By Amina Evangelista Swanepoel
Last week, videos surfaced of scantily clad women dancing and gyrating suggestively during an event organized by the ruling Liberal Party (LP). 80 new LP members had just been sworn in, and the event was also commemorating Laguna Representative Benjamin Agarao’s birthday and 40 years in government service. After introducing the “Playgirls”, the host of the event repeatedly said that the girls were “a gift” from Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Francis Tolentino.
Both Agarao and Tolentino denied that they hired the dancers, although initially, Agarao said he enjoyed the show and didn’t find anything wrong with it. He added that politicians regularly watch these kinds of shows. I wondered, reading his statement, whether Rep. Agarao would have an issue with the show if the girls were his daughters.
By the next day, facing outrage from social media, Agarao had changed his tune, and Tolentino has since made several public apologies, including suggesting that he should no longer run for Senate with the LP as he does not want this event to tarnish the Party.
There has been widespread condemnation of this “gift”, with human rights groups moving to sue Tolentino and file a complaint with the Ombudsman for his unethical behavior.
While I’m glad that there has been indignation and public outrage over this incident, I am not at all surprised that this happened. These kinds of events happen all the time, on campaign trails, at government functions, at private and public parties, and on noontime TV variety shows. Yes, this incident was particularly lewd because they were so obviously simulating sex. But more modest varieties of this kind of performance feature young girls dressed in bikinis or other revealing outfits and involve them gyrating and sexy dancing.
Sadly, women and girls are routinely objectified in this manner and no one bats an eye. Rarely do people think this kind of behavior is inappropriate for children. This sort of dancing goes on even in elementary school programs. Because of the norms they see around them, young girls are conditioned from early childhood to believe that being pretty and sexy for the enjoyment of men is all that matters. Is it any wonder they fall into sexual relationships at an early age? Is it any wonder we have such high rates of sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancy? Is it any wonder that the Philippines is a holiday destination for sex tourism and pedophiles?
There has been a noticeable general silence from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). The group is quick to interfere in politics when they believe that legislators are passing laws that will bring sin and immorality into the country. While the CBCP has said that Tolentino, Mar Roxas and President Aquino should apologize for this incident, they have not called for a boycott of these kinds of performances. Their silence on this over the years makes it clear that protecting women and girls is not a priority for their group. This is hardly surprising coming from an organization that fought so hard against health care for women.
Where should we go from here? Parents, care givers, church leaders and political leaders, the ball is your court. You can either go on supporting (or being complicit in) the objectification of women and children.
Or you can use your voice to create a different future for girls, one that empowers and values girls and does not involve wearing a bikini and twerking.