Friday, July 06, 2007

Doesn't Maria Clara Deserve To Finally Rest In Peace?

I encourage women (specifically Filipinas) everywhere who believe in their God given right to be empowered should read Sparks' Excising Cinderella, Maria Clara and Inang Maria From Our Minds. She makes interesting and valid points, of which we (yeah, us guys too) should all take interest in. Here's a snippet:

These (re)presentations are a product of a particular context in our history. They are a product of colonial enslavement and ideological inferiority. While those days are long over, these specters persist because they have been embedded deep in our culture. This explains the incongruence of these mentalities with the actual events of recent years. They are remnants of our past which have refused to go away. I say it is time to finally be rid of them. As we transition to a new period in our history let us shine the light where shadows of insecurity linger. Let us not shy away from our weaknesses. Instead let us recognise the reasons for our weaknesses so that we may turn them into strengths. Only then can we banish these outmoded ghosts of the past, as they inhibit the social construction of a mindset that befits our future.
Food for thought: does Maria Clara deserve to finally rest in peace?

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