this scene first played on primetime television, and the inevitable outrage that followed it? Many saw the controversial dialogue as racial slander towards Pilipinos, while others merely brushed it aside as nothing but a joke. However, joke or not, it's pretty apparent that even today the overall legitimacy of medical degrees achieved in the Philippines remains in question. That perception, along with the stereotype that Pilipina women are often found taking some sort of medical profession, are issues that Dr. Connie Mariano faced throughout her career. But with much determination, she was able to achieve success while breaking through barriers and boundaries.

Dr. Eleanor "Connie" Mariano was born in Sangley Point Naval Base in Cavite City, Philippines, to a Navy enlisted serviceman and a dentist. At the age of 2, she and her family moved to Hawaii, and continued to move thereafter, with her father in the military. After graduating from high school as Valedictorian and receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Biology with honors from the University of California at San Diego, Mariano proceeded to follow in a similar path to both her parents.

In 1977, Mariano joined the U.S. Navy and began attending the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine, which was the nation's military medical school. Graduating in the 1981, she received her medical degree and was commissioned as lieutenant in the United States Navy. From there, Mariano completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Naval Hospital in San Diego, where she later became the Division Head of General Internal Medicine. She also served as General Medical Officer and Medical Department Division Head onboard the USS Prairie; and after receiving her board certification in Internal Medicine, Mariano was assigned to the Naval Medical Clinic in Port Hueneme, California, where she was in charge of the Specialty Clinic and urgent care facility. 

All of her work and experiences eventually led to these accomplishments:

In 1992, she became the first military woman to become the White House Physician to the President.

In 1994, she became the first woman Director of the White House Medical Unit.

In 2000, she became the first Filipino American in US history to become a Navy Rear Admiral, nominated by Clinton.

Dr. Mariano was first chosen by President Bill Clinton to serve as his personal physician, eventually serving a total of 9 years to three sitting presidents (President George H.W. Bush, Clinton, President George W. Bush). After receiving the rank of Navy Admiral and completing 24 years of active duty service in the military, Dr. Mariano retired in July of 2000, and in 2001 she retired from the White House. Dr. Mariano now resides in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she founded the Center for Executive Medicine in 2005.

Dr. Mariano has definitely been one of the most successful Pilipina Americans in United States history. However, much of her success didn't really come too easily. With all of her achievements, Dr. Mariano fought through the obstacles of being a woman and a Pilipina American. She had stepped into uncharted territory aiming to do what she did best, and survived to share her experiences. And not only did she survive, Dr. Mariano has become one of the most influential Pilipina women in United States history, to both Pilipino Americans and women in medicine and the military. With all the negative stereotypes and perceptions in today's society, she has found a way to open doors for those aspiring to be just like her.

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Do you remember when this scene first played on primetime television, and the inevitable outrage that followed it? Many saw the controversial dialogue as racial slander towards Pilipinos, while others merely brushed it aside as nothing but a joke. However, joke or not, it's pretty apparent that even today the overall legitimacy of medical degrees achieved in the Philippines remains in question. That perception, along with the stereotype that Pilipina women are often found taking some sort of medical profession, are issues that Dr. Connie Mariano faced throughout her career. But with much determination, she was able to achieve success while breaking through barriers and boundaries.

Dr. Eleanor "Connie" Mariano was born in Sangley Point Naval Base in Cavite City, Philippines, to a Navy enlisted serviceman and a dentist. At the age of 2, she and her family moved to Hawaii, and continued to move thereafter, with her father in the military. After graduating from high school as Valedictorian and receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Biology with honors from the University of California at San Diego, Mariano proceeded to follow in a similar path to both her parents.

In 1977, Mariano joined the U.S. Navy and began attending the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine, which was the nation's military medical school. Graduating in the 1981, she received her medical degree and was commissioned as lieutenant in the United States Navy. From there, Mariano completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Naval Hospital in San Diego, where she later became the Division Head of General Internal Medicine. She also served as General Medical Officer and Medical Department Division Head onboard the USS Prairie; and after receiving her board certification in Internal Medicine, Mariano was assigned to the Naval Medical Clinic in Port Hueneme, California, where she was in charge of the Specialty Clinic and urgent care facility. 

All of her work and experiences eventually led to these accomplishments:

In 1992, she became the first military woman to become the White House Physician to the President.

In 1994, she became the first woman Director of the White House Medical Unit.

In 2000, she became the first Filipino American in US history to become a Navy Rear Admiral, nominated by Clinton.

Dr. Mariano was first chosen by President Bill Clinton to serve as his personal physician, eventually serving a total of 9 years to three sitting presidents (President George H.W. Bush, Clinton, President George W. Bush). After receiving the rank of Navy Admiral and completing 24 years of active duty service in the military, Dr. Mariano retired in July of 2000, and in 2001 she retired from the White House. Dr. Mariano now resides in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she founded the Center for Executive Medicine in 2005.

Dr. Mariano has definitely been one of the most successful Pilipina Americans in United States history. However, much of her success didn't really come too easily. With all of her achievements, Dr. Mariano fought through the obstacles of being a woman and a Pilipina American. She had stepped into uncharted territory aiming to do what she did best, and survived to share her experiences. And not only did she survive, Dr. Mariano has become one of the most influential Pilipina women in United States history, to both Pilipino Americans and women in medicine and the military. With all the negative stereotypes and perceptions in today's society, she has found a way to open doors for those aspiring to be just like her.

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Born August 29, 1975 Originally from Pittsburg, California he was born and raised in Cerritos and Paramount. He is an American actor, voice actor, Poet and Dancer. He has played many roles that people are familiar with, Rufio in the movie Hook with Robin Williams, and voice acting as Jake Long in American Dragon: Jake Long and Zuko in the nickelodeon show Avatar the Last Airbender. 

Dante Basco is consider an icon in the eyes of the filipino community. Mr. Basco has so much talent and has not forgotten his roots. When he is not busy writing poetry, or acting or playing for the NBA entertainment league for film industry professionals he is giving back to the community showing up to events and contributing his talents and his gifts. He started off in Cerritos and ended up a huge icon in the media. He really  broke the barrier and help pave the way for american asian actors in the early 90s and today.

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When you hear the word ‘Jazz’ what do you think of? Do you hear the blazing trumpets in a big swing band? Or maybe New Orleans, the city that made jazz music famous. How about the Philippines?

The first exposure of jazz music to Pilipinos could of been at it’s birth in Louisiana, where the first Pilipinos settled in America from the 18th century to early 20th century. Jazz bands started to emerge in the Philippines during 1920’s, known as Pinoy-Jazz, where it evolved the same time as American Jazz.

Music, what better way to learn about different cultures and bridge gaps. Today, we see the rebirth of Pilipino and jazz music blend with a newly developed musical genre called “Jazzipino”. Created by a Pilipina jazz singer, Charmaine Clamor.

Charmaine Clamor was born in Subic-Zamblaes Philippines. She began her singing career at the age at 3, where she would sing in the back of buses traveling to Manila. At the age of 16, she moved to California and later earned a masters degree in physical therapy from Cal State-Northridge. While working as a karaoke waitress, she was discovered by the musical director of Crescendo, a vocal jazz harmony quintet.

As an Asian-American Woman, she dazzled fans world wide with her unique soulful voice. Earning her many awards and honors in jazz music including:

Philippines Movie Press Club - 2nd Annual Star Award nomination in Jazz Music

Filipinas Magazine -12th Annual Achievement Award in Entertainment

Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences [the "Oscars" of the Philippines] -Award of Merit, "Philippine Pride Best Jazz Singer"

Asian Heritage Society - 6th Annual Asian Heritage Award in Performing Arts

National Federation of Filipino American Associations - V-Day "Vagina Warrior" Award for Championing Women's Rights

State of California and City of Los Angeles - Certificate of Recognition in Performing Arts

Filipino Women's Network - 100 Most Influential Filipino Women in the United States

Many of Clamor’s songs are conscience driven, with subject matters that include: women issues, stereotypes, equity, environmental, and the Pilipino identity. She has been credited with introducing Pilipino culture to mainstream jazz audiences, bridging the gap between American and Pilipino Cultures. As a founding member of JazzPhil-USA, she has helped many jazz artist of Pilipino descent in the United States. She has also narrated a documentary film, The Hidden Dream, which explores Pilipino’s relationships with America.

"'Jazzipino' is the ultimate expression of my artistic self, a Filipino-American. Jazz has always been an immigrant’s music, open to different spices that each culture adds to the stew. This is my Filipino contribution to the continuously evolving unique American art form we call jazz." -Charmaine Clamor

Jazz, hopefully the Philippines just popped in your head. As Charmaine Clamor and many like her have proven, no matter who you are or where you come from, if you have the courage and the passion, you can sing any song you desire.

-Jordan Juliano

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Today, we are highlighting Cristeta Pasia Comerford in our online series, Successes over the Stereotypes because she has broken that barrier of stereotypes that we face today in society, not only with race, but sex as well. She has broken the barrier by becoming the FIRST FEMALE and ETHNIC MINORITY EXECUTIVE CHEF of the White House. 

This video was taken when she received the award of Chef of the Year in 2010. Other key awards that she has received are mentioned below along with a mini-biography on her. 

Key note speaker at the International Women's Leadership Conference in Kapiolani, HI

Mentor-ship to younger Culinarians

Won Iron Chef:America with teammate Bobby Flay

BPinoy Awardee in 2009

Chef of the Year 2010 by the March of Dimes, Illinois

Executive Chef Cristeta Pasia Comerford was born in Manila and studied Food Technology at the University of the Philippines. At the age of 23 she came to the U.S and expanded her culinary career and has traveled through Chicago, Napa Valley, Austria and France. Traveling expands her palette and exposes her to new and vibrant ingredients and techniques. 

She was an assistant chef under the Clinton administration from 1995-2005 and was appointed Executive Chef by the Bush administration in 2005.  Now, she has been re-appointed by the Obama administration because of her emphasis on healthy eating. She has said that her Pilipino heritage made her better equipped into becoming the chef she is today in the challenge of incorporating healthier diets.

She is very humbled and honored by all the blessings that has come her way and believes that all the choices that we make today, are the choices that will influence the upcoming generations. It is important to stay driven and passionate in all that we do. 

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"I love proving people wrong.  I love competing. When I first started hearing those remarks, I would always want to say something back, or to play well to get them back. As I grew older, I realized that I shouldn’t allow that stuff to effect me, and at the same time I shouldn’t retaliate. I shouldn’t say anything back. So at this point, now, this year, it hasn’t really bothered me."

-Jeremy Lin, current Point Guard of the New York Knicks

That is what Jeremy Lin had to say in response to the critics and doubters that didn't believe he'd make it in the NBA because of his college experience, background, and ultimately, his ethnicity. Now the world definitely isn't wrong for thinking this way, because we haven't seen any Asian Americans ever in the game. But now after a couple of weeks of exceptional play, Jeremy Lin has proved not only that he can play, but that anybody can play.

He is just one of the many examples of people in America overcoming struggles to reach great achievements and aspirations. From the time Asian Americans first started to immigrate to America, all the way to the present, there have been several people facing adversity head on and succeeding with determination and the willingness to prove that no matter what race you are, what culture you celebrate, or what attributes you were born with, anything is possible.

In our rich American history, most people are aware of the struggles that Pilipinos have faced, however, many may be unaware of those that succeeded through the stereotypes. As a way to pay tribute to these inspirations, we will be highlighting an individual person each week. This will give you a look at the many people who chose not to believe in the stereotypes during their time, instead, believing in themselves and their abilities to reach their goals. Drop by every Wednesday to find out who we'll be highlighting!

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As part of our week-long iVOW vs. VAW activities, please join SiGAw and Kappa Psi Epsilon in fighting the economic violence facing thousands of Filipina, and other women, domestic workers by updating your social network status with the statement “iVOW against Violence Against Women” along with a link to this video on the plight of caregivers created by our sisters and brothers of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) in Northern California. You can take action to help these caregivers, and thousands of workers like them, gain more rights by signing onto the petition to pass the California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights at domesticworkers.org. 

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COME AND GET SOME-->http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/371195189574461/

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Ever wanted to know the history behind your delicious meals? Now you can!!!

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Liberated Women II

LIBERATED WOMEN II

by Ma. Lorena Barros

Pugadlawin Taon 18 Blg. 3; Jan-Feb, l971

Lorena Barros (1948-1976) 

The oppression of women in Philippine society cannot be isolated from the oppressive character of the society as a whole. Filipino women comprise what has been described by Juliet Mitchell (in Women: the Longest Revolution) as “half a totality.” Filipino women are fundamental to the Filipino condition; their oppression must reflect a fundamentally oppressive system of social relationships.

And indeed if we look at Philippine society as a whole, we find that it is a society characterized by the oppression and exploitation of the many by the few. More exactly, it is a society where the peasants and workers (90%) of the total population, and to a lesser but no less real extent, the students, professionals, small businessmen and the national bourgeoisie (9%) are systematically deceived and coerced to submit to the greedy domination of the U.S. Imperialists, the comprador bourgeoisie, the landlords and the bureaucrat capitalists (1%) who run the country. (See Amado Guerrero, Philippine Society and Revolution).

Much remains to be done in the field of research in order to locate the exact mechanisms by which the oppression of women contribute integrally to the maintenance of the oppressive status quo. Several writers have given important clues. Margaret Bensten (in the Political Economy of Women’s Liberation) has written about the huge amount of socially necessary labor performed by women in the home which goes uncompensated. She has further pointed out that this peculiar relation to production produces women who are “conservative, fearful, supportive of the status quo.”

Other writers on the subject, such as Juliet Mitchell, (ibid.) and Laurel Limpus, (in Liberation of Women,) have similarly pointed to the family as the central factor in the oppression of women and their inhuman use in preserving and sustaining an unjust social system. F. Engels, as early as l902 wrote that “Monogamy was the first form of the family founded not on natural, but on economic conditions, viz: the victory of private property over primitive and natural collectivism” (The Origin of the Family).

Although by standards of contemporary bourgeois social science (which has developed more instruments of measurements than useful concepts for comprehending social phenomena) the literature on women’s liberation may be said to be impressionistic and inexact, it is clear at any rate that imply because “women are the other half” and are thus an integral part of society, their oppression is integral to the oppressive nature of the society as a whole.

Therefore, as Juliet Mitchell wrote: “Since the problems that face women are related to the structure of the whole society, ultimately our study of our particular situation as women will lead us to the realization that we must attempt to change this whole society.”

Women in the Philippines who have become conscious of their oppression have indeed arrived at this realization. The programme of the Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (MAKIBAKA) states:

To liberate the creative potential of women, it is first of all necessary to liberate the Filipino masses of which they are part. No sector of the population can be free from exploitation of any sort unless the primary exploitative relation, that between U.S. Imperialism and domestic feudalism on the one hand and the broad masses of the Filipino people on the other, is totally destroyed. Moreover, it is in their participation in the national struggle for liberation fro feudal and foreign oppression that women can achieve their own liberation.

This position puts the women’s liberation movement in the Philippines squarely in the context of the national democratic revolution. It defines women’s liberation in terms of participation in the revolutionary struggle now assuming unprecedented heights in the cities and the countryside.

And, as such, it suggests a whole new semantic universe for the word “femininity.”

The new femininity

At one point in the December 4 rally protesting the blacklisting of more than 800 student activists from their schools (in which a high school student, Francis Santillano, was brutally slain by fascist hirelings of the Feati Administration), a male demonstrator succinctly defined the new woman, the new femininity. The protest march had entered the UST campus and the marchers were urging the other students to join them. A male demonstrator shouted to some women students watching the marchers from a safe second floor window: “Maganda sana kayo, mga miss, kung nandito kayo sa baba at nakiki-martsa sa amin!” You would be beautiful if you were down here marching with us).” Although he spoke in terms of beauty, since it is primarily in terms of beauty that women are valued, it is clear that he was referring to anew ideal of femininity.

It is an ideal that is a far cry from the Maria Clara satirically described by Rizal but taken as a model by several generation of Filipinos both men and women, who took him too literally. Maria Clara was a social ornament, a weakling who fainted in times of stress and who ran away to a nunnery to hide her head (while her lower region, just like the ostrich’s stuck out in an extremely vulnerable position for Padre Salve’s delectation), a poor sort of human being who could betray the man she loved for the sake of an abstraction such as her own and her dead mother’s “honor”. Maria Clara’s social conscience manifested itself in impulsively donating her necklace to a beggar, a leper. It was beyond her capacity to conceive of more substantial action. In all things, Maria Clara’s supreme quality was submission, a quiet, unprotesting acceptance of her sad fate.

The new woman, the new Filipino, is first and foremost a militant. It is not enough for her to decorate a school window and smile encouragement at the boys marching in protest against student harassment: she must march with them. And since, in the cities, participation in protest marches means not only marching but often also dodging police truncheons, evading precinct-produced Molotovs and pillboxes and trying to get some over to the pigs’ lines oneself, expertise in hitting the ground when the Metrocom or Task Force Lawin or whatever pig force it is start firing, agility in climbing wall, and other requirements of urban street fighting - the new Filipina is one who has learned not only to march, but also to carry herself in these situations with sufficient ease and aplomb to convince the male comrades that they need not take care of her, please.

The new Filipina is one who can stay whole days and nights with striking workers, learning from them the social realities which her bourgeois education has kept from her. This means that she is also ready to picket for hours under the sun, ready to throw herself in front of a truck bearing scabs or materials for the factory’s machines to prevent it from breaking the picket line. More important, this means that she has convinced her parents of the seriousness of her commitment to the workers’ and peasants’ cause, a commitment which keeps her out of the house at all hours of the day and night, and requires all sorts of behavior previously way beyond the bounds of respectable womanhood.

For the militant in the rapidly developing revolutionary situation in which we find Philippine society today, there is never enough time for all the work that has to be done. There are political tracts and manifestoes to mimeograph, correspondence to type, research files to keep in order and update, revolutionary articles to write or reproduce, press releases and other propaganda materials to distribute - to mention only routine , almost clerical tasks. There are discussion groups to organize and sustain, and always several strikes which need support, speeches to make, teach-ins to attend, first aid and nursing classes, fund-raising projects to finance day-to-day activities, a myriad things which require more than 24 hours each day.

The militant has therefore to spend all of her waking hours at the organization headquarters or wherever her political tasks take her; more conveniently, even her sleeping hours. That is, all her time. For most Filipino families, with their traditional feudal set-up, this means virtually being a stowaway, cut off from one’s family and home.

But today we are witnessing a mutation of the Filipino family, especially where daughters are concerned. When the militant girl comes home after several days’ absence, and recounts to her family how the striker just beside her was hit by bullets from goons or police hired to break the strike; or how the house where they had stayed in the province was shot up by Monkees to scare the barrio folk away from their teach-in; or how she felt when she saw carbines aimed point-blank at students by uniformed murderers in the last demonstration- how can it occur to her parents to question her moral behavior when she is away from home? When she leaves again the next morning, unable to say when she would be back, if ever, how can even her mother ask for assurance that she has protected her virginity in the manner she was brought up to (by holding up a wedding ring)? As Franz Fannon, writing about the Algerian women, said: “The militant girl in adopting new patterns of conduct, could not be judged by traditional standards. Old values, sterile and infantile phobias disappeared.”

The Filipina, through her militant participation in the revolutionary struggle, has thus brought to life a new women, this new woman is no longer either a mindless ornament (which she would be if born to a well-to-do family) or a mindless drudge (if she were the wife or daughter of a peasant or worker). She is a woman who has ‘discovered the exalting realm of responsibility’, a woman fully engaged in the making of history, in the destruction of imperialism and feudalism and the building of a new democratic society. No longer is she simply a woman-for-marriage, but more and more a woman-for-action. A comrade.

Strangely enough, this new definition of femininity in terms of revolutionary militancy has not reduced her desirability as a woman, in the eyes of male comrades and also those of the bourgeois beaux she has had to discard because of her politics. The reason may be that just as there has evolved a new femininity, so also is there today a new masculinity a new man.

The new masculinity

For centuries the women of the Philippines have had to accept as fathers, husbands, brothers, sons poor substitutes for men, who walked their own land, with head bowed to the white conquistador and his mestizo offspring. When it was not the white colonialist whipping the Filipino to servility, it was the brown collaborator who had assumed the dress, the speech, the culture of the white masters. The Filipina, a daily witness to this continuous emasculation of her men, developed a concept of masculinity which rejected what she found in them, and instead assumed the characteristics of the colonial master.

Even today this concept of masculine desirability still finds snug habitation in the dark corners of many Filipino women’s minds, perhaps because the white colonial master is still very much around. The real man, the man whom the captive women dreams of, is fair-complexioned, if possible white. He is tall, much taller than the average Malay male can ever be, and is slim and long boned, not squat or stocky. He is hairy, not smooth-skinned and is beautifully Caucasian.

He doesn’t woo, he rapes a women into submission. He speaks a language she does not understand and acts in a manner utterly foreign to her - the result of which is that their relationship is one-sided both ways. Nor would she wish it different. She does not want to understand him at all, for if she does he would surely fall from his pedestal - just as many a Spanish lover who was a dock-hand in Seville before he became a friar in the Philippines or a G.I., who merely cleaned toilet bowls in the army during the war before he made a killing in surplus equipment fell from their pedestals the moment the women understood just what they only were.

For his part the Filipino male developed an image of himself which sought to make up for this inferior status beside the white colonizer. The true Filipino male, according to this defensive myth, is one who drinks savagely, will die rather than lose face or honor, and has one or two wives and several queridas. The philanderer to the nth degree is virile to the nth degree. Because he could not deserve the total respect of one women, the colonized Filipino male sought to make up for the lack by adding on several more half-hearted fragments.

Thus today one finds the jeepney driver who has just been helpless before the extortionist cop finding comfort in the thought that he has at least the choice of which wife to bawl out in retaliation. Or the army general who has been granted two squeaky cannons by the benevolent American advisers of JUSMAG after he begged for two hours for two tanks to use against peasants in Central Luzon, showing off his medals and recounting his glorious war years to his paid querida. Or even the President of the Philippines, gloating at having all-American blonde comforter to remove the bitter taste of mendicancy and servility in his puppet mouth after his annual beggar’s trip to the White House. 

In a country where life is hard, unemployment is high and labor cheap, women are more plentiful than men, it is easy enough for a man, virile or not, to collect women, provided he can feed, clothe and shelter them and their children. Domestic and sexual labor, like other kinds of labor in our semi-feudal semi-colonial country, are at the mercy of the economic lords. It is no accident that the top politicians in the country, who are the top puppets and the top consumers of U.S. Imperialist shit, have the most wives. They have the most shattered male egos and rake in the most profits from their emasculation. Not far behind are such types as sugar barons who have to kiss U.S. Imperialist asses to make sure their sugar gets bought, or comprador bosses who like to call themselves industrial magnates but are actually mere financial and trading agents of US Imperialism. And there are of course those, who, whether they can afford it or not, imitate them.

Obviously this type of pseudo-male can have no attraction for the militant girl, the new Filipina. Nor can she want that of the white colonial master, who is used for target practices (lacking guns, a saliva). What is the new masculinity, the new man, who commands the respect not only of the militant girl but also, perhaps more importantly, his own?

There are many concrete examples, so we need not discuss ideal types. Foremost are the fighters in the New People’s Army, the army which that spectacular defector, Lt. Victor Corpus of the PMA, called “the real army of the people.” Bernabe Buscayno or Commander Dante, as the head of the NPA exemplifies the revolutionary fighter’ clever, courageous, heroic, outwitting the puppet troops at every turn and inflicting casualties way out of proportion to his guerilla unit’s arms and number. There is Corpus himself, young, intelligent, intensely patriotic and partisan to the cause of the Filipino masses, and now part of the NPA. Though among young women in the cities this respect and appreciation for the Red Fighters may smack of romanticism, for the peasant lasses in the feudal countryside the NPA soldier is concretely a liberator - and thus very male.

In the cities, there are the many fiery young men who give voice and concrete expression to the people’s struggle for liberation, men like Nonnie Villanueva of the Kabataang Makabayan, the firebrand professor Ramon Sanchez of the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan, Ruben Guevarra of the fighting USTC Labor Union. There are the youth who died fighting terribly unequal battles against the police and the puppet troops of the AFP in Mendiola. There are the young men who do their unspectacular but no less important jobs quietly and efficiently in the mass organizations, in this way contributing hugely to the total revolutionary effort.

In brief, what defines the new masculinity is revolutionary militance. Not the Caucasian good looks, not the number of women conquered or bought, but the contribution he is making to the national democratic revolution enables the Filipino male to reclaim the manhood which his centuries of oppression took away. This is what has gained for him the total respect of the Filipino woman, and a pride in him that is not founded on his proximity to excellence by Western standards, but a pride built on his rediscovered identity and dignity.

It may be noted that both the new femininity and the new masculinity are defined in terms of revolutionary militance. Those who like to say “Vive le difference!” may inquire: but where then is the difference? What distinguishes the new woman from the new man?

The answer is nothing.

In a future article, I hope to discuss how the differences between men and women have been overplayed in history for the purpose of exploiting both. For now, let me just say quite arbitrarily that there are very few differences between men and women which are not culturally or ideologically defined; that is, the biologically given differences are very few and cannot be the most important reasons for the marked social differences we find today between men and women. Especially in the face of the high level of technology available to contemporary generations, whatever biological inequalities there might be are easily rendered insignificant. All evidence points to the conclusion that men and women belong to a single species and cannot differ to the extend of requring for each of them a whole and separate set of cultural definitions.

http://remembering-lorenabarros.blogspot.com/

Who is Lorena Barros?

http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Lorena_Barros

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This weeks quote and Tagalog Phrase

"The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual."

- Vince Lombardi

Tagalog Phrase: Walang mahirap mga gawin

Translation: Nothing is hard to do

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"A Night for The Veteranos" Open Mic Night, presented by XPO/KaSo/PASK

Friday, November 4 ·  5:00pm -  9:00pm

Bamboo Bistro 1559 E Amar Rd #AWest Covina, CA

Chi Rho Omicron (XPO) Kabalikat Society (KaSo) Pilipino American Studies Kollective (PASK) Presents a night to commemorate the Pilipino-American Veteranos with an open mic night, where we will be showcasing many talented performers to raise awareness for the brave veterans of WWII. ... CONFIRMED PERFORMERS: XPO performing the Philippines National Anthem Darren Cariaso Patrick Calubaquib Nicole Jane Calinawan & Edward Santos Chrystle Vita & Marlon Gomez Catherine Agorrilla & Hector Espinoza Marlo Afuang Michelle Macasero Christops Rodriguez & Eric Romulo Emi Trang Natalie Kristine Resnick Aguda & Ryan Adviento Joseph De Jesus Joseph Jamoralin, Emerald Argonza, Glenn Sacoy, Scott Dou Jean-Luc Felix *many more TBA HOSTED BY: Mike Pedro Jaimie Carlos Date: Friday, November 4, 2011 Time: 5PM - 9PM (Performances begin at 6PM) Location: Bamboo Bistro 1559 E Amar Rd #A, West Covina, CA 91792 *Buffet from 5-7pm ($8.99 excluding drink). Afterwards will be "a la carte" (per plate). We will be raising funds for Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) by holding a raffle with many prizes to be given out. Donations will also be accepted. ALL PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED to support the "11th Annual JFAV Veterans Day Parade" on Friday, November 11th, 2011. More details about the parade is provided in the link below: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=161228667303057 For more information, please contact: XPO: Jayrald Pedro (909) 702-8194 Jimmy Giang (510) 427-5196 PASK: Froilan Santos (619) 850-8793 Jordan Juliano (951) 491-4504 KaSo: Tiffany Jamoralin (909) 938-4497 Bamboo Bistro: Daniel Belen (626) 617-9311See More

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PASK 2011-2012 BOARD MISSION STATEMENT As patient & selfless leaders, we will strive to create a safe environment to provide guidance and inspiration. Through education and experience we will build future leaders within the community. By motivating each other to express our passions through determination and perseverance, we will never fail to meet our goal. With knowledge of the past, we will continue to pave our own path.