Saturday, October 11, 2014

Hipsters

Chong Alarde, Jake Espiritu, Laurie Galicia,     
Trixie Malibiran, Denise Marquez, Alex Siao     SA21 A


Deviance Day Report


  1. Identity you want to imitate? Why this identity?
We chose to imitate hipsters because this is a contemporary subculture that emerged relatively recently that focuses on deviating from modern society and standard social norms. We also chose to imitate hipsters because this is a subculture that emerged relatively recently and speaks volumes about our generation. Hipsters of today are inherently rooted from the culture of self-identification. Imitating this identity would help us delve into the self as seen from a hipster’s perspective.
  1. What is your identity’s main function in the society?
Hipsters go against what is mainstream. For the sake of clarity, mainstream is defined as culture that is commonly accepted by the people, the hegemonic culture in a sense. Also, by not being mainstream, they diverge away from the norms of society not through abstract and nonsensical methods but through use of normal items in unconventional ways. They choose to do what they want to do, without caring what people might think about them. Hipsters may vary in age, but they still have a common mindset. For example, a thirty-year old hipster may still be living as though he or she is still in his or her teenage years. This is because of the “extended adolescence” phenomenon, which is the searching for actual self-worth and looking for the meaning of technically everything. Hipsters can usually sense what’s going to be a hit in society before it actually becomes popular. Many bands, fashion trends, and gadgets are first discovered by hipsters and will later become mainstream after being scrutinized, reviewed, and broken in into the society.
  1. How does s/he look like? (clothes, gears, phones, skin, hairstyle, nails, physical appearance)
Clothing: thrift shop or vintage clothing, skinny jeans unknown brands (usually from thrift shops), kimonos, loose white shirts, jackets, sweaters, beanies, flower crowns,
Eyewear: authentic Ray Ban Wayfarers or lensless frames; John Lennon style sunglasses
Footwear: cowboy boots, combat boots, vintage shoes, typically worn for comfort
Accessories: black nail polish, bird necklaces,
Hair: messy, colored – full or streaked, beanies, hats
  1. How does s/he speak and behave? How do they talk to people? How do they laugh? Any jokes that they know?
They listen to obscure bands whose genres are indie or alternative and new wave. They use different words or phrases when conversing with others. They say boogie-woogie, got your glasses on, in the groove, main queen, melted out, nickel note, set of seven brights, togged to the bricks, and many more that we usually don’t use when talking to people.
  1. What are their beliefs in life? What are their values?
Hipsters strive to set themselves apart from the mainstream. Though that in itself is paradoxical because the minute that one acknowledges himself/herself as a hipster, they combine with the rest of those that do as well and become the homogeneous blob that is mainstream. Hipsters tend to be more into organic and green products. As long as it falls into those categories, then it is considered hipster. They see themselves as artists and better than people who conform. They give much importance to individualism most of all, and are very much against conforming.
  1. How does his or her day look like?
Hipsters are more or less likely intellectually aware when it comes to liberal arts and graphic art. They spend their time by either reading books and going to the library. They prefer small local libraries because they can stay in one corner, read books, and not mind other people. Unlike most of us, hipsters use their right brain which means that their career choices are around fashion, art, and music. Their choices are not that ideal as compared to mechanical engineering, architecture, psychology, and the like, but the chances are that these choices are the natural outlet for their creativity. What assists hipsters to be contemptuous about the hue and cry of others is education; for them, it is either history repeating itself, or it’s all much fuss about nothing.
  1. Any sociological and personal reflections? How did it feel like to be another person for a day?
Dressing up as hipsters was fun, but a bit challenging. We wore beanies, cardigans, etc, and it was terribly hot. Also, when we walked around Ateneo, we received several judging looks from bystanders as we were immersed into the typical university environment. When we went out as a group and being stereotypically hipster (and loud) we received stares. Some members carried the hipster identity well to the point of getting neutral double takes from passerby. When we passed by SecB, one of our friends asked us, “Why are you guys so hipster today?”

Bibliography
Julia, Plevin. "Who's A Hipster?" Huffingtonpost.com. N.p., 25 May 2011. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. .
"How to Be A Hipster." Wikihow.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. .
Linton, Weeks. "The Hipsterfication of America." Npr.org. N.p., 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. .

SA21- A GOTHS Deviance Day


SA21-A Goths Deviance Day 


Yanta Zubiri
Jonard Koa
Gino Roque IV
Christine Felix
Clinton Lim
Yun Ji Seo



1. Who is the identity you want to imitate? Why did you choose this identity?

  We chose to portray the Goths since they are not very common in the Ateneo community; they are an elusive bunch of people whose lifestyles are normally exaggerated in television dramas and movies.

The gothic identity being closely linked with the worship of the devil is due to the previous association of the gothic subculture to cults. The association made by the people is brought by years and years of relating the color black to evil and antagonistic factors in life. Relating goths to the devil coincides with the cajoling of the others that goths are wannabe-vampires (case point: a scenario in the tv show Glee). With the malicious prejudices and immoral claims of the people who see their lifestyles as something to be identified as counterculture, the other side of goths are then hidden from the public. That is why, the group had shown interest in relaying to the public what goths are really like by choosing to dress like them and quell the stereotypes of society on certain things about goths.


  2. What is your identity’s main function in the society?

They are seen as a sub-culture or group that would house angsty bunch of people who shy away from the brighter side of life. We also see this housing people that share thoughts on death and pretension. With the media only focusing on the goths' all black and punk-rock inspired ensemble, these people are often branded as satanic and sadistic.

In a societal point of view, the function of goths is to have another group such as the hipsters who deviate from the social norm or mainstream and express themselves in their own unique and different way. They act as a form of diversity in society that allows people to expand out of the pressures of social norms and see where they truly see themselves fit to be.

  3. How does he/she look like?

They prefer periodic-styled clothing-styles patterned after the medieval, Elizabethan and Victorian eras, showcases their identification to grotesque horror. They would put on heavy make up- dark eyeliner, dark lipstick, black fingernails and dark black hair- they are able to showcase their inclination to darkness. For their make-up, they like to place a great deal of white foundation on their faces so as to have a pale complexion that would make them look like vampires or the undead. Their-the-top overly dark colored clothing is added with a flare of exoticism and mystery with their accessories.
 
Just like how their taste in music becomes their emotional outlet. The goths' preference in clothing also reflects their inclination towards the grotesque and the surreal. Goths wear dark colored clothes, mostly black and gray, designed with metal adornments to showcase their rebellion from the optimized view of life. Metal accessories are also commonly worn by goths such as spiked metal neck-pieces, metallic bracelets with spikes; piercings are also commonly found in the appearances of goths. Popular culture would show these metal adornments and metal accessories as having skulls in their main design; this further strengthens the correlation of themes like death relating to goths and their identity that society encapsulates goths under.
Their reference to the past also suggest that goths want to plugs their look with a touch of religious imagery. Goths also refer to earlier gothic literature in their quest to establish their identity. They use the images found in gothic historical and cultural scenes.


  4. How does he/she speak or behave?

Instead of the typical portrayal of goths as dark-loving satanists, they are actually quiet and emotionally turbulent people who express themselves through their punk-rock inspired clothing. With the Gothic subculture being heavily influenced by the post-punk rock music genre, goths are more inclined to heavy metal music. Goths gravitate to heavy percussion for the rhythm becomes the outlet for their suppressed emotions.
      
       5.   What are their beliefs in life? What are their values?

Goths see themselves as absurdist who cling to the past as a form of expressing their suppressed individualism. They identify with the preceding subculture of punk rockers who openly advocate the idea of disorder as a person's manifestation of his or her reality. The lives of goths are most of the time, generalized in television series as something that is reflective of a troubled past. Most of the times, goths encounter malicious prejudices that do not only taint the perception of the society about them but also brand them as immoral and satanists. The deviant identity of the goths only exist due to the perceived relation of immorality and satanism in gothic lifestyles. In terms of their behavior, goths are generally nonchalant in their mood and prefer not to show that much reactions, which is why they may seem dull and dead to most people’s perceptions.

     6.  How does his/her day look like?

We tried to recreate what a goth's day would have been like through portraying them. Thus, as a group who would identify themselves as goths for an hour. We would try to create a ruckus by showing who we are while being quiet and distant with the crowd of people in the campus. We plan to jam to heavy-loud music which showcase our admiration for punk-rock to extreme heavy metal music. We would also stare down at people who would judge our dark aura. Raising our middle fingers up, we would defend our identity to our audience that immediately judge who we portray ourselves to be. Passers by who would start gossiping about our outfit and demeanor would receive a rascal remark of "what yah staring at, huh?!?". These would not only incite fear to our audience but also it would also ignite the idea that goths advocate, which is to push away people who live for the brighter side of life and also those who judge them for who want to be may it be through their clothes or behaviors. As we create a rock-studded portrayal of goths along SEC foyer, the group would be deviant as much as possible by offering headphones to those who are studying as we share our love for the screamo music. We would also chant to the lyrics of the song, we would then establish our inclination to be out of the primary by subtly creating a scene. genre of music, which is seen in heavy metal music as well.

1 7. Any sociological and personal reflections? How did it feel being another person for a day?

After the deviance day activity, we, as goths, noticed a lot of people staring at us. Most if not all were just stunned to see people dressed like goths in campus. Through this activity, we came to the conclusion that most people in the Ateneo aren’t used to the idea of goths since they reacted in a shocked way when they saw us dressed in Gothic clothes and presenting the Gothic lifestyle. The females would be dressed in all black with either black pants or skirts to contrasting bottoms, while having silevr jewelry such as chains. This would also be paired with a black leather jacket with a white black inner shirt with or without any prints. The males would also wear black overall outfits where we see a black shirt or hoodie is worn with black or dark colored pants with black boots or shoes. A jacket could also be worn with a contrasting inner shirt such as white or non-contrasting such as black. Both sexes would be covered in make-up where the heavy eyeliner would be emphasized. While black or dark make-up would cover most of what surrounds the eyes.The pressures of society and its norms are still deeply embedded in the ateneo campus culture due to the fact that only a few groups are widely accepted in the campus, such as “the JSEC kids/ conyo kids”, the nerds, the dancers, the athletes and the gamers. This shows the reality that the deviation from society and its norms in ateneo is still not that widespread due to the strong pressures of social norms and the lack of more people challenging it.


A Perspective and Reflection from a female member of the Goths:

Yun ji : i had no idea of what a goth group is before the deviance day. However, through this experience, i got to know what it is and how society sees it. It was embarassing for me to walk in all black with the wild music because i am not the type of person who enjoys doing things that aren't socially accepted. People were looking at us and judging us, but i knew i am no different from them. It was still a nice experience because I don't think there will be any chance in my life to be a goth. It was a fun activity!

A Perspective and Reflection from another female member of the Goths:

days before the deviance day, i was kinda panicking since me and my personality are nothing close to goth. Though on the day itself, i kinda felt relaxed because it would be obvious that we were doing a project. Ive always known that people who deviate from societys norms (especially in the philippines) are looked at in a weird way/looked down upon so it wasnt really shocking to me that we were being judged. It was slightly humiliating because goth groups are hard to find in the philippines and we were just there in the middle of sec walk being a goth group. It was a fun and different experience



A Perspective and Reflection from a male member of the Goths:



I had a glimpse of what a goth might be through movies showing them briefly. I even remember seeing something like it on glee but I never really thought about it. I come from a family that really values having good manners and presenting yourself decently. Goths are really different from what I am, where they mostly wear black and have musical taste that is geared towards metal, death metal and Gothic themes. I really found people to have reacted distasteful towards us, mainly because we looked very much in character and looked different from everyone else. I felt really awkward and would feel as if people would keep starring as if I had an enormous pimple on my face. I'm used to being in decent attire and the shift to black make-up and dark clothes was most probably the cause of why other kept staring. We played loud heavy metal Gothic music through Spotify which also caught the attention of people. We would look them in the eye with our Gothic make-up and they would just briskly walk away. It was a really interesting experience of going against the norms of what is socially accepted or seen on the campus of Ateneo. I doubt that I'll be given another opportunity like this and I'm really glad to have been part of this.




A Perspective and Reflection from another male member of the Goths:

before the day itself, I was feeling not too bad about dressing up as a goth because, I felt that people would know that it would be for deviance day, however on the day, as my group and I would walk around, I would suddenly get the feeling that people were watching us, in an unflattering way... And this is an experience of how society has shaped us in the sense that's once we deviate or when we do something not socially accepted, instead of people treating everyone with the same respect, the people would put you down... Also this is a sad sight, it is an experience I will never forget

References:

Stripy Tights and Dark Delights. (2011, October 28). Retrieved   
October 9 ,2014,from http://ultimategothguide.blogspot.com/2011
/10/sociological-explanation-of-goths-who.html?m=1

Common Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2014, from 
http://www.gothicsubculture.com/common-culture.php
How
to Dress Goth. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2014, from 
http://www.wikihow.com/Dress-Goth

Goths: No Reaction



1. Who is the identity you want to imitate? Why did you choose this identity?

Goth subculture has made its name throughout history, and is present in various countries. It is a contemporary subculture found in numerous countries around the world. It started in England in the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, a branch of the post-punk classification. The goth subculture has survived any longer than others of the same time, and has kept on enhancing. Its symbolism and social tendencies show impacts from the nineteenth century Gothic writing, alongside with the genre of Horror films.

That being said, the goth subculture has a distinct taste in music and style. The music that goth people listen to incorporates various distinctive styles, including gothic rock, deathrock, post-punk, darkwave, ethereal wave, and neoclassical. Styles of clothing inside the subculture were inspired from deathrock, punk, and Victorian styles, or mixes of the above, regularly with black clothing, cosmetics, and hair. Usually, the goth would apply white foundation or powder to be as white as possible, then it is accompanied with dark cosmetics together with their outfit. 


Some say that Goth came from the Germanic Visigoth tribes where as Goth was seen as an uncivilized, unruly and barbaric. “Gothic” was a Renaissance term that describes different types of art such as Gargoyales. The Romans considered this as a low form of art. It was in the 18th century, when “gothic” was integrated into literature, which included elements of horror. During the 20th century, the meaning changed again and it now featured heavy eyeliners and all-black clothing. 


Kinds of Goths (as taken from Alicia Porter Smith’s Goth Website)

Weekenders

These are teens going through a phase in life, following and trying out some styles. They try to be dress up as goth to be cool. They don’t live the culture. They only dress up for occasions and events. These are the “poser goths” or “fake goths”. These gothic stage usually passes after some time. 

Ultra Goths

The real ones. They have been goths for quite some time. They are extreme dressers and real goths. They don’t just dress up, they live it. 


Satanists

“Satanists includes some Theatrical and Experimental Satanists and some Proclaimed

Satanists. This is a very small percentage of Goths. Satanists can be found in almost any random group of people. They are not exclusively Goths.” 


Vampires

A small percentage of Goths. These are the goths who try to dress up as vampires. They play with black, red and white. 


Mopey Goths

“Goths who have an overdeveloped sense of angst.” These are the goths usually found lurking in the corners and dark areas. They think about existence, heart breaks and life in general. 


Perky Goth

These are the goths who don’t dwell on the goth was that much. They usually play with some colours and glitters to funk up their style. 

The group decided to portray the Goth Subculture for deviance day because we were most interested in experiencing first-hand what it felt like to be the "other" figure in the society. Because the Goth subculture is so far from what we perceive as "normal", we wanted to test the effects of the sociological theories we learned in class especially the SI or the Symbolic Interaction perspective as to how people react to those who are "deviant" and "different" in the society. 


2. What is your identity’s main function in the society?

As is the case for many alternative subculture groups, Goths have made their contribution to the fashion industry, arts, music, and any and all sorts of culture. Their influence in these areas have grown considerably over the years. Together with their rising power, however, they have also been stigmatized, demonized and harassed physically and emotionally. Because Goths are a highly visible counterculture subgroup, the media, parents, schools, therapists, religious organizations and law enforcement authorities have paid considerable attention to them mainly as a potential threat to established norms and institutions. At the same time, concern has been expressed that publicizing and overreacting to the subgroup will increase its attractiveness or overall “allure” to the youth who are already showing tendencies or leaning towards the rebellious, antisocial, or attention-seeking behaviour. 

Typically, Goths do not associate with anyone outside their group and the way they choose to dress and act makes it very easy to distinguish them from any and all other subcultures. When looking at the Structural Functionalism (SF) perspective, wherein each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to society’s functioning as a whole and where there is a belief that society is held together by social consensus or cohesion in which members of the society agree upon and work together to achieve what is best for the society as an entirety, we see that Gothic members do not relate well with this perspective. However, they do have a lot of the same beliefs as a group, though not so much as a part of society. For the members of the group, they believe and only aim to do what will help “stabilize” their group from the outside in, but do nothing that will aid society as a whole. 


3. How does he/she look like?


A person under the Goth subculture dresses as a reflection to their attitude and demeanour. Their fashion style is basically revolving around variations of black and silver. 
1. White makeup

2. Black or dark lipstick and eyeliner

3. Piercings

4. Black or dark shirt and bottom 

5. Chokers, chains, and any accessory that has metal or spikes

6. Boots or leather shoes

7. Usually shirts with messages that portray strong emotions (usually anger or despair)


For males, they often wear leather capes and long leather suits, achieving a medieval "dracula" inspired look. For females, they use fishnets and corsets and often dress provocatively. 



4. How does he/she speak or behave?

When Goths talk it is usually in a slow, airy manner. They speak with a few chosen words, or with the fewest words possible. They converse in a manner that shows very little emotion. When talking, their facial expressions remain the same, either in a blank and indifferent way, or with a negative emotion (sadness, anger, perplexing expression). Goth people don't really like talking that much. They express their emotions through their clothing preferences. They use dark words. They don't really say a lot of things. They talk slow to compared to usual people. In terms of behaviour, they are hardly seen expressing exuberant behaviour, unless with their group. They also have unusual practices that only those also in gothic subcultures can relate to like having a liking for pain to the extremity of inflicting self-hurt. 


5. What are their beliefs in life? What are their values?

A few values that Goth's are known for are first, Art or creativity. Goths are very artistic creatures. Nearly all Goths are artists in some way weather that's acting, painting, sewing/crafts, writing, etc. Despite the plentitude of black and dark outfits, in close study, the gothic subculture is very adept with artistic modes of self expression. Second, music. Because the subculture was basically born from music of the 70's and 80's. There's usually a huge hypocrisy floating around this one. Goths love to talk about music. Often some of the people who take the lifestyle more "seriously" tend to try to validate themselves by bully others for not liking the same music as them. As for beliefs, they have a love for darker aesthetic - It's not just a stereotype. Most Goths like "spooky" things on some level. That doesn't mean all Goths like cobwebs and rotting corpses, sometimes they just really have a thing for Victorian architecture. Also, the people who say it's not all about the clothes, are usually really into clothes. Another is their high regard for Individuality. Goths like to do things (like read such-and-such-a book) because they want to. Not because they have to because it's what's trending in the "mainstream". Though don't hold it against all Goths if some Goths don't really excel at being themselves.  Lastly, Knowledge. Just that most Goths are usually well read, open minded, enjoy learning (even if they don't care for school), and usually have a vast vocabulary. Research and understanding the roots of the Goth subculture is also usually pretty important. Sometimes religion (of any kind) can be important but that's one of those things that vary. There are some goths, on the extreme's that deviate from religion and call themselves Satanists. 


6. How does his/her day look like?

A goth person's day looks like a typical persons day. They do the same activities but the way they do things is usually different. Goths don'r follow the regular norms. They don't do what mainstream people do. They like doing things their own way. They hangout with fellow goths who appreciate their sense of goth-ness. They don't really associate themselves with other people aside from their carefully chosen peers. They don't talk about gossip, Hollywood or anything that doesn't concern them. These people really value their time. They think about things that really matter to them. They contemplate about things such as life, emotions and even relationships. A goth person's day also was music in it. Their choice of music is quite different from the norms. They usually listen the the mainstream songs in the goth realm. Goth people don't really care about what other people think about them. No matter what passerby's think, they would rather stick to their true selves.

This is an inside view on how members of the Goth subculture would be treated through their day, if they were students of the Ateneo. During our deviance day parade, my groupmates and I first planned out what we’re going to do. We practiced our plans as we walked from Bellarmine to Old Rizal. We discussed that we should walk in a line and all stare at the same people at the same time. Whenever we see someone from afar, we signal to each other that we will stare on that person and we play goth music. Once the person is inside our staring range, we stare at the person and look at that person’s reaction. Like earlier, most of them either looked away or got their phones and stared at them. Only a few of them stared back at us. We noticed that if they go by groups, we see them talking amongst themselves while occasionally looking at our direction. As we arrived, we first went to Red Brick Road. We walked slowly and we didn’t show emotion. We just stared at random people. We then went to the Kostka benches (the ones in front of the offices) and sat beside people and stared at them. The people played it cool and stayed on their seats and carried on. After some time, we transferred to MVP. We were greeted by the guard. We didn’t greet back. We just stared at her. After a few seconds, I felt so bad because she might think that we’re snobbing her and so we went back and apologized. After that, we went to Colayco hall. We remained in character. They posed on the background and I took a picture of them. The students who saw us were staring at us. We can see them in my peripheral vision. After that, we went around again for some more and we stopped in front of Dela Costa. We all sat down and people passed by. Some passed by as if nothing was happening and others took glimpses. 



7.Any sociological and personal reflections? How did it feel being another person for a day?

The Social Conflict (SC) perspective presents societies in a different light. While other perspectives focus on the positive aspects of society that contribute to its stability, the SC perspective focuses on the negative, conflicted and ever-changing nature of society. The conflict theorists challenge the status quo; encourage social change “even when this means social revolution”. They believe that the rich and the powerful are the ones able to take control merely because of the fact that they can force social order on the poor and the weak. When we look at the Gothic subculture in comparison to this perspective, we see that there is a clear structured inequality in the existing subcultures, especially towards the Gothic members who are typically associated with being poor, abused, repressed, suppressed and misunderstood.


The last perspective tackled will be the Interactionism perspective, which directs sociologists to consider the symbols and details of everyday life, what they mean and how people interact with each other. Gothic individuals have shown a tendency to instantly favor anything that is considered “dark” or possibly even evil to the average person. They are fond of dark colors, such as the color black, they are often seen dressed in ensembles of different black combinations with many layers regardless of the external weather. They accessorize themselves with silver bangles, earrings, piercings and the occasional tattoo. Their choice of music is often of the heavier kind such as heavy metal, heavy rock and screamos. Several documents have also recorded their penchant for using Egyptian symbols that appear dark, or even satanic to the untrained eye. It is clear that the Goths’ dislike of the mainstream tends to reflect a positive and necessary enjoyment on their part of feeling collectively different and, more specifically, “superior” to the “outsiders”. Among Goths, the strength of the distinction (or how different they are from the others) is seen as a good thing and it is believed that this want of distinction is a result of the prejudice and occasional violence Goths were prone to receive in light of their unconventional appearance.

Individual Reflection (Male Perspective):

As a guy, I didn’t know how to put makeup on so during the morning, I asked my mother to do my makeup. Her first reaction was, “Ha?? Bakit?” During this scenario, I immediately realized that something sociologically-related was already happening. My mom was surprised because her son is asking her to do his makeup. The reason why she reacted is because it is not normal for men to wear makeup on a regular day (gender roles). I explained to her that it was for deviance day for sociology. She did my goth makeup and after a few minutes, my driver arrived. As i entered the car, he inquired immediately about my makeup. He was the first one to react. I tried practicing my role as a goth to him but then he knows me too well to fall for it. Even though he knows it’s for something, the important thing about this event is that he reacted to it. The reason why he reacted is because I broke the usual pattern (him seeing me in a normal outfit). I arrived in Ateneo and a lot of people looked at my direction but I noticed that whenever I look back at them, they look away. People who knew me went to me asked me why I’m dressed like that. I told them that it’s a phase I’m going through. All of them laughed at what I said and they didn’t believe me and they assumed that it’s either for an org or for academics. 

So we went through the deviance day parade and After the bell rang, we all had to go to our respective classes. I went to ISO to eat lunch with my blockmates. All of them were shocked and one of them told me that I looked like a lesbian. I ordered food and in ISO were old people. One of the old ladies looked at me in a certain way. It was more of an “Ano ba naman ‘tong mga kabataang ‘to ngayon” look. I remained in character and ordered sisig. The cashier woman interacted with me normally as if she sees and accommodates goths normally. The other people, on the other hand, the waiters and waitresses, were somewhat giggling but then I’m not too sure if it’s because of me, although I catch them taking glimpses. When my class started, the professor immediately noticed me and told me that she likes how I look. 

(Female Perspective): 
I went to SA class wearing the all black outfit at around 8:45 in the morning. I noticed that even then, even just the outfit without all the eyeliner and lipstick was enough to catch attention. I quickly noticed a few stares. During the deviance day parade itself, everyone we passed by was turning their heads or giving us odd looks. I think the fact that we were all walking in either a straight vertical line or a straight horizontal line, while playing goth music was the main reason why. Throughout the parade, i felt how it was to be excluded from what was "accepted" and "normal". I realized that when other people dress and act in a way that was very different from others, people and society would immediately react differently as well. It was an enriching experience and I also figured out that even if you "think" you're not obviously staring at someone who happens to be different from you, its actually very very obvious that you're giving them odd looks. It helped me become more open to those who decide to deviate from the norms of society. One hour in their shoes helped me gain a little more perspective on those who are classified as "deviant" like the Gothic Subculture. 





Members: 
Abigail Chen 
Sunshine Estoesta
Marco Lasam
Patricia Jaranilla
Renz Jaranilla 
SA-21 B


Sources:



Marasigan, Cherish. "Pastel Goth: An Introduction To Goth's Lighter Side." Rebels Market, 8 June 2014. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. .

The Goth Culture: Quotations; Why Discuss Goth Culture Here? Description. History. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. .

Gill, N.S. "Where Did the Goths Come From." Ancient History. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. .

Fino, Christophe. "Gargoyles of Notre Dame." N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. .
SA21 - Q
Group McSpicy - Blind Masahistas
Empedrado, Benjhoe
Espino, Mikka
Penarada, Tricia
Unson, Alie


  1. Who is the identity you want to imitate? Why did you choose this identity?
For the project, the group chose to portray blind masahistas. What made our groups portrayed identity different was the blindness part. One reason for the portrayal was getting to see how people reacted to us offering massages for 20 pesos. In the bigger picture, the identity actually represents working persons with disabilities (PWD). The group deemed it interesting to see the general reaction of people when they see working persons with disabilities. According to Fink and Tasman1, stigma is the “most debilitating of all the problems that people with special needs [face].” This stigma pertains to the common conception that persons with disabilities or persons with special needs are “meager, tragic, pitiful individuals unfit and unable to contribute to society.2” The point of the portrayal then is to see the reaction of the Ateneo community to people who are trying to break this stigma.
On the other hand, it was also interesting for the group to portray blind masahistas because it was a challenge to really get in our character. Number one, it wouldn’t be easy to pretend to be blind. Number two, it was also a challenge to act as if we’re really dependent on our alalays for moving and interacting with customers.
To support our identity, we were able to get in touch with Miss Susan Pelayo, or Ate Susan, who is a blind masahista, doing home services in various places particularly her barangay and places around Paranaque City.

  1. What is your identity’s main function in the society?
On the surface blind masahistas manifest function in the society is of course to relieve stress and to comfort people by massaging them. Going further though, blind masahistas function to prove the real capabilities of persons with disabilities. When you think about it, this has many implications to the society. For example, under the Philippine Republic Act 7277 or the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, employers should give equal job opportunities to persons with disabilities3. Not only that, they are supposed to provide reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities, which means the company should make the necessary adjustments in their machines, protocols, what-not, in order for their disabled workers to function more properly. This doesn’t only happen in the corporate setting, in the everyday life of a society, people are expected to treat PWDs more nicely, give them priority in lines, seatings, they even have more specialized ramps/ walkways.
To cut it short, working people with disabilities actually are capable of altering the society, its laws and systems. Oftentimes, these adjustments are due to the fact that there are disabled persons who are able. Not all of them are bedridden, trapped in their house forever; but rather, walk the roads of our streets with the normal people. However, as we can see in our own society, this doesn’t really happen.


  1. How does he/she look like?
In general, working disabled people look the same as the normal people. As much as possible, PWDs try to hide their disability. This is called invisible disability, which happens when a physical disability is being hidden or not made obvious to others4. Example, a deaf person may opt to not wear hearing aids just so people wouldn’t know he’s deaf.
Our interviewee says that even if them masahistas are part of the lower class, they still make sure to dress presentably, keeping their hands clean and hair away from their face. Whenever Ate Susan Pelayo, who would be massaging customers in Moonwalk Village, Paranaque City, did home services, she would wear a uniform similar to those of nurses’/house helpers’ uniforms.  However when she was just in her barangay, she would wear her regular long skirt, t-shirt, and slippers. She did not carry a cellphone while massaging people, but she did carry around a towel and a small basket containing oil, tissue, cotton, a handkerchief, and a small coin purse. With regard to physical appearance, her skin color was really toasted since she worked under the sun, in front of her house. She kept her nails cut clean and short. Ate Susan Pelayo hid her disability, having blind eyes which were slightly white and grey in appearance, by wearing sunglasses (aviators actually).

  1. How does he/she speak and behave?
People with disabilities act, speak, behave like normal people although with some modifications obviously because of their physical condition. Ate Susan acts like a normal person although she has to be sometimes guided by her niece Shirley or her sister. She is a very bubbly lady. Whenever she massages her clients, she loves talking to them and laughing. For new clients, she often talks about her life story. She shares about how she got to Manila, her sawi love life, and how she got sick and eventually got cataracts in both her eyes. However, for those she’s more acquainted with or for those who frequented her and those she was familiar with (suki), she likes asking about their love lives. She asks if her client is married, single, or was in a relationship. If her client is single, she flatters them that they are ‘gwapo’ at ‘magaganda’ and that they would find someone soon. Her humble personality overpowers her disability.

  1. What are their beliefs in life? What are their values?
During the interview with ate Susan, she often mentioned, “Mahirap talaga ang buhay.” She said that she has to strive so much in a day just to pay her electricity and buy her necessities because she does not want to depend on her sister’s family for support. This shows that she really values independence and hard work. The first one she shares with other PWDs who wants to avoid being pitied by showing that they can do on their own. Furthermore, Ate Susan also doesn’t believe in begging. She said,”Mas gugustuhin ko pa na magpakapagod kaysa sa mang limos. Wala ka rin namang mapapala kung hindi ka mag tatrabaho at kung hindi mo tutulungan ang sarili mo...maski sumasakit na nga ang siko ko, tuloy pa rin sa pag hilot.” Typical of Filipinos, ate Susan is also religious, believing that she just always needs to pray to help her fix her problems, “...ipinapasa-Diyos ko na lang,” she added.


  1. How does his or her day look like?
In the morning, ate Susan is able to make her own coffee or use the bathroom on her own since she is accustomed to the quaint house. Her sister, Mrs. Bhettsie, would then help her get dressed before managing the sari-sari store. After due preparation is done, Mrs. Bhettsie would now place ate Susan in front of the sari-sari store while she manages it. During lunch time, they would either take ate Susan inside for lunch or feed her right in front of the store. Also, on days that her niece did not have a job, she would accompany ate Susan to walk around nearby neighbors and take her inside by night time. It seems that even if this is ate Susan’s daily routine, she is content and is enjoying what she does. Through this, we can see that ate Susan’s daily life is rather positive despite the struggles of having physical disabilities.


  1. Any sociological+personal reflections ? How did it feel being another person for a day
Being another person for a day did not completely turn out to feel the way we expected. Personally, we thought it wouldn’t be that hard to go around and ask people if they wanted a massage. When we were already there, it was somehow hard to get customers. Majority of the people said no. Moreover, the way they were looking at us was completely different to how they would have looked at us if we were our normal selves. There was a variety of annoyed, repulsed, uncertain, and confused faces in the crowd. Despite this, when we rotated alalays and the current alalay talked more and was being more sociable, more people took notice and agreed on getting a massage in the end, earning us a few pesos. The last customers we had ended up enjoying our massage and getting a good laugh in the end.
Taking it from our interviewee miss Susan Pelayo, a blind masahista, most of her kind are part of the lower class, they experience poverty. Structural functionalism says that poverty is supposed to provide society with the labor force, do the jobs that those in the upper class couldn’t do. However, to add insult to the injury, these are blind people that we are talking about. They are supposed to do nothing according to the second-class citizen stigma of our society.
This then poses two challenges to the blind masahistas -- one is to overcome negative perceptions of society, two is to overcome poverty. Having experienced being one of them for a good hour, it seemed to us that blind masahistas could be having a hard time with these two challenge. One, the variety of reaction from people in the Ateneo during the activity could be the same reactions that these masahistas face in offering and doing their job. The sad part is the blindness could be a trigger to the annoyed, repulsed, uncertain, and confused reactions of people, ultimately leading to refusal of service. This makes it harder for them to do their livelihood, which in turn makes making money harder, they are trapped to live in poverty.
Delving more in the context of the Philippines, although protected by a variety of rights, a lot of people are actually not informed of their rights, especially the poor ones. For example, many Filipino PWDs don’t even know their rights to equal education. In a 2005 survey by Philippine National Statistics Office, most of the PWDs are only able to finish up to high school5. The same statistics states that most PWDs stay at home as homemakers or unemployed.
Overall, although the specific identity was blind masahista, the group was actually touching on the topic of working people with disabilities. These are the people who continue to work and show that they function despite the attitudinal barriers that the society imposes upon them6. Looking at Ate Susan, she speaks and behaves normally, and could be more good-hearted than most regular people. Most of her beliefs are identical to the beliefs of the many (i.e. belief in religion). One difference though is her value of independence. We equate this to the desire of PWDs to be free from the bars of society’s negative stereotypes.
To conclude, we really enjoyed the activity. We learned a great deal of knowledge about the struggles of being a blind masahista. They face a double threat originating from the society: one on having low-income generating job, two, on being labeled as a disabled.


Resources


  1. Fink, Paul Jay., and Allan Tasman. Stigma and Mental Illness. Washington, DC:
American Psychiatric, 1992. Print.
  1. “A Brief History of the Disability Rights Movement." A Brief History of the
Disability Rights Movement. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2014.
  1. “Republic Act 7277." Http://www.ncda.gov.ph/. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2014.
  2. "What Is an Invisible Disability? - Invisible Disabilities Association - IDA."
Invisible Disabilities Association IDA. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
  1. Ericta, Carmelita N. "5th Annual Meeting of the Washington Group on Disability
Statistics." Lecture.
  1. “Attitudinal Barriers for People with Disabilities." Welcome to NCWD/Youth.
N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2014.