Maria Clara

I've always experienced the constant push-and-pull of embodying Maria Clara, as someone born and raised in the Philippines. Maria Clara is a fictional character from José Rizal’s Noli Mi Tangere, one of his most notable contributions in Philippine literature. It is a story based on the historical events of the Spanish occupation in the Philippines. One cannot begin to describe the impact that this novel had on the culture, with it being a staple reading in the Philippine education system. Maria Clara, is quite simply, the main character- Ibarra’s love interest, or his “dream girl.” In the story, she is described as innocent, demure and pure, with all the intention that these characteristics were the ideal Filipina. These were the makings of what a Filipina should be. Though only fictional, it denoted a standard with which Filipinas had to ascribe to. Maria Clara evolved from just a character to an entire persona- one that all Filipinas should embody. Fast forward to the present, Filipinas are still subject to such gendered ideals. As Parreñas (2000) contextualizes, “In the Philippines, men are expected to sustain the family and women to reproduce family life. In fact, ideological constructs of feminine identity are molded from “mothering and caring roles in the domestic arena” (p. 567). Additionally, Neher (1980) found that both Filipino men and women in agree that Filipina women should prioritize the house and family above all else (p. 114) It is worth arguing that these patriarchal attitudes were introduced upon Spanish colonization and are being constantly reinforced in modern Philippine society, and it is also observable in the global demand for Filipina women in labor sectors that channel their ability to care and provide (Felipe, 2016).

Arguably, Maria Clara and the idealism of her characteristics were constructed with heteronormative ideals in mind. Dawn Mabalon cites an editorial titled, The Ideal Filipino Girl from her archival work in the Philippines (128):

The Ideal Filipino Girl is self-possessed, intelligent. She talks sense, may talk nonsense too. She loves literature, endeavors to know things by extensive readings…. The ideal Filipino Girl is industrious. If not sewing or cooking, she is writing or playing the piano. She loves music and children. When her hands are not busy, her mind is- with grand noble thoughts. The ideal Filipino girl is virtuous, not prudish: religious, not fanatical…. She is for sports, society, parties, but knows the limit…. She is alive and living, so much so that her face beams and a glow shines in her face, revealing a woman’s soul.

Filipinas were held to gendered ideals of the “good girl.” Drawing on Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity, “emphasized femininity” results from the need for masculinity to assert its superiority. The idealization of these feminine ideals are reproduced through social structures, or by agents “doing gender.” “Doing gender” was coined by West and Zimmerman (1987) and it is essentially the act of maintaining gender-specific behavior like girls having a natural inclination for homemaking, and boys being naturally drawn to perform macho behavior. In Eviota’s (1992) work, she mentions that sex-gender systems were introduced to the Philippines upon colonization, which enabled the unequal sexual division of labor—men were in charge of providing, while the women were designated the household tasks (p. 19). In the Spanish colonial rule, Filipina women were the main caregivers for their family members at home (Choy, 2003). Additionally, the category of work for Filipina women in this time period was limited to midwifery (Choy, 2003). This gendered division of labor precipitated the formation of gender hierarchies– arguably a byproduct of colonization (Eviota, 1992). In a similar front, Daly’s study on Filipina-targeted websites revealed a wide range of hypersexualized images of Filipinas. She contended that Filipinas were only portrayed within two categories of men’s idealized femininity, “domestic goddesses” or “sex goddesses” (Daly, 222). One can argue that these ideals are similar to the dichotomy of the Madonna-Whore Complex. Feminist scholars have argued that the Madonna-Whore Complex upholds patriarchal standards that degrade and objectify women, leaving them as objects only to exist through the male gaze (Bareket, et.al, 519). Filipinas are idealized as caretakers and nurturers, but also subjected to hypersexualization. With these gendered ideals, how does the Filipina assert her own identity?