Reading Guide: The Performance of Gender

How to be Beautiful

“The Secret Language” by Ma. Luisa Aguilar-Cariño

1. According to the narrator, who is the receiver of her actions? Who is the stranger? How does the poem provide insight into the Philippines’ colonial history?
2. Can you identify the points in the poem when the narrator puts on a performance? What language does the author use to allude to performativity? 
3. What is the significance of the repeated phrase “for you”? What is the significance of the phrase “Now, I am Christina”? 
4. How does the narrator recognize the act of othering during her lifetime? As the narrator never describes her physical appearance, what effect does the description “her hair the bleached color of corn, watching with bird-eyes” have on perceptions of beauty in the Philippines? 
5. Why does the narrator think that “they” accept her? What acts as she completed to “be successful”? 

“Dream Country” by Jesus Balmori

1. The story shares remarkable similarities with the Brothers Grimm’s version of the classic fairytale Sleeping Beauty. Being aware of this, how can we use this story to explain Western influence on Philippine beauty standards?
2. Balmori writes in the male gaze. How does the plot of the story reflect this reality? 
3. This story was published in 1907, about a decade after the Spanish-American War. Historical happenings informed much of literature’s content, making literature a vehicle through which one can express their displeasures. How does Balmori critique the state of society through this work? Why does he use a woman to voice these criticisms? 
4. What is the meaning of the following quote: “And before the royal court all dresed in gold, before all the court assembled to celebrate that matchless good fortune, the princess cried her first tears, which were more painful than all the sad pains in her past”? How does this reflect the events of the past decade? 
5. How is the princess similar to Maria Clara? How is the princess a martyrized symbol in the story? 
6. What role does the Queen play in her daughter’s future (bearing in mind that the queen is both a mother and a member of the elite)? Balmori writes, ““But before leaving, she cursed the little girl: ‘Oh, you will not have tears! You will not know how to cry! And the queen kissed her daughter. She had saved her from tears”. How do the Queen’s actions reflect the real-life relationship between Filipina mothers and their daughters?

How to be Virtuous

“Maria de las Flores” by Marjorie Evasco

1. How does Catholicism inform beauty standards? How is the Virgin Mary the ultimate model for beauty? What does it mean to be truly beautiful according to the faith?
2. What role do elders play in dictating the futures of young women? Does Evasco blame them? Why or why not? 
3. Evasco writes, “Where their daughters must stay and mold themselves to your pure and pallid image, frozen stiff in stone, your feet way above our earth, precarious on that pedestal.” Interpret Evasco’s critique of society, paying close attention to the phrases “your feet way above our earth, precarious on that pedestal”. Do you think that Evasco believes that beauty standards might change? 

“Simbang Gabi” by Michelle Cruz Skinner

1. The Christmas holiday season is the framework through which Skinner situated the plot. Why do you think that the author chose this? How does religion motivate the main character Clara’s decisions? 
2. How does Clara compare to the archetypal Maria Clara? 
3. How do Memet and Clara serve as FOILs? How does this juxtaposition showcase the demand on Filipina women to transform and perform?
4. Clara is the queen of the Christmas pageant. How does this speak to the culture of performance in the Philippines? 
5. How is religion connected to race in the story? (Remember that “Moro” refers to Muslims in the southern Philippines.) Analyze this quote: “I didn’t look Moro at all. I was very pale, having inherited my father’s Filipino-Chinese complexion and my mother’s Filipino-Spanish one. My long, black hair made me look even paler, which I didn’t like. Pale skin, though, was something that most people coveted. It was very fashionable.”

“Redemption” by Jesus Balmori

1. How does a woman’s virtuosity impact her beauty? 
2. How is the Madonna figure used to critique the treatment of women by a morally uppity society like the Philippines? 
3. How does Balmori fight for his protagonist? How does he empower and victimize her simultaneously? Use the quotes: “She had sinned because of ignorance and out of necessity and because men themselves pushed her into it. She had never sinned because of vice nor because of brazen sinfulness” and  “So that even before she matured, she was stripped of her maidenhood to satisfy the brutal lust of just anyone” to guide the discussion. 
4. Where in the story does the transformation take place? What is the significance of the name transformation from Maria to Piedad? 
5. How do men determine a woman’s beauty in Philippine society? How does the story reflect this?

How to Be

“Firstborn” by Maria Luisa Aguilar-Cariño

1. How does Aguilar-Cariño view the archetypes and their real-life application? 
2. How does the piece’s epic style highlight the expectation of gender performance? 
3. What role do pronouns play throughout the poem?
4. How does the poem’s allegorical tone emphasize, or rather, critique essentialism? 

“The Star” by Lilledeshan Bose

1. How does this short story reflect literal performance culture in the Philippines? Do you think that the experimental structure of breaking the fourth wall is effective in communicating the struggles of young adults? Do you think that Bose is accurate in her observations of adolescence? 
2. How does Bose shed light on the topic of mental illness among teenage girls? Do you think she approaches it organically? 
3. Analyze this quote: “She had become an exhibitionist and lived to perform for them; she realized that she actually liked them.” Who is “them”? 
4. What other struggles are featured in the story? 

“Tsismis” by Erna Hernandez

1. How does Hernandez play with perspective in the piece? How would you categorize it, i.e. short story, prose, poem?
2. How does the piece serve as a critique against essentialism? What role does family have in gender performance? 
3. Gossip culture is a huge part of Philippine culture? How does Hernandez evoke a type of traumatic nostalgia in order to call for change?
4. There are no men in the piece. Yet, how does sexism still exist? What is the role of women in society towards othe women? 

“New Heart” by Rafael Palma

1. What is the gender power dynamic at the turn of the century? What emotional expectations exist for women?
2. Who is the audience? Is it women or men? Why or why not? 
3. How does Palma’s writing exacerbate sexist views of women? How does he promote male saviorism? 
4. Nisia is not exactly portrayed as weak. Palma writes that “the battle was waged between two equal, energetic, and consistent natures”. Does Palma truly believe in gender equality or does he “other” Nisia as an exemplar of a man taming a woman forcing her to “perform”? 
5. What transformation takes place, and what is its impetus? 
6. How is Nisia treated like an archetype in the story? What language indicates this?

How to Be Free

“To be Walang Hiya” by Barbara Jane Reyes

1. What is Reyes’ message? 
2. What is the meaning of the title? How does Reyes use irony to communicate her message?
3. What is the role of archetypes in the poem? 
4. What is the purpose of the collective pronoun “we”? Who is the audience? Who is the speaker?

Thematic Questions: 1) What is the role of archetypes in gender performance?  2) How do mothers form relationships with their daughters through gender performance?