The history of Filipino women writers is an account of how Philippine women became literary “mistresses of the ink” and “lady pen-pushers” who created works of fiction and non-fiction across the genres. Writing in English, Spanish, Filipino and other local languages and native dialects, female writers from the

Philippine archipelago The islands of the Philippines, also known as the Philippine Archipelago, comprises about 7,641 islands, of which only about 2,000 are inhabited.oral tradition of the past, as the living voices of their personal experiences, thoughts, consciousness, concepts of themselves, society, politics, Philippine and world history. They employed the “power of the pen” and the printed word in order to shatter the so-called "Great Grand Silence of the Centuries" of Filipino female members, participants, and contributors to the progress and development of the Philippine Republic, and consequently the rest of the world. Filipino women authors have “put pen to paper” to present, express, and describe their own image and culture to the world, as they see themselves.Vartti, Riitta (editor)
Preface to the Finnish anthology Tulikärpänen - filippiiniläisiä novelleja (Firefly - Filipino Short Stories), Kääntöpiiri
: Helsinki, Finland 2001/2007
, an article from Firefly - Filipino Short Stories (Tulikärpänen - filippiiniläisiä novelleja), 2001 / 2007, retrieved on: April 14, 2008

Image and influence

Among the principal influences to the Filipina image of herself and to her writings we include four women in Philippine history, namely:

Gabriela Silang María Josefa Gabriela Cariño de Silang (; 19 March 1731 – 20 September 1763) was a Filipino military leader best known for her role as the female leader of the Ilocano independence movement from Spain. She took over from her second husband ...

, Leonor Rivera, Imelda Marcos and

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

. Often mentioned in Philippine literature, these four represent the struggle, perception and character of how it is to be a woman in Philippine society. Gabriela Silang was a '' katipunera'' or a revolutionary – a representation of female bravery – who fought against Spanish colonialism in the 18th century. Silang was a contrast to the chaste and religiously devout image of the Filipino lady as portrayed by Jose Rizal through his Spanish-language novels, '' Noli Me Tangere'' and '' El Filibusterismo''. Within the pages of these 19th century novels, Rizal depicted Leonor Rivera - a girlfriend of his - through the fictional character of '' Maria Clara'' as the epitome of virtue, i.e., the ideal Filipina. Then there was the arrival of Imelda Marcos – the “beauty queen and dictator’s wife … a power-seeking type of woman…” – after that, the country saw the advent and rise of

Corazon C. Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipinos, Filipina politician who served as the List of presidents of the Philippines, 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She w ...

, the first woman president in Asia and the Philippines – the elected 1986 replacement of a male despot,

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, after two male presidents (

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

and Joseph Estrada, respectively), followed in the footsteps of Corazon Aquino to become a leader and political figure of an Asian nation. In the latter years of modern-day Philippine literature, from the 1960s to the 1980s, feminism became the focus of Philippine women writers – first in poetry and then prose – in order to break away from what was termed the “Great Grand Silence of the Centuries”. Creating an image unique to themselves – through their own individual efforts – became the norm. There was criticism against the ''Maria Clara'' image portrayed by the Philippine paladin, José Rizal, as well as critiques and feminine disapproval of how Filipino men writers wrote about women. Contemporary feminist female writers were also inclined to break away from the traditional, idealized and typecast image of the Filipina of the past as matriarchal mystics and figures who performed sacrifices, underwent suffrage and works of martyrdom which was to be expected, given their pious upbringing. Women writers also passed judgment against the typical portrayal of women as sex symbols. Among the first lady writers to break away from the old style and genre, exemplified in the works of past female writers, were Paz Latorena's traditional "teachings" about the ideal Filipina in the feminist poet,

Marjorie Evasco Marjorie Evasco (born September 21, 1953) is a Filipina poet. She writes in two languages: English and Cebuano-Visayan and is a supporter of women's rights, especially of women writers. Marjorie Evasco is one of the earliest Filipina feminist po ...

. Other women writers like

Kerima Polotan Tuvera Kerima Polotan-Tuvera (December 16, 1925 – August 19, 2011) was a Filipino fiction writer, essayist, and journalist. Some of her stories were published under the pseudonym "Patricia S. Torres". Personal life Born in Jolo, Sulu, she was christene ...

, Rosario Cruz Lucero, Ligaya Victorio-Reyes and Jessica Zafra even stepped forward to boldly make it a “fashion” to discuss aspects of womanhood that were previously regarded as taboo in Philippine society, such as those dealing in female anatomy, erotica, divorce or

separation Separation may refer to: Films * ''Separation'' (1967 film), a British feature film written by and starring Jane Arden and directed by Jack Bond * ''La Séparation'', 1994 French film * ''A Separation'', 2011 Iranian film * ''Separation'' (20 ...

from former husbands, abortion, premarital affairs, and childless marriages. An example is the 1992 publication of ''Forbidden Fruit'', a bilingual volume combining Filipino and English language works of women.

Language and education

Contrary to the treatment received by Filipinos during the Spanish colonial period, the education of the Philippine citizenry was prioritized during the time of the American occupation, as seen in the activities of the Thomasites and U.S. military personnel in the islands in the early 20th century. Thus, only the elite class of society – those known as the Ilustrados – preferred using Spanish rather than enhance and develop the native ancient

scripts Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

(''

baybayin (, ''pre-kudlít'': , ''virama-krus-kudlít'': , ''virama-pamudpod'': ; also formerly commonly incorrectly known as alibata) is a Philippine script. The script is an abugida belonging to the family of the Brahmic scripts. Geographically, it ...

''), languages and dialects. Filipinos of both genders were able to obtain schooling and learning opportunities resulting in their education of the English-language and a high literacy rating for a developing country like the Philippines. However, despite this advantage, grants and similar forms of funding were not immediately available to Philippine writers—both men and women. Nevertheless, despite this lack of financial support for writers, many works in the Filipiniana style proliferated and were written dominantly in Philippine English, but fewer however saw print in the local maternal languages. During the four-year Japanese occupation of the Philippines in the Second World War, the Japanese introduced the concept of “Asia for Asians,” an idea that halted the proliferation of English as the language of literature in the Philippines because it sparked the publication and media broadcasts with the exclusive use of the vernacular or the “childhood languages” of Filipinos. This Japanese contribution to the Filipino's linguistic enlightenment reawakened the already existing move to lift the status of local languages as forms of literary expression prior to the introduction and propagation of English in the Filipino archipelago. The common “languages of childhood” of Filipinos, generally include Tagalog, Visayan, Hiligaynon, Cebuano and Ilocano, among others. Still, despite the Filipino's reawakening of their “languages of childhood”, the status of the English language returned and was elevated. The rejuvenation was due in part to the spread of English-based Philippine magazines in conjunction with the publication of serial “

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

and melodramatic” novels by women writers who wrote in their “mother tongue” through the pages of

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

and magazines like '' Liwayway'', ''

Bannawag ''Bannawag'' (Iloko word meaning "dawn") is a Philippine weekly magazine published in the Philippines by Liwayway Publications Inc. It contains serialized novels/comics, short stories, poetry, essays, news features, entertainment news and article ...

'', ''Bulaklak'', ''Aliwan'' and ''Tagumpay''. The competition between the use of English and Filipino as main modes of communication was unrelenting even after the end of World War II, the proclamation of Philippine Independence in 1946, and the official adoption of Filipino as a second official language other than English in 1987. The persistence of this competitive phenomenon was due to the close economic, military and cultural association of the Philippines to the United States, the encouragement of the use of English in combination with the dialects in schools and universities, and the need to gain a larger audience of readership. As a result,

bilingualism Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

- and even multilingualism - became the linguistic style and norm.

Themes, character, and genre

Literature penned by women authors in the Philippines embraced the many realities and faces of Filipino society: the gap and the friction between the rich and the peasantry, personal experiences and dilemmas, love stories, their formative years, married life, employment; culture, beliefs, religion, rituals and tradition, womanhood, livelihood, family and motherhood, the duties of a female spouse; periods in history such as the Second World War, the war for Vietnam, the presence of the American military bases, nationalistic ideals and questions of cultural identity, the Marcos despotism, the EDSA revolution of 1986;

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

, the effects of globalization and pollution,

volunteer work Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

, and the need to

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

for economic survival.

Historical background

Precolonial to Spanish colonization

Prior to the surge of Spanish conquerors and colonizers, Filipino women were already creating and recording poetry using perishable materials such as banana leaves. Indigenous Filipino women were also singing tribal songs at a time when they enjoyed equal status to their male counterparts. They could own property, become rulers themselves in place of men, act as ritual leaders or '' babaylans'', and had the right to divorce husbands. In this sense, the Philippines was very similar to Spain, where the highest power was bestowed upon a woman. Both the founder of the Spanish nation ( Isabella I of Castille and the highest ruler of Spain and the Philippines during the last years of the Spanish colonization ( Isabella II of Spain) were women and held absolute power to lead the future of the nation. Isabella II introduced the Education Decree of 1863 (10 years before Japan had a compulsory free modern public education and 40 years before the United States government started a free modern public school system in the Philippines) that provided for the establishment of at least two free primary schools: one for boys and another for girls in each town under the responsibility of the municipal government. That put the Philippines way ahead of others in Asia in offering education for women, indeed even ahead of some European countries. Leona Florentino, a female poet who was the product of that public education system during the final moments of the 19th century, is now regarded as the "founder of women's literature" in the Philippines.

Revolution against Spain

During the final stages of the 19th century, Filipino women participated in the nationwide revolt against the governing Spaniards, although less prominently than their male counterparts. Among their role and contributions were “to influence” the state of affairs of an “emerging republic” and to claim equal opportunity in education, which includes learning the Spanish-language. An inspiring group of women who debated against and pushed for the eradication of discriminatory laws, particularly the right to be educated in schools, was the so-called “21 women from Malolos, Bulacan". Another would be Leona Florentino (1849–1884), who eventually became “the mother of Philippine women's literature”, and who was also regarded as the conduit from “oral to literary tradition”. Born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Florentino was a poet of Ilustrado background who wrote in Ilocano and Spanish. Her poems were recognized in Europe in 1889 following her untimely death.

American interlude

From the onset of the early years of the "benevolent" American occupation of the Philippine archipelago – after Spain lost control of the islands through war and opted to sell its Asian colony to the U.S. – the ambience was approving to the publication of vernacular literature which included the abundance of local magazines. Parallel to this, the United States of America established an English-based public education system. Both men and women were able to study in schools, colleges, universities such as the University of the Philippines. Women were gradually beginning to regain equal footing with men, as it was during precolonial times. Both genders were able to publish works in their newly adopted language. During this European-Hispanic to Anglo-American linguistic transition, among the women who became active in creating Philippine literature in English were Paz Marquez Benitez, Paz M. Latorena,

Estrella Alfon Estrella D. Alfon (July 18, 1917 – December 28, 1983) was a Filipinos, Filipina author who wrote in English language, English. She held an AA degree from the University of the Philippines and was a member of the UP Writers Club. Personal life ...

Angela Manalang-Gloria Angela Manalang Gloria (1907–1995) was a Filipina poet who wrote in English.Manlapaz, Edna Zapanta. ''Angela Manalang Gloria : a literary biography''. Quezon City : Ateneo de Manila University Press, c1993.Manlapaz, Edna Zapanta. ''Filipino wom ...

Genoveva Edroza-Matute Genoveva Dizon Edroza-Matute (January 3, 1915 – March 21, 2009) was a Filipino author. In 1951, she was the recipient of the first ever Palanca Award for Short Story in Filipino, for "Kuwento ni Mabuti", which has been cited as the most anthol ...

Loreto Paras-Sulit Loreto Paras-Sulit (December 10, 1908 – April 23, 2008) was a Filipino writer best known for her English-language short stories. Biography Paras-Sulit was born in Ermita, Manila. After finishing her secondary education in Manila, she entered ...

, Lilledeshan Bose, Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, and

Lina Espina-Moore Lina Espina-Moore (born Austregelina Espina) (May 20, 1919 – 2000) was a Cebuano writer. She was a recipient of the S.E.A. Write Award. Biography She was born in Toledo, Cebu, the fifth child and second daughter of Yrinea Regner and Gerun ...

. Most of these literary pioneers also wrote simultaneously in the vernacular, although there were also those who became defiant and wrote exclusively in their mother tongue. An example of which was

Magdalena Jalandoni Magdalena Gonzaga Jalandoni (May 27, 1891 in Jaro, Iloilo City, Jaro, Iloilo – September 14, 1978 in Jaro, Iloilo City, Jaro) was a Philippines, Filipino novelist, playwright, short story writer, poet, sculptor and painter. She is now remembered ...

, a Hiligaynon-language writer who was able to produce volumes of manuscripts. Among Jalandoni's 24 Hiligaynon novels, two were translated into English. Those who excelled in both English and their local lingua franca was Lina Espina Moore, who became known as a forefront promoter of

Cebuano literature Cebuano literature includes both the oral and written literary forms Cebuano of colonial, pre-colonial and post-colonial Philippines. While the majority of Cebuano writers are from the Visayas and Mindanao region, the best-known literary outlets ...

. Moore's 1968 novel, ''Heart of the Lotus'' was the first Cebuano novel in the English language. Filipino women authors also became active pariticipants in the development of Philippine media.

Japanese intervention

As discussed, during World War II, the Japanese were able to influence and encourage the Philippine literati in developing the vernacular literature, in parallel existence with the English language introduced by the Americans through public education. The impact of this fellow-Asian intervention lingered through and survived after the Philippines achieved the status of a freely governing Republic. Exemplars are the Philippine-language works written by Lualhati Bautista and

Liwayway Arceo Liwayway A. Arceo (January 30, 1924 – December 3, 1999) was a multi-awarded Filipina fictionist, journalist, radio scriptwriter and editor from the Philippines. Biography Liwayway A. Arceo was born January 30, 1924. Arceo authored a number o ...

. There were also published manuscripts that confer personal familiarity with events that occurred during the four-year-long Japanese period such as those achieved by

, Maria Luna Lopez, and Rosa Henson.Comfort Woman: Slave of Destiny, Maria Rosa Luna Henson: Woman of Courage
KASAMA Vol. 11 No. 3, Solidarity Philippines Australia Network, Cpcabrisbane.org, July–August–September 1997 and Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Manila], retrieved on: April 16, 2008Maria Rosa Luna Henson (1927 - 1997)
Ateneo Library of Women's Writings (ALIWW), Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines and Rizal.Lib.Admu.edu.ph], retrieved on: April 16, 2008

Marcos and Martial Law years

The 20-year authoritarian rule of Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s brought forth literary themes of cultural revolution, social awakening and political consciousness, reinvigorated nationalism, opinionated movements and protests, disapproval of the patriarchal society, and mass migration. Women writers began writing about the situations of female domestic helpers and slum dwellers employing their skills in both the vernacular and English. The purpose of writing also in the native language was to stimulate, educate and awaken consciousness of the citizenry. Many writers were either “detained, tortured,” or “killed.” Among the women who became writers of this societal, political and activist genre were Gilda Cordero-Fernando and

Ninotchka Rosca Ninotchka Rosca (born December 17, 1946, in the Philippines) is a Filipina feminist, author, journalist, and human rights activist. best known for her 1988 novel '' State of War'' and for her activism, especially during the Martial Law dictatorsh ...

. Anti-Marcos movements, the “fiery texts” of writers, the

People Power "People Power" is a political term denoting the populist driving force of any social movement which invokes the authority of grassroots opinion and willpower, usually in opposition to that of conventionally organised corporate or political for ...

movement or the

1986 Edsa Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...

dislodged the despot from the seat of power, and was replaced by an elected first woman president, Corazon C. Aquino.

Modern-day challenges and status

Filipino women have been receiving recognition and support from non-governmental organizations, libraries, and other publishers, but despite the efforts of these organizations and the writers themselves there are challenges that still confront Filipino women's literary career. These include literary commercialism that prevents women writers from becoming parallel with so-called "esteemed authors", the struggle for additional acknowledgment of their status as writers, and obstacles related to economics.

Migratory trends and movements

Migrant literature

One aspect of Filipino women writings includes the production of the so-called “migratory literature,” an account of how and why women had to leave their country in order to excel and express themselves through pen and print. In the 1930s, Filipino women authors opted to travel after obtaining the liberty to do so, and for other reasons such as the lack of a grant system within the confines of a developing country and the “resistance of a

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of Dominance hierarchy, dominance and Social privilege, privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical Anthropology, anthropological term for families or clans controll ...

society”. But the exodus of Filipino female writers during the 1970s differed in purpose from that of the 1930s, because they left the country to survive economically and escape government persecution. One of the first voyager-writers was Paz Latorena. The destinations of journeying migrant settlers were

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

- primarily the United States – and Europe,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Arab nations,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, Singapore and other

Asian countries This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia. It includes sovereign state, fully recognized states, states with limited but substantial international recognition, ''de facto'' states with little or no international recogn ...

. In general, this “Great Migration” of Filipinos created “films, novels, short stories, poetry and comics” in the Philippines that portrayed wayfarers as economic heroes and heroines of the country. Yet there were still some of those who chose to remain, instead of abandoning the Philippines, as in the case of Lilledeshan Bose; and there were also home-comers who, after traveling and staying abroad, returned to stay permanently, such as Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo. Other authors of “migrant literature” are Marianne Villanueva, Nadine Sarreal and Edessa Ramos. In addition, the Filipino settlers who founded Filipino communities in the United States of America triggered the generation of Filipino-American literature such as the works of female novelist

Jessica Hagedorn Jessica Tarahata Hagedorn (born 1949) is an American playwright, writer, poet, and multimedia performance artist. Biography Hagedorn is an American of mixed descent. She was born in Manila to a Scots-Irish-French-Filipino mother and a Spanish Fi ...

. Migrant Filipino writers

Linda Ty-Casper Linda Ty Casper (Malabon, 1931) is a Filipino writer. She is a recipient of the S.E.A. Write Award. Life Born as Belinda Ty in Malabon, Philippines in 1931, she spent the World War II years with her grandmother while her father worked in the Phil ...

and

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Cecilia Manguerra Brainard is an author and editor of 20 books. She co-founded PAWWA or Philippine American Women Writers and Artists; and also founded Philippine American Literary House. Brainard's works include the World War II novel, ''When th ...

stayed in the U.S., publishing for both Philippine and American readers.

Recognition and support

Present-day associations that support, endorse, publish and collect works of Filipino women writers include the Ateneo Library of Women's Writings (ALIWW) of the Ateneo de Manila University, and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, among other

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

(NGOs) in the Philippines. Outside the country, there is the Philippine-Finnish Society in Helsinki, Finland.Ateneo Library of Women's Writings (ALIWW), Admu.edu.ph/ALIWW.html
, retrieved on: April 16, 2008 Samples of published Filipino women literature are ''Comfort Woman: Slave of Destiny'' by Rosa Henson published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and ''Tulikärpänen - filippiiniläisiä novelleja'' or ''Firefly: Writings by Various Authors'' (''Firefly: Filipina Short Stories'') by Riitta Vartti sponsored by the Philippine-Finnish Society. Another non-governmental human rights organization publication is ''She Said No!'', an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

of stories. The Ateneo Library of Women's Writings - a part of the Rizal Library at the Ateneo de Manila University and the first of its kind in Philippines - facilitates the collection, archiving, preservation, and promotion of Filipino women literature about and written by Filipino women. The program includes the acquisition of related photographic material, and literary promotion are held through lectures, exhibitions, publications and book launchings. ALIWW holds the annual ''Paz Marquez-Benitez Memorial Lectures'', a series of lectures established to honor Paz Marquez-Benitez who is considered as the “matriarch of Filipino writers in English”. This special program also assists in bringing to light Filipino women who excel in vernacular writings.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

The History of Filipino Women's Writings, an article from Firefly - Filipino Short Stories (Tulikärpänen - filippiiniläisiä novelleja), 2001 / 2007

* ttp://www.filippiinit-seura.fi/julkaisut.html Vartti, Riitta (editor). Filippiinit-seuran julkaisut ( Finnish)
Vartti, Riitta (editor). Tulikärpänen filippiiniläisiä novelleja
( Finnish)
Ateneo Library of Women's Writings (ALIWW) website, main page
at Ateneo Library of Women's Writings (ALIWW)

at Ateneo Library of Women's Writings (ALIWW)

External links

(official website, navigation page)

(official website, main page) {{DEFAULTSORT:Filipino Women Writers Philippine literature