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By Anne • 11 years ago

“No To Safe Sex,” among other bullshit.

Last Saturday here in the Philippines, an “anti-RH bill” rally was held at the historic EDSA Shrine. Ten thousand people were reported to have been in attendance. Yes, ten thousand people braved wind and rain in the hopes of convincing legislators that poor people don’t deserve reproductive rights.

During the rally, a banner hung by a bridge with some confusing text written on it. “Yes to saved sex,” it said, followed by “No to safe sex,” capped off with a hashtag, #NoToRHBill.

I guess I’m confused:

1. What is “saved sex”? I cringe at the thought, without even knowing what it is. According to my short internet research that I did incognito because I don’t want this embarrassing query in my search history, “saved sex” is the basic tired principle of “virginity = purity”. Anti-RH conservatives believe that unless two (or gasp! multiple!) people are married and are straight, they should not be having sex.

2. “No to safe sex.” Really? Really? The world has been fighting HIV for decades and this is the kind of disrespect we get from conservatives? There is no excuse to this idea other than it came from complete idiots. This particular sentiment stems from the anti-RH faction’s inherent hostility towards contraceptives. These people, without shame, are anti-condom, anti-artificial birth control, anti-choice, and anti-sex.

3. Again, without shame, the conservatives are pushing for a Twitter trend in the form of #NoToRHBill. A lot of people say that the anti-RH bill groups ...
By Anne • 12 years ago

News From The Tropics: Is There Feminism In The Philippines?

I’m a Filipina feminist. I have reason to believe, Google-proven reasons to be exact, that this is not a common statement. Feminism is not as strong a movement in the Philippines as in the United States. Young ladies are more likely to follow the works of Kris Aquino, celebrity sister of the current president, than the works of Ninotchka Rosca, feminist and human rights activist.

There are women’s organizations here that fight for rights, combat domestic violence, and push to abolish sex trafficking, but despite these pleas and cries, we are still dismissed by the government.

A legislation was written, re-written, amended, and consistently shot down for over 12 years now. This is the Reproductive Health Bill, a simple policy that ...

I’m a Filipina feminist. I have reason to believe, Google-proven reasons to be exact, that this is not a common statement. Feminism is not as strong a movement in the Philippines as in the United States. Young ...