Breaking News: The internet hates women
And for all the wrong reasons. (Not that there are any right reasons to.)
In an alternate universe, Tyra Banks would come out of her woodworks in all her gold and glitter glory, speaking in her monotonous I've-been-doing-this-for-twenty-years voice, "I have three beautiful ladies standing before me, but I only have one photo in my hand. And this photo represents the girl that will still be in the running towards becoming Philippine's Next Stop Internet Sensation."
Banks would pause midway her speech, and continue, "I will only call one name, and the name that I do not call must immediately return to your loft in this god forsaken country, unpack your baggage, and stay for another thirty years living in a patriarchal society."
The near negligible background music starts in the rhythm of a heartbeat. Another woman will be crowned yet again, becoming the next big joke of social media's uncivilized beings. Bring on the spotlight, Universe: they aren't going nowhere. And so are these trolls.
Leila De Lima, Agot Isidro, and Mocha Uson: how familiar can these names be? Too familiar, I would assume, for the average Filipino. Not only that, but too familiar also is the kind of treatment (or lack thereof) they get from voicing their opinion. These women. What made it legal for them to speak their minds, to have agency of their body? Yes, these women.
A third world country with citizens boasting themselves as feminists and yet we hasten to simplifying these women into shells, into mere bodies, the moment we cannot stand what comes out of their mouth.
Oh, Mocha Uson just fabricated a story about Rappler being funded by the CIA? Well, that's probably because she once was a product of the male gaze, a sex blogger of a well-known men's magazine, the bold star of the century. Let alone the fact that she founded Mocha Girls, an all-female group in the country whose just here to entertain.
Agot Isidro rammed the President in his face with a "psycopath" comment, claimed that the rest of the country will go into its own Hunger Games mode once we cut ties with America, and this is what we get: a flock of people shaming Isidro for being infertile as if her reproductive abilities define her political stand, as if it defines her self-worth. Internet, I'm pretty sure there are better arguments to her baseless claims other than "Kaya ka iniwan ng asawa mo kasi baog ka." It is already unfortunate that men run the world. At the least, don't make it too obvious.
Saving the best for last is the President fan's favorite: Leila De Lima. Talk about pure, unfaltering character assassination. This woman stood up for human rights and in expense, she is condemned for allegedly having an adult video. Because apparently, it makes sense to use it against her as evidence of correlation to the drug mayhem. Because apparently, a clip of a woman having sexual intercourse is enough reason for the world to hate her guts. Because apparently, that's how shallow most of us are.
And yet, after all that, where are we? Here, still. Perpetuating the misogyny in our society, still. Shaming women for all the wrong reasons, still.
But then what are the right reasons? None. You don't shame women per se. You shame what they do and/or what is done, regardless of gender.
Shame Uson being the human embodiment of conspiracy theories - and possibly becoming the next Editor-in-Chief of The Onion for making up the most ridiculous, ignorant, comments, and stories. Shame her blinding loyalty.
Shame Isidro for declaring that we go hungry once we say goodbye to Uncle Sam. Shame her for putting the Philippines' number one oppressor on a pedestal as if we badly need it. Shame her for subtly suggesting we trade our sovereignty for a stomach full — of imperialism, most likely.
Shame De Lima for having been allegedly involved in an illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison — and if it turns out to be true, for getting away with it. (And even then, where is the evidence? But I digress.)
In an alternate universe, Tyra Banks would stop the elimination. She would say that no woman should ever be castigated for exercising her freedom of speech. She would look in the camera, in the eyes of every man and woman, and tell that to victimize womanhood is victimizing humanity. It is victimizing every single one of us, one way or another. In the end of the episode, Banks would retract from pulling any woman out of the competition.
Because no woman deserves to be.
