Lately I’ve been thinking about the Philippines and doing some research online about sex workers rights in the Philippines. Feminism in the Philippines seems to take the staunch anti-porn/anti-prostitution position. I believe that promoting women’s rights means that sex workers rights have to be addressed (a bit of a generalization, since of course, there are male sex workers as well). I believe sex workers need sex education, awareness of their rights, health benefits, and a voice in society.
Coincidentally, I received an email from a young woman from University of the Philippines working on her Masters thesis on the subject of Feminist Pornography. It amused me that she thought at first I was an urban legend. “And finding you, an educated woman of means, doing it as a deliberate and informed choice is certainly a cause for much interest,” she wrote.
I thought I’d share her questions, and my answers:
1. What are your beliefs regarding pornography?
Porn is as important to society as sex is important to the human experience. I believe pornography is a celebration of life, procreation, love. Why is depicting sex on film so taboo? Larry Flynt brought up this argument: Sex between consenting adults is legal. Yet depicting sex on film is illegal. On the contrary, murder is illegal. Yet depicting murder on film is legal.
2. Some feminists have criticized pornography for making money out of women’s bodies, but now there are women who make pornographic films “to show sexuality through a female’s perspective.” What are your (personal) reasons for making and doing pornography?
Anyone who enters a career, whether it’s in the sex industry or otherwise, thinks about whether it’s a viable way to make a living. We all have to make money. We all choose something about us, a talent, skill, or knowledge to market as a commodity. I started out as an actress/singer performing on stage and TV. When I got married, my husband and I played around on cameras as crazy newlyweds and got giddy posting stuff online. We really enjoyed it!
Performing sex for an audience came naturally to me. I was good at it, and willing to learn more “stunts.” I enjoy sex in many ways. I think everyone dreams of being employed in a job that one enjoys.
The main advantage to making my own porn at home versus being employed in legit shows is that I call the shots. I decide who I have sex with, when and how. Time is the biggest advantage. I’m sure you know that doing shows on stage and TV takes up so much time! I get to be a stay-at-home mom and raise my own child. It’s a challenge scheduling work around when my kid is at school, but at least I’m in control of my schedule.
I think feminists who criticize porn for “making money out of women’s bodies” have good intentions, but their criticism is not targeted correctly. It’s not porn that is the problem, it’s slavery in any form – it could be a domestic helper that is not being paid just wages, just as much as it could be a sex worker. If a woman decides to make money using her body, whether it’s for sex, or household chores, or performance, or athletics, that is her choice and she deserves respect. Respect means that she gets compensated well and treated well as a person.
3. In your entry, Give Up Porn? Dated October 12, 2007, you corrected several assumptions regarding pornography. Can you cite other examples of how you have been stereotyped or criticized for what you do, and how you reacted to it?
When I first started people assumed that because I have a porn site, I was willing to have sex with anyone. Some people think all I do is spread my legs. People forget that running a successful porn site requires technical skills and marketing savvy. Check Angry Woman (another one of my blog entries) for a little more about this.
The most criticism I get is from my menstruation site – On My Period – I like criticism. It means I get people’s attention, make them stop and think, polarize them into having an opinion… do I like this or not, and why? Most of the positive critiques I’ve gotten are well-thought-out. Most of the negative criticism have been knee-jerk reactions of disgust. At first I’m a little hurt, but I remind myself that my work is just a mirror. People will project their own feelings and ideas into my sites. People’s perceptions reveal more about themselves than it is about the subject.
4. How do you feel about being objectified, as a woman, and as a Filipina?
As I wrote above, we all objectify ourselves to make a living. By that I mean, we look at ourselves in an objective way, make a list of strengths and weaknesses, and if we’re smart, we capitalize on our strengths to create a good life for ourselves and the people we love. There is nothing more empowering than accepting who we are and making the most of it.
5. What advise would you give to the modern day Filipina?
Be proud. Be real. We are amazing!
I think that was my classmate. Found your site through her class report. I, on the other hand, reported about the thin line between eroticism and pornography. I was actually shocked when I read the discourse because I had always thought that feminists in the Philippines were against pornography. On the contrary, they aren’t. Though there are groups that believe in vanguardism/protectionism (protecting women from “victimization”), the more progressive feminists believe in freedom of expressing sexuality. I was shocked when I learned the feminists were not the prude man-haters I had first pegged them to be.
Hehe. I actually chose to report this particular topic because I used to run a hentai (Japanese anime porn) review site and since porn, is essentially a media product, it falls under my field of study. I’m a Communication Research PHD student at the University of the Philippines (College of Mass Communication), taking up some masteral electives. This class, WD227: Gender and Sexuality, is what led me to your website.
Hello, Bea. Thank you for introducing yourself to me. I’m really glad to contribute in any way to promoting freedom of expression – sexual or otherwise. I’ve been thinking a lot about the Philippines. I read about the RH bill getting sideswiped. It seems as if there is a lot of work that needs to be done to secure sex/health education for the people who need it the most. Love to hear more from you about what’s going on there.
Yeah, the RH Bill…we still cannot separate the government from the Church. It’s sad, really. The poor women are the ones getting the brunt of this problem because honestly, the elites have access to artificial contraceptives (also after-abortion care and treatment) — they can afford to have these things. And there are also stupid local policies that keep women in the dark, like the City of Manila’s Executive Order 003, Series of 2000: “The city shall establish programs and activities in City Health Department and its health centers (and city hospitals)… as well as the Department of Social Welfare which promote and offer as an integral part of their functions counseling facilities for natural family planning and responsible parenthood.”
This EO 0003 actually punishes health centers that distribute artificial means of contraception. Freaky. I don’t really know why they allow local governments to do this, when they’re actually violating international treaties and conventions.
Anyway, it’s nice hearing from you. I’ve also subscribed.
Hi, I’m a good friend of Bea’s and she gave me the link to this article on your blog. I’ve read it and I find that the problem isn’t just with the government but also with society. For example, My girlfriend and I were checking out some shops in Metrowalk and we found had manicure and pedicure services, we also found that they had those new premiere cock-rings. While I was buying a pair of those new Premiere “Earthquake” cock-rings to try out, my girlfriend couldn’t help but notice the bad looks she received from the other, older women that were there for their pedicures.
It saddens me to think that majority of this country still sees sex as something filthy and see sex education as a way of poisoning our children’s minds.
Another example would be my mother, who was giving advice to a friend about how to spice up the sex in his marriage. When she suggested the doggy-style position, the guy immediately said “Ay! ayoko nyan, pang puta yan!”
Go figure.
It’s hard for me to imagine “doggy-style” a kinky thing. I guess I have no idea how strict the thinking is there. I grew up in very uptight Maine New England… and I’m betting “doggy-style” is not all that radical even there. I also think it’s weird that the pedicure place sold cock rings in the first place. Seems like a strange combination niche. Are there no sex shops there? Maybe it’s time to start a biz in Manilla… Sex Toys and Adult Sex Education Center.
Bea, separation of church and state is really a myth, even here in the US. The truth is that religion is extremely political. I touched upon the roots of patriarchy in a previous blog entry “Whore, Adulteress, Sinner” but I’ll write a bit more about it in a future post. I think it deserves a whole blog entry.
Rocco, you got me thinking about the word “puta.” It’s a Spanish word. Is there a Tagalog counterpart? Wala, di ba? If there is one, I can’t think of it right now. Interesting that a sexually brazen woman is labeled “puta” by our Spanish colonizers, while the pre-colonial Filipinos have no word for her. To pre-colonial Filipino society, a sexually brazen woman must have been normal. We Filipinos have a rich heritage. We need to dig deeper to find our true selves underneath the western influences.
Jay, a friend of mine mentioned there is a sex shop called Pleasure Place at Metro Walk. It might be the only one in the country, though.