Mobilising men: ally identities and collective action in Japan and the Philippines

Men have an important role as allies in reducing discrimination against women. Following the Social Identity Model of Collective Action (SIMCA), we examined whether men's identification with women would predict their allied collective action, alongside moral convictions, efficacy, and anger. We also examined whether identification with their own ingroup would decrease their willingness to improve women's situation. We tested the SIMCA, extended to consider ingroup identification among men, in Japan (N = 103) and the Philippines (N = 131). Consistent with the SIMCA, moral convictions and group efficacy predicted men's willingness to engage in collective action to fight discrimination against women. However, anger was not significant, and identification with the advantaged and disadvantaged groups played different roles in the two countries. We discuss the possible role of norms and legitimacy in society in explaining the pattern of results

Exploring understandings of sexuality among “gay” migrant Filipinos living in New Zealand

Ethnicity, sexuality, and health are inextricably linked. This study reports on individual interviews carried out with 21 “gay” migrant Filipinos living in New Zealand to understand sexual identity and identify how they manage the disclosure of their identity. The participants provided both simple and complex accounts of sexuality. For many, these aligned with Western notions of how gay and bisexual are understood as categories; but for others, their understandings and use of such terms was influenced by Filipino cultural and contextual meanings. This included the use of “gay” as a catch-all category, including for those who identify as transgender. Active and careful management of their diverse identities was reported by participants. While disclosure to family was reasonably common, this was couched in terms of sexuality being tolerated rather than fully accepted. Disclosing identity was comparatively easier in New Zealand, but nonetheless there was active control over disclosure in some work and medical situations. Such findings add a degree of complexity within health promotion and public health, as identity cannot be regarded as static and common understandings do not exist. However, the strong community orientation and relative openness of “gay” Filipinos in relation to sexuality and gender afford opportunities for targeted interventions among this group

Valuation of women’s virginity in the Philippines

Despite increasing sexual liberalization, virginity and its loss persist as contested and highly gendered concepts in many parts of Asia. According to theories in feminism and sexuality studies, virginity may be socially constructed as either a gift, a stigma, an act of worship, or a process. This paper examines the socially constructed values and meanings ascribed to women’s virginity in the context of the Philippines. We synthesize findings from quantitative sources and original qualitative data from focus groups and interviews with Filipino women and men. Subsequent analysis of these findings indicated that a strong, widespread importance is ascribed to women’s virginity. While men endorsed female virginity as important prior to marriage, women reported even more restrictive views—including legitimizing beliefs linking virginity to women’s worth and to the avoidance of marital conflict. Filipina women expressed disapproval of sex for unmarried women, but less for unmarried men, and placed less importance on male virginity. The evidence indicates the presence of a sexual double standard and supports the argument that women themselves may endorse cultural belief systems that restrict female sexuality. Female virginity was dominantly constructed either as a gift (an embodied resource given by women to men) or, more often, as a prize to be claimed by men from women within the context of heterosexual marriage. Male virginity, in contrast, was largely viewed as a stigma. Virginity loss was not construed as a normative developmental process, nor, despite the predominance of Roman Catholicism in Philippine culture, a sacred act with religious underpinnings