Speaking of exploitation (and our tendency to look away), many of us didn’t realize that October 5 was

International Day of No Prostitution. As commemorations go, it was, to quote the Bard, more honor’d in
the breach than in the observance. Prostitution, after all, is not called the world’s oldest profession for
no reason: serving one of man’s most basic urges, it is easy to peddle and just as easy to acquire. And by
the admission of the two main groups in Davao City advocating for the rights of abused and prostituted
women and children, it was virtually impossible to expect the flesh trade to cease even for a day. The
reasons are varied but they boil down to two things: one, women who are forced into prostitution need
to work in order to supply the needs of their families, and two, there are always men who will engage
their services.

JOAQUIN J.. (2015, October 16). Objectifying women. Retrieved from

http://www.pilipino-express.com/editorialopinions-sp-161843661/pov-philippines/3133-objectifying-
women.html

Writer Karen Kunawicz’s Facebook post a few days ago of a sweatshirt she found at the SM Megamall
Department Store’s boys’ section went viral almost immediately. It had nothing to do with the garment
as an item of fashion, but with the message silk-screened on its front: “It’s not rape: it’s a snuggle with a
struggle.”

Kunawicz’s post adds, “SM—the same mall that has a daily angelus and refused to show Tim Burton’s
“Sweeney Todd” in the cinemas? Boys, listen to Tita Karen—if a girl says NO and pushes you away, just
err on the side of caution, she likely means NO. And go watch Sweeney Todd. WTF, SM.”

The issue was taken up by the international press, one of them The Independent, a UK-based news
organization, and Australia’s news.com.au.

In 2013 there were 7,409 cases of rape in the Philippines; 4,234 of those cases were against children, an
increase of 26 percent over the 2012 figure of 3,355 children.

To whoever made that shirt: Rape is not funny. Trivializing crime is not funny. Putting this message on a
garment for children is not funny.

The kind of mindset that produced such a message stems from the “rape culture,” wherein rape is
normalized due to societal attitudes about gender, sex, and sexuality. Behaviors associated with rape
culture include sexual objectification, victim blaming (“It’s her fault for wearing a miniskirt!”), and
trivializing rape (“It’s a snuggle with a struggle”).

One latest display of the rape culture was at the Bench “Naked Truth” show, touted as a denim and
underwear fashion show and held last Sep. 19 at the MoA Arena.

At the show, actor Coco Martin dragged around a scantily-clad acrobatic woman on a rope like a pet.
Female models performed antics bordering on soft-porn. Mens’ bulges were fetishized. The models,
both female and male, were hypersexualized.
Why do men rape? A 1985 study by sociologists Diana Scully and Joseph Marolla linked the crime to
dominance (“to put women in their place”), punishment (for instance, revenge rape, which has the
element of collective liability, as in the Elliott Rodger case), male entitlement (“seizing what isn’t
volunteered”), control, and power.

In their conclusions, the researchers said, “The pleasure these men derived from raping reveals the
extreme to which they objectified women. Women were seen as sexual commodities to be used and
conquered rather than as human beings with rights and feelings.”

This sort of commodification of women is what happened in the Bench show with Martin pulling the
female model around on a rope. Maza called it “dehumanizing.” Such displays reinforce already
prevailing anti-women attitudes in society.

This mindset can also be perceived in something as simple as the posting of sexist jokes. Such jokes
“reward men and victimize women” because the butt of these jokes are usually females; the same goes
for “dumb blonde”, “mother-in-law,” “shrewish wife,” and similar jokes at the expense of women.

Anything that contributes to normalizing rape, sexual aggression, commodification, and objectification
in society, and to reinforcing such existing attitudes, is downright wrong and inexcusable. There can be
no reasonable justification for it.

ORTUOSTE, J.. (2014, September 25). The culture of rape in Philippine fashion. Retrieved from

http://manilastandardtoday.com/mobile/article/158432

“Bench should be held accountable for this degrading and dehumanizing portrayal of women and should
apologize,” former Gabriela congresswoman Liza Maza said on her Facebook page. Her call has made
rounds via social media since. Whether or not Bench’s statement was made intentionally, it was made
irresponsibly in a country where women, although protected by law and assured time and again that
they enjoy the same rights as men, remain vulnerable and marginalized.

In 2013, the number of reported rape cases rose to 1,259 from 1,030 in 2012, the Philippine Commission
on Women said, citing police data. But that figure is only a small part of the total 23,865 reported crimes
against women last year. It included 16,517 cases of human trafficking, mostly for purposes of
prostitution; 3,564 cases of physical injuries; 1,035 cases of acts of laciviousness; and thousands of other
crimes such as abduction, seduction and incestuous rape. By showing a woman held captive by a man,
Bench was in effect saying that Filipinas should submit to their husbands. Worse, by having a celebrity
portray the dominant male, it was as if Bench was saying women should be proud to be man’s “pet.”

Gays, too, were not free from apparent discrimination at the Bench fashion show. As first look, the
event may be deemed laudable for having Filipino-American transgender rights advocate Geena Rocero
walk the runway proud. But aside from Rocero’s stint, LGBT themes in the fashion show included a
longing stare and an almost-kiss between Dennis Trillo and Tom Rodriguez, stars of a defunct gay-
themed primetime drama in broadcasting giant GMA-7. The two male stars didn’t kiss and it would have
been perfectly fine, if not for a girl-to-girl kiss that followed while the actors watched. Not only was the
kiss in bad taste, it also ostracized gay men while objectifying women.

I think Bench was inadvertently highlighting a truth in the Filipino society: It’s perfectly fine for two
women to hold hands or even kiss in public, but it is almost scandalous for two men to walk too close to
each other. The fashion giant was also saying that it’s okay for two women who are not lovers to kiss for
public entertainment, because hey, they’re just women. This crooked mindset is the root of
pornography, live shows and prostitution.

PATRIA, K.A.. (2014, September 23). Naked contradictions at 'The Naked Truth.' Retrieved from

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/out-and-proud/naked-contradictions-at--the-naked-truth-
062328445.html

Wurtzbach, during a one-on-one interview with CNN Philippines anchor Mitzi Borromeo on January 24,
said that beauty pageants do not market women as objects.

She defended that when beauty pageant contestants go the extra mile to dress in elegant dresses, wear
makeup, and go out well-dressed, is to get people noticing to affect positive change.

"The reason why we dress this way, we have to put on make-up, we have to look good, is to get people's
attention."

She added that getting the public's attention is only the first step, because what follows is the important
part.

"I guess you could say it's bait. Now that we have your attention, here are our advocacies, " she said.

TAN, L.. (2016, January 25). Do beauty pageants objectify women? Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach weighs
in. Retrieved from

http://cnnphilippines.com/lifestyle/2016/01/25/Miss-Universe-Pia-Wurtzbach-beauty-pageants-
objectify-women.html