Writing One's Self in a Gendered Society

Writing, for all we know, has been the most accessible form of freedom. We can write on whatever topic we desire and at the same time enjoy the sense of autonomy and power which it gives us. The main characteristic of writing is that it is a democratic way of self expression. It allows us to reflect who we are and also, it gives us a room to explore our inner self more. Therefore, we can say that writing is a manifestation of self liberation. In a broad sense, writing is described as a method of representing language in visual or tactile form.[1] A text, as a written language, is primarily the conductor that connects the writer to her/his audience or readers.[2] It is immutable that when it reaches a reader, its content now is transferred from the private to the public sphere. Thus, our writing becomes our responsibility- for what is written in the text is absorbed by the society and we now become a part of the system which builds people’s set of ideologies.
Writing is indeed a vessel of information whose main goal is to reach people and make a difference. We write for different reasons. These reasons may be based from personal experiences or even social pressure. We write according to our emotions and opinions. When we write, we consider social factors that have become a part of our everyday living. All of these make writing a bridge that conveys the ideas within the mind between a person and the reading public…it is a way of sharing a bit of yourself with the people. This is why when you put together all the works of a writer and analyze it, you are actually revealing the ‘self’ hidden between the text’s lines. Language is then pushed to its full stretch for it to capture social experience and further understanding of one’s self.[3]
Knowledge is always a requirement in writing and as socially mediated, according to Foucault, it is a product of a discourse.[4] Thus, writing as a materialization of knowledge, the sociology of the writer is an important aspect we need to consider. Literature being a product of writing is an attempt made by men to understand their social experience.[5] In its ideal-typical form, literature must tell the truth about social experience although this truth is sometimes hard to untangle.[6] There are two concepts about literature: social reflector and social referent. As a social reflector, it suggests that the writer/artist is a passive agent opening himself manfully to the bombardment of social stimuli.[7] This means that a writer only writes what the society dictates and does not include her/his own ideas on certain issues. This passivity is a hindrance towards self-development for it silences self affirmation. On the other hand, literature as a social referent takes into account the writer’s/artist’s active concern to understand her/his society.[8] There is a two-way relationship between the writer and the society. This enhances the writer’s critical analysis on certain issues in the society.
Knowing the sociology of the writer is a great help in understanding the relations of particular texts and society.[9] In order for us to know the nature of a literary piece or a text, we must first ask: Who is a writer? And more importantly, what makes up a writer? The answers to these questions are traced back to the roots of the society which is in the social sciences is a term used to mean a group of people that form a semi-closed (or semi-open) system, in which most interactions are with other individuals belonging to the group. More abstractly, a society is defined as an independent community with a network of relationships between entities.[10] Since the existence of private property (a result of the economic shift from hunting to agriculture and pastoral), gender has become a way of stratification in the society.[11] Gender being based on socially constructed norms on the biological differences between masculinity and femininity, it creates a barrier between the male and the female. Though feminists have brought this division in to question, there are still differences between men and women (biologically) that we have to accept because we cannot change them. This is the ground in which society has nurtured us-males are dominant and aggressive while females are fragile and passive. It must be noted that the contemporary period has abolished the notion of gender being “male and female” thing only and has open their doors to other genders such as gay and lesbians. However, even being gays and lesbians have to burden the social norms of gender.
It is undeniable that we were all born in a society and the ideologies or perceptions belonging to it are classified according to our gender. These make us the people we are today. As Lacan said, we are always caged in ideologies and these reflect our views in life.[12] Therefore, the environment dictated by the writer’s gender gives birth to the ideologies s/he believes in and these make up his identity as a person. The self then becomes a social construction because it is social process itself that is responsible for the appearance of the ‘self’.[13]
Let us take Lacan and Freud’s Oedipus complex theory for example. According to them, a child undergoes three stages in development-imaginary, real and symbolic. In the imaginary stage (pre Oedipus), the child has a close relationship with her/his mother however as time passes by, s/he sees her/his parents naked and discovers that her/his mother has a lacking ( of a penis) and eventually creates a distance from her. This is when the symbolic stage (resolution of Oedipus) begins, the child after discovering her/his mother’s lacking, gets closer with the father. The father then dictates her/his identity by becoming the ‘highway’ which sets the beliefs of the child. The child for the fear of castration follows her/his father. In the real stage, s/he realizes a space of loneliness s/he feels for her/his weakened relationship with her/his mother but cannot do anything about it because of the beliefs set by her/his father. As the child develops, this ideology of a ‘female lacking something’ becomes a part of her/his life and then eventually practice it to her/his own family.[14]
This triangle relationship a child has with her parents marks her/his identity as a person. It is clear that the child is born in to an existing ideology and is forced to follow it because of social expectation or pressure. This forms in the mind of the child and is carried as he grows and go with life. The example above shows how society 9especially the family) plays a big role in the development of a child. The ‘self’ arises in the process of social experience and activity and develops as a result of his relations to others.[15] Thus, the ‘self’ formed during the growth of the child (or a part of it) is carried into adolescence and is reflected in any action that has something to do with knowledge. Having said these, we must clear that gender is not solely a control of the society but also a choice we make as we grow and learn to be more critical and assert our own perceptions on things. Thus, we can consider gender as a product of social construction and our choices or decisions.
In writing, as a way of expression of one’s knowledge and self, it is unavoidable that what we write also contains the identity which our society gave us. Naturally, this identity is reflected in our writing. Having these in mind, we must realize that a text, as relative to its writer, is already gendered as soon as it is conceived in mind. Moreover, we can also say that even if we view knowledge as universal, we still cannot deny that in some ways it is also gendered for it is an embodiment of the experiences we had which may be grounded according to our gender. We must remember that a person is not really an autonomous being for everything s/he does is a product of his interactions with her/his environment. Thus, a text is no longer a personal thing but rather a collective effort of the writer and her/his environment.
Gendered writing has its importance in achieving the true meaning of a text. This is specially shown in poetry. Gender and sexuality are much emphasized in Victorian poetry because the people of this period associated their experiences and emotions, which are the inspirations of their poetry, with that of their gender.[16]
Gendered writing is also important when a person writes something about a personal experience that has something to do with her/his sex or gender (e.g. pregnancy, giving birth, circumcision among men, being a father or a mother, etc) In order for a writer to fully write or express what s/he feels, gendering the text is essential. Why? It is because when you gender such texts, their true meaning become more vivid. One cannot express herself/himself efficiently if s/he does not recognize her/his gender in her/is writing. This is the medium by which the society has molded her/him and whether s/he likes it or not, this has a bearing to the kind of text s/he produces.
However, though these are true, we cannot just say that gender is the only basis of one’s social being. As Butler argued in Gender Trouble, must consider the social performance of a person.[17] So, instead of limiting ourselves with our gender, Butler suggests that we push the horizons of possibilities and not just be imprisoned with the society’s prying eyes. If this is practiced, then the things which make us up are not only based with our genders anymore. Even if you are a male, your writing can be feminine and vice versa. This liberates us and also enables us to know ourselves better
The connection made by writing is not complete without the involvement of the reading public. In the same way as the writer, the sociology of the audience also matters. Should they really care about the gender of a text? Is it a necessity to know the gender of the writer? Does knowing it makes them to appreciate or understand the meaning of the text? In some ways, knowing the gender of the writer really helps a reader in understanding a text better. It enables them to know where the writer is coming from in her/his arguments. However, more than anything, the text itself is what should matter most to the readers. The text itself is an epitome of the writer’s social being and it should be accepted as it is.
The reading public absorbs what is written in the text-the ideas, opinions, etc. It is often their perspective that dictates its effect to them. According to Fetterly, most women unconsciously forget that they are female and read as if they are men.[18] This only means that a text can only be interpreted by the readers based on their own outlook in life. In other words the way the reading public views the text decide if it is oppressive or not. At the end, the effect of a text depends on the readers. And the reading public decides according to the ideologies which they acquired in their development as people. Therefore, the identity which the society has given a reader prevails in how s/he interprets a text.
Writing is a part of the great circle of life’s discourse. What we write is not a thing that is created in a snap…it goes back to years of exposure to different ideologies and growing up…Every word of a text dates back to the time we were born to the environment we grew. And to what we are right now. It is a tangible evidence of knowledge, and the whole of it represents us. What we write is read by the people and undergoes different stages of critical thinking and in time be a part of their being.
People always ask, should we view ourselves as products of our socials worlds? However they don’t realize this: we are both the products and architects of our social worlds. #

BIBLIOGRAPHIES:
Ager, Simon. “Writing and Writing Systems.” (2009). Available from http://www.omniglot.com/. Internet; accessed September 24,
2009.

Schweitzer, Karen. “George Orwell’s Five Rules to Effective Writing.” (March 21,2007) Available from http://www.pickthebrain.com/. Internet; accessed September 23, 2009.

Hall, John. The Sociology Of Literature. New York: Long Man Ic.,2004

McLaughlin, Janice. Feminist Social and the Political Theory: Contemporary Debates and Dialogues. New York: Palgrave Mcmillan, 2003.

American heritage dictionary. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company,2000.

Wood, John C. John Stuart Mill: Critical Assessments. Random House,1991.

Lacan, Jacques. Routledge Critical Thinkers Essential Guide for Literary Studies. New York: Routledge,2005.

Budwig, Nancy. Language and the Construction of Self Development and Reflections. (February 2007). Available from http://www.massey.ac.nz/-%09%09%09%09%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20alock/virtual/discuss.htm.Internet; accessed October 1, 2009.

Cixous, Helene. The Live Theory. Edited by Ian Blyth and Susan Sellers. Great Britain: MPG Books Ltd.,2004.

Mead, Geoerge. Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in Sociology. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.,1992.

Bristow, Joseph. The Cambridge Companion to Victorian Poetry. United kingdom: University Press, Cambridge,2000.

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and The Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge,1999.

Fetterly, Judith. “Gender and the Culture.” (September 2005). Available from http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/. Internet; accessed October 1, 2009.

I Know Why Wells Are Deep...

The soothing melody of the old North wind ruffles the leaves of the trees as young Emmanuel patiently stands with his guitar in front of a typical nipa hut. His eyes are like the stars voyaging in the sea of darkness… filled with boldness and eagerness. They radiate the energy inside them. Their burning desire illuminates the night.
A maiden slowly peeps through the window like a moon whose pearly radiance gives company to a lonely heart. She smiles and with a soft whistle of the wind, Emmanuel begins strumming his guitar gently. The night seems to play a beautiful kundiman… seconds slow down…and the moment stands still.
“What are you doing with your guitar?” says the lady.
“I’m serenading you, hoping that your heart will be mine. Oh Teresa, if you could only see that thy love for you is true, and so I sing this song for you. You are like a poem written by love itself…you fill me with mystery…and you put rhymes in my life.” says Emmanuel.
“You don’t need your guitar…you need not be poetic…just bend your knees.” she says.
“Why?” asks Emmanuel with a puzzled look.
“Just kindly pick up my heart…it has fallen for you.” she says with a smile.
. . .
Pupils dilate…heart starts pumping triple times…blush…invasion of dark eye bags…birth of pimple constellations…unexplainable “darna” feeling (flying, mind floating in the air, whatever) and more…these are the so called “signs” of falling in love according to the world famous teenage pocket-sized encyclopedia. Although, even if how true some of these may sound, still after a long day…when the night has left you alone and all that’s left for you to do is to reflect, you ask yourself this: “what is love anyway?” And so the dilemma begins.
To know the real meaning of love is like saying I have read every single book that existed since the time of Aristotle which is impossible because some people, who are also referred to as “authors in their dreams” by narrow-minded people or “budding authors” by encouraging people, have their self-written and personal books untouched by strangers. In short, no living creature can define the whole context of the word “love” because it was not meant to be really defined in the first place.
However, since as humans we feel that there is a need for us to know everything in the universe, many people still have tried their very best in defining it to at least give mankind something to hold on to. People started defining love ever since the dawn of knowledge. In formal context, love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure to intense interpersonal attraction . This diversity of uses and meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states. When discussed in the abstract, love usually refers to interpersonal love, an experience felt by a person for another person. Love often involves caring for or identifying with a person or thing, including oneself. It is usually categorized into Impersonal (love for a country, principle, or goal) and Interpersonal love (love between human beings). [1]
Based on Scientific studies, Helen Fisher, a leading expert in the topic of love, divides the experience of love into three partly overlapping stages: lust, attraction, and attachment. Lust exposes people to others; romantic attraction encourages people to focus their energy on mating; and attachment involves tolerating the spouse (or indeed the child) long enough to rear a child into infancy. It is the initial passionate sexual desire that promotes mating, and involves the increased release of chemicals such as testosterone and estrogen. These effects rarely last more than a few weeks or months. Attraction is the more individualized and romantic desire for a specific candidate for mating, which develops out of lust as commitment to an individual mate forms. Recent studies in neuroscience have indicated that as people fall in love, the brain consistently releases a certain set of chemicals, including pheromones, dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which act in a manner similar to amphetamines, stimulating the brain's pleasure center and leading to side effects such as increased heart rate, loss of appetite and sleep, and an intense feeling of excitement. Research has indicated that this stage generally lasts from one and a half to three years. Since the lust and attraction stages are both considered temporary, a third stage is needed to account for long-term relationships. Attachment is the bonding that promotes relationships lasting for many years and even decades. Attachment is generally based on commitments such as marriage and children, or on mutual friendship based on things like shared interests. It has been linked to higher levels of the chemicals oxytocin and vasopressin to a greater degree than short-term relationships have. [2]
Psychology depicts love as a cognitive and social phenomenon. Psychologist Robert Sternberg formulated a triangular theory of love and argued that love has three different components: intimacy, commitment, and passion. Intimacy is a form in which two people share confidences and various details of their personal lives, and is usually shown in friendships and romantic love affairs. Commitment, on the other hand, is the expectation that the relationship is permanent. The last and most common form of love is sexual attraction and passion. Passionate love is shown in infatuation as well as romantic love. All forms of love are viewed as varying combinations of these three components. American psychologist Zick Rubin seeks to define love by psychometrics. His work states that three factors constitute love: attachment, caring, and intimacy. [3]
Following developments in electrical theories such as Coulomb's law, which showed that positive and negative charges attract, analogs in human life were developed, such as "opposites attract." Over the last century, research on the nature of human mating has generally found this not to be true when it comes to character and personality—people tend to like people similar to themselves. However, in a few unusual and specific domains, such as immune systems, it seems that humans prefer others who are unlike themselves (e.g., with an orthogonal immune system), since this will lead to a baby that has the best of both worlds. In recent years, various human bonding theories have been developed, described in terms of attachments, ties, bonds, and affinities. [4]
Some Western authorities disaggregate into two main components, the altruistic and the narcissistic. This view is represented in the works of Scott Peck, whose work in the field of applied psychology explored the definitions of love and evil. Peck maintains that love is a combination of the "concern for the spiritual growth of another," and simple narcissism. In combination, love is an activity, not simply a feeling. [5]
According to the Greeks, there are five kinds of love-agape, eros, philia, storge, xenxia. Agape (ἀγάπη) means love in modern-day Greek. The term s'agapo means I love you in Greek. The word agapo is the verb I love. It generally refers to a "pure," ideal type of love, rather than the physical attraction suggested by eros. However, there are some examples of agape used to mean the same as eros. It has also been translated as "love of the soul." Eros (ἔρως) is passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. The Greek word erota means in love. Plato refined his own definition. Although eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself. Eros helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth. Lovers and philosophers are all inspired to seek truth by eros. Some translations list it as "love of the body." Philia (φιλία), a dispassionate virtuous love, was a concept developed by Aristotle. It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality, and familiarity. Philia is motivated by practical reasons; one or both of the parties benefit from the relationship. It can also mean "love of the mind." Storge (στοργή ) is afamilial love. It is a natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring. Xenia (ξενία), hospitality, was an extremely important practice in Ancient Greece. It was an almost ritualized friendship formed between a host and his guest, who could previously have been strangers. The host fed and provided quarters for the guest, who was expected to repay only with gratitude. The importance of this can be seen throughout Greek mythology—in particular, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. [6]
Again, in reality love cannot be simply be boxed in mere scientific or philosophical words and explanations. Actually, even the word “love” cannot really mean its whole meaning… the feeling or whatsoever. It’s just a word…a representation which was made and is being used by us for the purpose of communication. And since it’s just a representation, it cannot really bring us to reality—that’s the problem we writers have to deal with.
Formality (or the feeling that there is a need for us to always have scientific or facts and scholar accepted truths as basis of our arguments) sometimes betrays us because it complicates simple things. Most of the times, there are things that are better understood through experiences. Since we can’t explain an unexplainable thing, show it instead. By showing it, the meaning is then not constrained to an interpretation of a single autonomous power…it is not margined in a few sentences… instead it now depends on the individual point of view or perception. The meaning of love is then flexible and free. Thus, it does not longer need to be classified or sorted for the control is now on the eyes that see it.
Love is a many different things. A day in the street can give you a buffet of meanings of love. Just take a chair with you (and a bottle of softdrinks and sandwich may sound better) and choose a shady place to watch the people around you. (Who wants to have skin cancer or pneumonia in case it rains while undergoing the “observation” of her/his life right?) And before you even know it, your community has turned into a living encyclopedia of love (which is a lot better than any google result or library work for they are living proof…breathing and existing.
Love is like a river. It carries sediments such as happiness, pain, fulfillment, etc. It refreshes life through its cold crystal clear waters. It mirrors the beauty of the blue sky and clenches thirsty travelers. It is not meant to be stagnant but to be running until reaches the open sea and becomes a part of it—love serves for a greater purpose.
Love is a seed…it needs to be planted first in a fertile soil. It needs to be watered regularly with trust, affection and care in order for it to survive. It needs the warmth of the sun in order for it to survive. It needs the warmth of the sun and also the cruelty of the rain. It must be fenced with security to prevent the chickens or other animals from destroying it. However, like a seed, love withers if it is given too much of everything. All of these challenges are worth it in the end because it shall grow into a tree and shall soon bear fruits. It can also be like a pair of slippers…It takes you to places and protects your feet from cobbled stones. It completes your being. It does not matter if the brand is Havianas, Crocs, Beach Walk, or Rambo, what is important is that it is with you wherever you will be
Love is like a candle for its tiny flame can illuminate a dark room. Its flame can be deceiving-attractive yet deadly. It never dies for even it melts, it will still give rise to a new candle…waiting for someone to light its wick again. It is also like a flashlight. It is ready to rescue you whenever you find yourself in the dark. It can help you search the things you want to see in life. However, like any other good things in life, it falters when the batteries are dead. So don’t forget to bring extra batteries to be safe.
We sometimes misinterpret love because it is like an abstract painting. It plays mind games with you. It seems plain and messy at first, but when you look closer you’ll appreciate its hidden beauty…the meaning of every shape, the construction of every line, and the essence of every color. It is also like a song. It comes in different melodies, tempos, and thoughts. Some may sing it excellently and others might not hit the right tones. Love like a song adds color in life for it conveys a deeper meaning of it. It can serenade one’s heart but can also mirror pain and sorrow.
Love is like a pimple…you can’t simply get rid of it. It starts as mere pink hump in the face and then before you know it, it has turned into a mountain threatening to erupt and invade. Like a pimple, it is normal for teens to experience love. Though it hurts at first, it will soon heal. Just let time do the healing for when you squash it you are only leaving a scar n you face.
They say that an ideal love is only sweet for the young people. This is a lie for love knows no age. Our grandparents have their own cheesy analogy of love. For them love is like a strand of white hair. It has witnessed their everyday lives. It shows that true love lasts through the years….It shows strength, passion, and endurance. It is also like a fossil. It transcends millions of years. It is never perfect but what’s important is that it leaves a mark…a part of a huge and never ending puzzle of life.
For someone trapped in her/his house in a rainy day, love is like a cup of hot coffee (brewed or decaf, it does not matter). It is warm and gives you comfort. The bitterness (obstacles) is essential…the sugar (achievements) sweetens it anyway giving an aroma of contentment. It is how you combine the ingredients that ignite the magic. But is coffee enough during a rainy day? Of course not, that is why a plate of lucky me pancit canton. It is also like love...It comes with different flavors. Sometimes it spices your life and sour…other times it is sweet and yet spicy. That is why for you to stay away from troubles, stick with the original…it’s still the best. At the end of the day, it is still what you buy that sets it all.
For the people who believe in “love at first sight”, love is like an irresistible food. Once you have smelled it, you can’t help but to taste it…and then once it has landed on your taste buds, you can’t resist yourself from eating it. On the other side, for those who once believed in it love is a magic trick. It is a giddy feeling that usually ends with a trick. It seems true at first but when you look deeper, it’s only a perfect exhibition of techniques…an illusion played by fast moving and manipulative hands. For a heartbroken, love is like a stinky foot. It sucks so hard. After working hard the whole day, all they get is a smelly aroma coming from their foot…and this is fatal for the weak-hearted.
Hollywood films often view love as an electric current that attracts two (or more) bodies together. It is therefore reasonable that we count the opinions of the electricians. For them love I like an electricity. It is useful for it runs a lot of things but can cause death for those who are not careful enough. However, for a hopeless romantic electrician, love is like electricity. It will not be useful unless someone turns the min switch on…and worse, if it is flooded with tears it deadly.
For the campus “it” girl who fell in love with her hunk professor, love is like a cumulus cloud. She knows that it can take her to heaven but can never ride on it. All she can do is to let it go until a time when its rain will give rise o an oasis. Love is like a dictionary for a nerd who only sticks her/his face with books for all her/his life. It can be described with many words and gives meaning to one’s life…even better if it’s handy like those bought in the National Bookstore, for you carry it with you all the time.
For a writer, love can be compared with a pencil and paper. It is what you write that will show n the paper. Love allows mistakes as pencils have erasers. Like a pencil, it needs to be sharpened with experiences. A paper can be torn into pieces…so is love. When the paper is crumpled, it can be recycled by turning it into a lovely mosaic-love is never wasted…it revives itself and goes back to work.
If you think that drunkards are good for nothing…think again. They are also symbolic when it comes to love. For them, love is a bottle of Red Horse (perfect with pulutan). Once you have drunk it, you can’t help but to drink more. As local drunkards would phrase it “love has a strong kick” in your heart…until it leaves you sleepy…unconscious and unable to know the difference of truth and fallacy. How miserable their analogy might be, one thing is for sure, after your experience with love, you are still in a hung over…the sweetness of the Red Horse and the bitterness of your tears…searching for someone with a glass of water to cleanse the bitterness away.
For s bored man whose only source of fun is to sit in front of his computer, love is like DOTA. It’s addictive and fun (except if you are the first blood). It needs a perfect combination of things and skill set to ensure victory. Like DOTA, love can be unstoppable or even godlike. It can do everything in a blink of an eye….even windwalk in the sky. You might face Roshan, but as long as you have divine in your hands and immortality, you are invincible. Since not all of us knows how to play DOTA, Love is also like Friendster…everyday is a different shout out. You share it with your friends and connects you with people. Sometimes it is complicated but nevertheless, it is fun. A whole day in front of the computer is stressful and requires a bottle of cold Coke. Like DOTA, love is also like a Coke. It is refreshing after a long day of work. However, if taken in excess, it can also cause pain.
Love for a spinster (let us say with he lies of Miss Mijares) is like a dog poop…You don’t want to step on it as much as possible. It can be found almost everywhere in the streets sitting patiently and waiting for its next victim. And you, unfortunately among all people, stepped on it…love like a dog poop is hard to get rid of. Though you scratch your shoe in a cemented pavement or wash it with running water, it will always remind you that once on a beautiful summer day you have stepped on a dog poop that changed your life forever
We bet that Erno Rubic invented the rubic’s cube [6] as his own definition of love. It is a puzzle that needs to be solved…At night you can’t sleep for the thought of solving it bugs you a lot. You have to spend time and effort for it. Like a rubic’s cube, each turn you make decides the outcome-it can either take you a step closer or a step farther from your goal.
You might not even know that every time you text your special someone or friends, you are actually using love for it is like a cellphone. It is a way of communication. As many of us would say “I can’t live without my cellphone”, we can’t live without love. Love is flexible and like many brands of cellphone today, it improves itself. Did you also ever know that love is always in the atmosphere during New Year’s Eve? Yes because love is like a five minute fireworks display. It s colorful and festive…but always ends dramatically. After it lightened up the sky, it’s just a same, old starless night.
Love for a child is like sleeping. It energizes you…It is peaceful. Like sleeping, love is better than any pain reliever in the pharmacy for it allows you to enter a different world that can only be visited in dreams. Love is healthy like sleeping for it allows you to rest from the pressures of life.
For students studying away from their homes, love is like a sail to the seven seas. It has no assurance…but it is about taking risks. The weather is not always kind to you for it might throw gigantic waves to you. Though you are the captain of your boat, you can’t control everything that is happening. Don’t go towards the storm for no matter how strong is your boat, it will be crashed. The sail goes on like love…looking beyond the gray skies for it has faith that the horizon awaits its arrival.
In general, after all that’s been said, love is like a well (although, we are not really saying that this should be the most accepted or most appropriate meaning). It is deep...sometimes it is dry but most of the times it is filled with cool waters. It can grant your wishes and fantasies but can also be a way of forgetting things. It all depends where you decide to dig and make a well. When you dig in a place where green grasses grow, you are most likely to fetch water from it. On the other side, when you dig in a barren land, all you can get is a pail filled with gravel and sand. Like a well, when you call for love it echoes and so it comes back to you in many ways.
When you fall in a well, it is almost impossible to escape that all you can do is to wait for someone who’ll drop a rope and rescue you. This goes the same with love....cause when you fall really hard, you cannot escape the feeling unless someone comes in the view to offer her/his rope for you.
Love, like a well, is deep and needs to be deep. Why? It is because there are people who spend their time, effort, sweat, and even blood for its sake. As they say, only the deepest wells can get the cleanest waters...so is love. Most importantly, it is deep since it is something that we still cannot fully understand. It is so profound that all we can do is to look down and reach for it...It is a sad but beautiful truth because by not knowing it what love truly means, we get to appreciate its inner beauty. We can make beautiful analogies of love and so we can see and feel it anywhere. Whereas if love is only like a basin, then we could easily touch its bottom without even trying so hard...This would keep us from exploring ad living a meaningful life of complexities. What’s lovewithout the try...What’s love without the fall right?

A tiny spark in the dark...
A sudden beating of the heart...
I glance....and I found you there.
I look around and you are everywhere.
Love, you came and shone like the sun
I was so scared, I wanted to run
But you held me so tight...so tight
And I close my eyes with all my might
I know that I could not give you up without a fight.
Your halo kept shining through
Filling me with warmth so true.
You flew me to oblivion
You are one in a million.
You lifted me in the air
And gave me so much care
My heart will never be weary
For I know you’ll never leave me teary.
And whenever I look at myself in the mirror
I remember you walking through the door
Flooding my life with so much meaning.
And I would choose to stay lost with you forever
Cause I fall for you even harder.
#

References:
[1] www.dictionary.com
[2] www.wikipedia.com
[3] www.wikipedia.com
[4] www.wikipedia.com
[5] www.wikipedia.com
[6] www.stately.multiply.com

to sir suller again.=]

After a night of thinking what you were trying to explain... after punishing my eyes and brains with so much computer exposure and reading books....I have realized that YOU REALLY HAD A POINT. And your POINT IS REALLY BEYOND GOD-LIKE. lol

Yeah now I know...
1) I'm not the writer and I don't have any right whatsoever to dictate who should be the target readers. It's the writer alone who can tell us who s/he was writing for. and yes, s/he wrote not for the western people's sake...but for the majority of the Philippines so that they would be able to know how this western concept of the orient as inferior id really hurting us a lot.

2) That the critique was not meant to be taken too seriously because the writer mentioned it in her/his first paragraph. However, the writer means what s/he wrote. It's like posing a joke that's meant to make people not laugh but more importantly think like "hey I think s/he's kinda true."....so that they, themselves will realize this bitter truth and act to fight against it. It's a style of writing meant to be like that in order for it to have an effect to its readers...like a stimulus to self realization.

3) and yes the critique was meant to show that the other can also be centered. and the way it was written alone already speaks for itself.

4) We have our own way of expressing what our minds and hearts desire...it does not matter if we take different roads as long as we arrive at the same place, we can say that we have fulfilled our mission.

Thanks a lot. =]

to sir suller =]

just a thought. I'm not actually defending my work. Just want you to know where Im coming from.

1) Yes, I THINK that the intended readers should be the scholars. Why write for the scholars? Simple, because you are referring to them and their ignorance, wrongdoings and everything.It is therefore right to write back to them so that they'll realize these negative things that have been a part of their ideology for countless years.


Thus, it is best if the writer critiqued the travelogue in English. Not that I'm negating the average people but what i/m trying to say is that if the critic wants her/his work seriously and to reach its maximum potential and hopes that it will bear fruit, I think that the critic should have been written in English rather than in english. Why? It is because when s/he wrote the critique in english there is a possibility that these western people (whose actions are the ones being questioned)will not take it seriously. Whereas if it was written in English, there is an advantage of the writer being fully understood by the western people.Therefore,they will realize that we are no inferior for we know how to fight back. It's like this...say that you are trying to wake up your sleepy board mate...if you would only say "joy, wake up.", I'm pretty confident that joy would say "yes" but would not really wake up. BUT if you would say "joy, oh mu gosh it's 8:30, we are late in our long exam" Of course joy would wake up and race to the bathroom to take a bath.

And yes I took the critique seriously because I feel the need to fight against IP discrimination. If the critic was not to be taken seriously, then why did the writer critiqued the travelogue in the first place? Don't tell me that s/he was just playing around with her/his pen and just wrote out of boredom. Why would a writer write if he does not want her/his work to be taken seriously?

When Free Speech Becomes Overrated

A critique is never perfect. It takes another critique to make it better. Thus, it is an infinite exchange of ideas. It has no glass ceiling for as long as there is a progress in human knowledge, a critique can never be good enough.

To critique the work of a fellow critic is like re-examining a certain literary piece by using a different pair of eyeglasses. It is stripping an idea into smaller pieces and re-interpreting it from your own point of view by using the same guiding principles which the writer had in mind when s/he critiqued a piece. This does not necessarily mean that you copy her/his way of thinking, instead you just align your thoughts with hers/his in order for you to know what triggered her/him to write such. By knowing this, you are able to stand on a firmer ground to appreciate or criticize her/his arguments.

“The Racial Affronting Apparatus of “In the Land of the Head-hunters”: A Postcolonial-ish Analysis” is a strong discourse on the derogatory and insulting travelogue of a British writer. The said critique aims to defend the Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines especially the city of Baguio from the discrimination brought about by the idea of the Orient which is a system of representations framed by political forces that brought the orient into western learning, western consciousness, and western empire. Being a postcolonial analysis, it is a specifically post modern intellectual discourse that holds together a set of theories found among the texts and subtexts of philosophy, film, political science, and literature which are reactions to the cultural legacy of colonialism. It is a literary critique to texts that carry racist or colonial undertone. It is evident that the writer’s main purpose of writing the critique is to resist the western concept of the Orient being the inferior, weak, third world, etc.

S/he critiqued the travelogue per paragraph and stripped it further into sentences bringing out its main idea. S/he interpreted each idea literally and metaphorically and also extended her/his argument by analyzing its impact to not only the Indigenous Peoples of Baguio but also to the Philippines and entire third world countries. This style of literary criticism is effective because it allows its readers to see the naked truth or message an article is trying to convey by eliminating misleading ideas. His/her critique for me revolves around the invincible but derogatory perceptions of the west to which we are chained to. Standing on the ground of postcolonial theory, s/he built her/his arguments around the concept of otherness as the linchpin of our inferiority with the western people.

As a part of his goal which is to resist the force of being discriminated, he clearly explained the reason why s/he chose to write in english rather than in English. This mirrors the concept of hibridity which refers to the integration (or mingling) of cultural signs and practices from the colonizing and the colonized cultures. However, this becomes a problem when you want your article to be taken seriously especially by the western people whom in this case is the target reader. This style of writing is predominant in the blog culture especially among the so-called third world countries. It is true that this critique as a blog enables us to prove that we can also discourse in this language in a Filipino way by integrating our concepts but we must know that in considering the far more casual medium of a blog entry, we have no right to expect the same level of careful analysis as in a paid print article. While the format and the unique possibility of combining quality critical writing with an open and genuinely useful discussion, the lack of any sort of editorial guidelines that marks the blog as the most democratic vehicle of expression also makes it far too easy for even the most restrained critic to toss of ill-considered and virtually useless commentary.

I also find the critique as a revenge-spirited essay because of the writer’s way of attacking her/his arguments. When I read it, I had a feeling that s/he was angry and irritated when s/he wrote the article. Though I know that her/his irritation to the culture insensitivity of the travelogue was the thing that might have triggered her/his eagerness to write her/his critique, what I mean is that s/he wrote it a bit too heavy. We must understand that when we write, our ideas are always patterned with a set of ideologies which we might have acquired through our everyday contact with our environment without even knowing it. Thus, we can argue that person is always an autonomous creature because everything s/he does is a product or manifestation of the things that have power over him-be it religion, politics, culture, etc. Having this in mind, the writer cannot put all the blame to a person who was just being honest to himself because maybe he really fond the IPs in Baguio as queer. We can only make assumptions but can really never conclude that he was in fact discriminating us.

However we (in class) are advised not to use this term in criticism, this is the best time to use it to refer to this kind of a writing which extremely sucks.

This line in the second paragraph brings me to one of the values of a good writer which is open-mindedness. To label an article with the word “sucks” is like concluding that the whole of it is worthless and non sense or worse it’s like saying “burn that o hell” ( although I’m not directly saying that this is what the writer wants to convey). It must be noted that all literary works, just like opinions, even how bad they may be have relevance in one way or another to our social growth. If say that the British writer is ignorant, what makes another writer who used the word “sucks” any different now?

Writing a critique is not just simply bursting out your emotions. No matter how free speech is free, there are still rules we have to follow. This is not to constrain us from expressing what we truly desire but only guide and lead us to effective writing. I’m not defending the British writer for s/he has truly hurt the feelings of many Filipinos no matter how innocent his purpose of writing might be. What I’m trying to emphasize is that we write back to these people in the right way and without repeating the same mistakes they had committed. We write back in a more intelligent way so that they will be able to see that we are no inferior people for we are aware of our rights and know how to fight for them in a diplomatic way.

Why then do we write in such a way? Simple, because we are Filipinos and like them we are educated.

#

References:

www.faculty.pittstate.edu/-knichols/colonial2.html

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/postcolonialism

www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/orientalism.html

www.news.ca/studiosavant/2008/12/meta-criticism-vue-weekly-style.html

www.magkadi.blogspot.com