OF MEN AND WOMEN

Last week a lot of my FB friends have been wondering why I was posting in my status certain quotations or sentences that appeared to be super emotional on my part. The truth is it is not so. I was just a spectator to the developments of what had happened recently to my co-expatriate in this island. There are only few expatriates in the island and most of them are Filipinos. It cannot be avoided that some of us will have some misunderstandings with one another and will in one way or the other these misunderstandings will cause so much emotional pain. And this emotional pain may result to further aggravations.

There are certain issues involved here. When a man tries to physically attack a woman and mouthing expletives in public, what does it constitute? Well, it is said that the man was guilty of assault. But the issues I want to tackle is not what assault means because if we read a lot of materials even in the internet, it is defined as an act intended to cause an apprehension of harmful or offensive contact that causes apprehension of such contact in the victim. Well the court has proven that. 

Weeping Women by Walter Langley

One of the issues I would like to tackle is that, is there a gender issue here? In most cultures, the saying that “Men must fight” and “women weep” underscores the general notion that men are stronger and women are the weaker sex.  These are traditional notions. Men are the aggressive type while the women are the passive and emotional type. But what happens when men become aggressive and emotional at the same time? Would you call them “gays” or “bayots” or “bakla” as the different Filipino terms are used? I asked this because when the incident happened, the man was called “bakla”.  This was so because Filipino culture dictates that women should be regarded with utmost respect as they adhere to the saying that every man and woman came from a woman. However, what probably happened is that he is a typical irrational man who acts before they think. After what had happened and after thinking through, he must have realized he did wrong but he cannot apologize because of pride and his ego worship.