WHAT IS A WOMAN? Filipinas React To Feminism!

Pea interviews three young provincial Filipina college students — Ara (21, studying secondary education/Filipino), Angie (20, political science), and Candice (20, civil engineering) — about their views on feminism, marriage, gender roles, and Western culture. Pea deliberately chose younger women on the reasoning that if cultural changes are happening in the Philippines, college students would be on the front lines of it.

Their traditional upbringing ​

• All three come from traditional provincial families with strict discipline
• Angie describes being physically punished for going out without telling parents or coming home late — her father used a belt, chanelas (slippers), and even a bathing bucket
• Ara's parents would make her sit on air (squat without a chair) while holding books on outstretched hands as punishment
• Candice has a 9 PM curfew and needs permission to go out
• All three consider themselves traditional women despite being in college

What "traditional" means to them specifically ​

• Ara: the way she dresses, the way she speaks to people, always showing respect — she frames it as "being Filipina"
• Candice: still wants traditional courtship — the man should come to her house and ask her parents' permission to court her; she still wants to be serenaded
• Angie: being a "good listener" to parents, seeing their discipline as a positive force that molded her

Marriage and children ​

• All three want to get married in the future
• Angie: wants a loving family like hers (strict but loving), wants to feel "like a princess," looking for her prince charming — "but not now"
• Ara: loves to cook, her mama already sees her as "a perfect wife," wants a man to love her unconditionally
• Candice: wants to be loved, taken care of, wants a reliable life partner
• Kids: Angie wants 4, Ara wants 3, Candice wants 4–5 (Pea jokes they're trying to build a football team)

Why go to college if you want to be a traditional wife? ​

• This is a key moment where Pea draws out an important cultural insight
• Angie: education is "the only power no one can take from you" — a common Filipino saying; also, you can't even apply to any company without a college degree
• Candice: even being a cashier at 7-Eleven requires a college degree in the Philippines
• Pea's editorial: this is something that "really bugs me" — if a Filipina gets an education and a job, Western men call her a "strong independent woman" (negatively); if she doesn't have a job and marries a foreigner, they call her a "gold digger" — "either way we lose"
• The women agree: they're not going to college to be "boss babes" who don't need a man — they're doing it for survival, to support their families, especially if they're not married

What they expect from a husband ​

• Ara: supportive, loving, caring for children, family-oriented
• Angie: faithfulness above all — "I may not be the perfect wife but I promise I will be a loving woman," asks only for someone faithful who provides for their children
• Candice: good provider, faithful, someone who sticks around and teaches their sons to be men

What they offer in return ​

• Angie: love, companionship, being his best friend, being a shoulder when life is hard
• Ara: "If he loves me I will love him more" — describes it as "solid" (a Filipino term for sincere/deep); offers cooking, cleaning, homemaking; delivers the line: "If a man can give you a house, then you can give him a home in return"
• Candice: offers her "whole self," no secrets, complete loyalty — everything to make him happy

Stay-at-home wife scenario ​

• All three say they'd be happy to stay home and take care of kids if their husband provided
• They emphasize they'd still want control over household finances (a cultural norm in the Philippines where wives manage the budget)

Views on premarital sex ​

• All three advocate for being educated about it but suggest waiting
• They note a common Philippine problem: very young people getting pregnant, then shipping their babies to grandparents to raise

How they differ from Western women ​

• Ara: all her plans are "according to my parents" — when they say no, it's no; even when they say yes, sometimes it's still no
• Angie: when a boy wanted to take her out, her parents said yes but required a "plus one" (chaperone) — she says Western women would never ask parents' permission for a date
• Candice: Western women are more "outgoing," wear more revealing clothes; Filipino women dress more conservatively, covering most of their bodies
• None of them have ever worn a two-piece bikini — when swimming, they wear shorts and jackets or one-piece suits with shorts over them
• Angie's family has religious reasons for being conservative; Candice says she hasn't tried a two-piece but might for confidence

Can they define what a woman is? ​

• Candice (the engineering student) gives a biological definition: someone with X chromosomes who can reproduce
• Angie adds bluntly: "someone who has boobies and a vagina" — the female reproductive system
• Ara: someone who can reproduce, "of course with the aid of a man — we cannot just reproduce on our own"
• No confusion, no hesitation — a pointed contrast to the Western debate referenced in the title

Do Filipinas think men have it better? ​

• All three say no — they believe the Philippines achieved gender equality "a long time ago"
• They note women actually get extra benefits (maternity leave)
• Minimum wage is the same regardless of gender, set by Congress
• They emphasize men and women "get along" in the Philippines — gender relations aren't adversarial

Does Western feminism have anything to offer Filipinos? ​

• Angie: "Absolutely none — we have everything here we can ask for"
• Ara: "No, because we don't need it"
• Candice: "What else could we ask for? We have equal rights"

Hair dyeing and the "feminist" label ​

• Pea raises the topic because some Western men see colored hair on a Filipina and immediately label her a feminist
• The women explain it's purely a fashion statement, often influenced by K-dramas, BTS, or anime (Ara dyed her hair red because of Sakura from Slam Dunk)
• Pea's point: Western men project Western cultural meanings onto Filipino behaviors that mean something completely different here — colored hair, dancing on TikTok, having a tattoo, or having a job don't signal feminism in Filipino culture

Reaction to Western TikTok clip about engagement rings ​

• Pea plays a clip of a Western woman demanding a 3-carat ($20K–$50K) engagement ring or one equal to the price of his car, arguing that if he ghosts you, you can resell it
• The transcript cuts off before the women's full reaction is captured, but the setup clearly frames this as absurd by Filipino provincial standards where the women just said they want love, faithfulness, and a home — not expensive jewelry

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