This summer I read Eat, Pray, Love (and I wish the movie would hurry up and premiere in the Philippines!!!) and I’ve thought back to a certain part of it during my time here in Davao. Gilbert writes how the essence of each city can be summed up in one word. If I remember correctly Rome is summed up with the word "sex." I’ve been thinking about this during my time in the Philippines and the best I've got so far as to the word I would use to sum up Davao is "Durian."
In terms of Mindanao (and perhaps all of the Philippines, but I couldn’t say) I would use a word like “crossroads” or “liminal” or “in-between,” maybe “confused.” There is this constant tension here between the conservative and the progressive, the desire to be Western, but also to unearth indigenous traditions; the desire to develop, but maintain its Filipino character. Here is an example: abortion, divorce, and gay marriage are all illegal in the Philippines. The rate of premarital sex is extremely low compared to the U.S. Overall, the country is quite sexually conservative, but cross dressers and flamboyant gay men are a staple of TV entertainment here. In the mosque we went to in Zamboanga there were a few biologically male youth who identified themselves as women who participated in our breaking of the fast. They sat on the female side of the mosque, and the youth all generally accepted them. To me this shows the sort of mash up there is here of conservative and progressive -- the older traditions being pockmarked with modern ideas and global trends.
Personally, I think it is important for Mindanao to maintain its traditions and indigenous culture, but I would also like to see it progress on issues such as anti-corruption in governance and gender equality. But I wonder, is this possible? Has a developing country ever been able to hold onto its culture, avoid Westernization, and have progressive policies? Or does the intention to preserve the culture of a place always succumb to the force of multinational corporations and their destructive policies? Can a traditional culture reformulate itself to hold onto the essence of the tradition while respecting liberal gender norms? In other words, how can a society bring its traditions and cultural beliefs into the modern day? I will be very interested to revisit Mindanao and the Philippines in a few decades to see which paths it chose (or was forced) to follow.
That's possibly one of the most frustrating things about living in Korea...it's rapidly progressing economically, even now, and really struggling to figure out what parts of the Old Ways to keep. Some days, though, it seems like the traditions it clings to most are the ones that are most damaging to the people - the old Confucian hierarchies that seriously oppress women, overburden younger people, and give the older people a license to get away with murder. And at the same time, it seems to be adopting the western traditions of appearance obsession and conspicuous consumption and it just kills me! I take hope, though, that the younger generation seems much more willing to move away from those models. There is a real green undercurrent here in Korea, and it seems that gender equality is just at the brink and needs a good shove. I agree with you...I am very curious to see what happens to Korea, and Asia as a whole, in a generation.
ReplyDeleteWow -- it is so amazing how we are having so many similar impressions. I guess Asia as a whole is dealing with a lot of similar challenges, even if it is quite contextual. I'm glad there are some good signs you see in the future though.
ReplyDeletePS Thanks so much always for your comments. It is so nice to hear your stories from Korea(and read your blog). Its nice to have a little solidarity with someone in a similar situation!