by: Jireh
Rape culture has been evidently seen nowadays, with the progress of technology it affects a wider scope for victims and even instances it became naturally seen due to the foul practices of people and treated rape and sexual violence as a joke to many. In which they don’t take things with understanding that rape is a serious case, and the victims shouldn’t be the ones to be blamed for the initiative of a perverted mind. An article from the Time magazine, named as “The New Scarlet Letter” is all about revenge porn or also known as consensual porn wherein the host of the article is the victim herself, Kara Jeft. Wherein her nude photos had leaked online without her consent and how this thing changed her whole life full of shame and left her wondering if everybody she encounters has seen her naked. She was the victim, yet she’s being blamed.
It was written for it is not only Jeft herself had experienced this kind of instance, yet women around the world. And this issue has been prevalent and there will always be the point where the victim is still blamed. It showed evidences and even statistical analysis about the issue and the insights of each victim has. It portrays a new perspective about sexual violations that comes easier for it is a new era for digital technology that enables easier access towards a large mass of audience. Its viewpoint is not only limited with Kara Jeft but includes the fellow victims and how they face reality with their shameful past hidden beneath their faces. It is directly stating reality empirically and written while quoting other victims.
Hearing these stories becomes pitiful and at the same time, heartbreaking on how the victims’ life can be easily ruined and on how the perpetrator can easily go away with it and proceed with their lives like as if nothing happened. Out all the mistakes being done, it is still the judgement of the mass that matters the most, sad to say it has been a culture and been inflicted in those perverted minds that woman should always be the ones to be blamed and be ashamed of what happened to them. Yet one word needs to be learned by everyone and it is easy to understand and spelled out loud, C-O-N-S-E-N-T. Even first graders know this one, why is it hard to understand?
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by: Jireh
Matalahib na paligid, marikit na espasyo at matarik na daan patungo sa bayan ng Antipolo. May malamig na simoy ng hangin, masayang ala-ala bitbit pauwi kalapit ng ngiti sa aking mga labi. May matataas na bundok, sinag ng araw at bato-batong akala mo ay kalat ngunit nagmistulang “beautiful disaster” dahil sa rock formation na onting tao lamang ang makakapagbigay pansin dito.
Inakyat ang mababatong daan patungo sa tanawin na nais maipamalas ang ganda ng nayon. Pagkatapos ay nagtungo sa Rizal na markado ng mga unang memorya, ng unang pagdayo. Mga ala-alang pilit binabalik, pilit na kinukubli. Ganda ng antipolo ay aking nasilayan, pagkatapos ay nagsimba kalakip ang pasasalamat at paguunawa sa mga bagay na aking hinaharap at natatanggap.
Ngunit kung iisipin ay hindi importante kung saan patungo at kung gaano kalayo ang mararating ng paningin at ng mga yapak papunta sa mga destinasyo na hindi natin inaakala. Dahil sa bawat saglit ay memorya ang nakabalakit na hindi matutumbasan ng kahit anong kapalit.
by: Jireh
Social Media had greatly influenced the viewpoints, perspective and impression of many people in almost all aspect of life. This is a medium of free flowing thoughts and communication that enables people to interact, connect and may be entitled to judge other people. I often had a glimpse of public posts that makes a stigma of expectation that every person “must” have. It seems like in a social media perspective, a relationship must be based on materialistic things, like a goal to surprise your partner, the goal to give flowers, the goal to eat on a fancy restaurant which in reality, not everyone can afford to have it. And if someone attempts to cheat, there’s a long rant with photo evidence awaiting to be posted. Sure you can share your insights about your life and have the freedom to let it all out. But that doesn’t mean there’s no limit and some things had come out of hand. Some are about trends such as fashion trends, food trends, or even make up trends. I watched hundreds of makeup tutorials and believe me when I say the definition of beauty now is based on how well can you pull off your make up. How well did you spread your foundation, how well did you make your brows on fleek, and how well did you blend your eyeshadow. I don’t hate make up, I put make up on occasionally. Yet this brought me grudges to hate myself for I think Im not socially accepted if I showed my true self without greasepaint mask on me. Why can’t people be beautiful without make up nowadays? Why can’t fat people be called beautiful? Why do we need to follow an ill-favoured standard based on judgment?
Thick thighs, Inflated stomach, awful scars, stretch marks, pimples, large shoulders. Name it, I have it. It’s normal for my family to have it, and I think it’s normal just before the society had judged me for showing myself. I’ve been called by many names, fat, pig, stout, pork, and flabbily. That led me to hate myself for a cruel society judging me for just being myself. They set up a standard of “body goals” that often means “body shaming “for others. They are so busy making theirselves perfect and seeing just the ugly side of other people just to make them feel superior. Pictures posted of a sexy woman wearing sleeveless and shorts would be pleasing and be given comments such as “beautiful, sexy, wow, slim, perfection” while when a flabby girl gets the chance to earn confidence in a long time to wear sleeveless and shorts comments of hatred will spread such as “you should’ve wore a long sleeve instead, yuck, ew, unpleasing” that degrades you and takes away your right to freely choose what to wear and freely accept yourself. Why do people have to send hate and be hypocrites? Why can’t they let others be happy just the way they are? Let us live the way we want to. And the society must understand the struggle and rigors of a person to truly accept who they are for theirselves and the struggle to earn admiration and begging to be loved by others.
The virtual world as we know it is built with lies, people full of pretentions hidden by a screen in front of their faces. I’m tired of pretending who I’m not. I’m tired of following the standards that the society has set for me. I’m tired of basing my life for the satisfaction of others. I’m tired of being judged physically, And Im tired of trying to fit into two worlds full of hate and cruelty. All these fats had made me unique and slowly, I know I’ll learn how to love myself more than anyone else can. These scars had formed who I am now. A mark from my past. Let’s stop the stigma, no one deserves to be hated just because they’re being true to theirselves. And no one deserves to be treated less than everybody else. Not just because you’re fat you’re unworthy to be loved. Someone’s going to see your worth and love you not basing on your physical appearance but based on the true self you can offer and that weighs worth so much more than the outer appearance because you will be secured with a genuine love given by a genuine person who’ll make you genuinely happy that’s for sure. And that’s the only goal to follow.
by: Jireh
We are people who brings about change, and the ones who know that it is inevitable. We got this typical question of knowing what new year's resolution is it gonna be this time? may it be centered on self, relationships, family or even love.
Filipinos are famous for celebrating christmas and new year the happiest way possible, we get to enjoy these occassions valuing family over any materialistic things and prioritizing love over any matter. I honestly witnessed those pivotal moments with my family, with a different charisma and vibe that provides everyone a positive mood. I've seen those faces being genuinely happy receiving gifts, greeting everyone with a grin on their faces, jumping up and down to get tall together with the firecrackers and horns being blown to be loud and noisy as possible signifying a welcome to a new year hoping for a good one , together with the fireworks zooming up high to reach the sky, reaching its peak and going back down.
I wonder if that's what happened to our new year this year. If our way of celebrating new year has reached its point and going downward to start anew. As the clock strikes 12, my sister and her boyfriend had gone traditional jumping up and down while playing the beats out from the car's stereo. And soon as after the noise started to minimize, they entered the house and wondered why we're just looking at them while sitting and the lights are all off as if northing happened. Looking at the people around me looking tired and exhausted of life, where all vacations were meant to celebrate occassions yet still tired of preparing a feast for the whole family. Ended up being burned out, struggling to find time to rest. As a child, all my new years I was told that it was time to jump up and down as the firecrackers lit up in order to be tall, I never imagined myself growing taller at the same time older. But as I realized, growing is so much more than height and age. It is developing an individuals strengths and weaknesses, in order to stand alone and gradually be independent detaching myself from my parents and grow wiser to reach my dream.
This 2018 Ive proved myself that I can do greater than others judgements, I maybe lazy but I can prove something more than just murmurs and gossips. And I realized that when I grow up older and as an adult I may have those days of exhaustion and burned out yet I will always compare myself to a firework reaching its peak and having its BOOM to amaze everyone out and shine my own light. Every new year is a new dream.
by: Jireh
What if the absence of light comes for a new beginning? What if the start of everyday has come to an end? I wonder if the sun could meet the moon. How fascinating it would be to combine sunsets and moonlight to form a new beauty that can be seen up in the sky. But it seems to be destined in a parallel state wherein they could never meet, it seems like they are part of each others cycle only destined to follow each other yet never meet. The radiant golden sun starts and ends everybody's day. While other's day starts once the moon rose up and ends when the sun comes in. They're like hiding from each others shadows. Dullness and Color had an encounter with the people's vision, the darkness with the light but never with the moon and the sun.
The cycle comes continually prevailing, The sun became the symbol for the presence of light, allowing us to know that there is light and that there is an absence of darkness. It gives everyone a little bit of hope for a new beginning and start anew even if in some instances, failure comes in. It gives everyone a chance to repent and restart and enable to undo the mistakes done before, for every new day comes with a new chance, new beginning and a new memory that could mark and be counted in this life. A yellow means for happiness and a positive hope for the future. Yet the counterpart of it is the moon, the symbol for darkness and absence of light, admittedly, life could be dark and doomed sometimes, failure and sadness is inevitable and everyone could feel and witness it. Yet these things are the ones that could teach a person life's greatest lesson in which needed to experience in order to grow. Darkness is always followed by the light and vice-versa, but always end up with being either of the two.
But what if the start has meets its end? Do we get to meet the sun halfway in between light and darkness? Could it be just like some narratives wherein a story starts from the middle, an in medias res maybe. What if the sun rose up for the last time? does the moon get to join with it? If this happens, I would be grateful in witnessing a beam of light that gets to start life everyday as if its my last. And if the time has come to an end, I get to treasure all the things I saw with light. All the beautiful creation that I witnessed and mark them in my heart. I just hope when the sun rose for the last time, the rays meet the stars and it reach the moon to say goodbye.