Brown Soul

The BBC recently expressed its apologies for airing a comedy sketch that many Filipinos have found distasteful.

“Firstly, we're sorry if you were in any way offended by the program as this wasn't our intention,” the BBC’s Complaints Division stated.

The division described 'Harry & Paul' as a “post-watershed comedy sketch show well-known for its exaggerated humour and absurd characters.”

“It in no way represents real people and was never intended to offend or demean any viewer,” it added.

“We recognize that you were personally offended by the sketch and would like to assure you that your complaint has been registered on our audience log,” the complaints division stated.

The skit was part of a series known as “Northern Monkey,” and that the maid’s nationality was not relevant to the comedy.

“The fact that the maid is from the Philippines isn't relevant to the comedy,” it stated.

The said skit was first brought into the general public’s attention when Filipino groups complained that a portion of the “Harry & Paul” comedy show portrayed a Filipina in a very demeaning manner.

Philippine representative for party-list AKBAYAN Risa Hontiveros condemned the network for the “racist and humiliating” portrayal of a Filipina domestic worker.

"By making a horrible scene of exploitation an object of ridicule, the show trivializes an act of abuse commonly experienced by Filipina workers abroad…, an issue that merit global indignation,” she added.

Hontiveros also said that showing Filipinas as submissive sex objects reinforces the idea of people from other nationalities that they can just hire a petite and sexy Filipina domestic helper and turn her into a sexual object.

Philippine Ambassador to the UK Edgardo Espiritu criticized the skit as "gutter humor." He said the show counters the advocacy of the British government to observe equality for all and respect for human rights.

The Philippine embassy in London had already written to the United Kingdom's media regulatory agency as well as to the mayor of London, the secretary of state for women, and the television network to complain about the said show.

Filipinos in the UK also condemned the show and mapped out protest actions including an online petition called “Dignity and Respect for the Filipino Worker Campaign”.

Female lawmakers and other organizations followed suit in asking BBC to issue a public apology for presenting a racist, humiliating and disgusting depiction of a Filipina domestic worker.

Many groups have already urged the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to lodge a complaint before the British government and to demand apology from BBC.

An official complaint was emailed to the network. The show outraged many Filipinos, women’s groups and even lawmakers prompting the Philippine government to direct the foreign affairs department to act on the issue.

Philippine Government wants BBC apology for wrong reason.

A national alliance of women criticized the government’s hypocrisy for seeking a public apology over the racial slur aired in a British comedy show in the guise of defending the Filipino dignity.

“The Philippine government is seeking public apology from the show’s producers and the British Broadcasting Corporation not in defense of the Filipino dignity but in defense of its labor-export policy especially on the eve of the Philippine hosting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development,” said Gabriela Secretary General Emmi de Jesus.

“The Philippine government is flustered the 'anti-Pinay' portrayal in 'Harry and Paul' mirrors the current state of many Filipina overseas workers, which thus puts into question it’s claim that the Philippines is the showcase of how migration leads to development,” De Jesus said.

The group added that the portrayal of a Filipina maid in the skit “speaks not of development, but of degradation.”

It was revolting. It was a disgusting and an insensitive statement from our government!

Source:
ABS-CBN News
The Philippine Times Continue...

I’m not a pessimist but while reading this article I’m beginning to ask the intention of the writer (I mean the real intention) I’m crossing my fingers that the intention of the article is to really elevate “may kababayan”, not to “sell” them considering the site is all about “DATING”

We need to consider how other nationalities look at us so that we can really understand the reason of writing about our women.

Please don’t get me wrong; we need to ask the right question in finding the right answer!

Here’s the article:

As a man married to a Filipina I have been asked many times if it is true that Filipino women make the best wives in the world. Don’t get me wrong now, I will not start bragging about my own wife nor I will dissuade you from dating a Filipina girl. I am just going to tackle some of the statements you hear or read about Filipino women so you can better distinguish the myths from the facts.

“Filipino women are very well educated” – FACT College education has always been of a great importance for the Filipinas. Pride in accomplishment at school is instilled in Filipinas since their early childhood and the statistics shows that female college enrollment even exceeds that of the male.

“Filipino women are religious.” – FACT Being the only Christian nation in the Far East (the Philippines is 83% Roman Catholic), it is common amongst Philippine families to raise their children in the church. Your perspective Filipina bride would most likely dream of a church wedding and it is likely that her family even forbid her to get married without one.

“All Filipinas are submissive and obedient.” – MYTH Generally Filipino women would never engage in a loud quarrel but their patient, non-confrontational and understanding nature should not be mistaken for submissive. All their life Filipinas have been taught to act like a real Lady – to be refined in both tastes and manners and always speak politely, with a gentle tone of voice. Arguing, along with public criticism, is just not acceptable and even if you are off your rocker your Filipina will not confront you just to save you from embarrassment.

“Filipina’s only purpose in life is to fulfill their husband’s wildest dreams and never lose his attention.” – MYTH As already mentioned, in reality most Filipinas have advanced degrees of education and professional lives. It could hardly be presumed that they live only to fulfill some man’s wild desires. And yet, nobody can deny the warmth, loyalty and faithfulness of Filipina wives. Since there is no divorce laws in the Philippines, Filipinas have always paid high regard for the sanctity of marriage and make every endeavour to preserve the love in their family.

“Money is always secondary to the stability of a loving marriage.” – FACT Living in a society that finds divorce unacceptable, Filipino women will always put the stability of their marriage first, before money and they will always be more willing to sacrifice career than a family.

“Filipina women don’t believe in divorce.” – MYTH Raised with high values of honesty and fidelity, Filipino women are very patient and willing to stand by their husbands during hard times. This is not unconditional, however, so don’t equalize the illegality of divorce in the Philippines with unwillingness of Filipinas to divorce if they could. A Filipino woman in an honest and loving relationship will never consider divorce as an option but if her husband abuses her verbally or physically she will resort to it if given the opportunity.

“Filipinas are excellent home keepers.” – FACT Filipino women are very focused on family needs and are exceptional mothers. Their home is a great source of pride for them and they do their best to create a warm and loving environment for their family. For the Filipina even yelling at home would mean de-facing her home so you will probably never find a Filipina woman screaming or breaking dishes.

“Filipina women prefer men who are many years their senior.” – FACT Filipinas are, at a minimum, tolerant of much older husbands. This fact is confirmed by the statistics – with 80% men older than their Filipina wives by at least a year, more than 40% are at least 10 years older and about 15% are more than 20 years older. What makes them desirable despite the significant age gap is that Filipinas perceive older men as more mature, less promiscuous, and financially stable.

“Filipinas seek Western men for marriage because there are twice as many females as males in the Philippines.” – MYTH The population difference is about 700,000 (age 15-65) in a country with a population of about 73,000,000 – that is a difference of less than 1% which proves that such a statement is just inconsistent. Filipino women seek Western men for a husband for many of the same reasons Western men want them for a wife – for a stable, loving and lasting relationship.

The writer Jonas P. is a retired American living in the Philippines. He and his Filipina wife have made a Filipino Dating site about Filipina women, their culture and the famous Filipina personality.

You can check the original article here:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonas_Patterson

So, what do you think about the article?

Btw, i'm 9 years older than my wife and we literally go to church every sunday. again i'm not a pessimist i'm just trying to ask the right question.
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