Growing Up Female

In the martial law era of my girlhood, what stands out is the presence of the purely macho military and police. I can still remember the sirens sounding off from the top of the city hall to signal to the cityfolk of the curfew. Anyone caught outside their homes after the curfew were arrested. We only had one President from the time I was born till just a month before my college graduation. That was the status quo. My generation accepted that. It was only when Ninoy Aquino was assassinated in 1983 that we learned there is an alternative form of governance that we were not privy to.

Growing up female in the Marcos' New Society was repressive. But that did not hamper girls my age to excel in many things. We competed with boys in most everything. Sometimes we even overtook them. In elementary school in my fifth grade, the Education Ministry decided to gather all the top students of the city's public elementary schools and bring them together in one school in the Special Education Program for Fast Learners. I remember the top 3 pupils were all girls: Estela Labalan, Cecilia Teodosio, and Ailynn Orteza.

Girls excelled in my age group. In the Spelling Bee sponsored by the Rotary, two out of the three entrants from my school were girls. In the Math Quiz, our entrant was also a girl, Josefina Paco, and she won the major prize. In the Science and Technology Contest, Pamela Gellecanao won for her entry in the experimental portion. The top three honors went to three girls when I graduated from elementary.

My role model during those early years was Chris Evert. She was a Grand Slam titlist for several years and was the queen of Wimbledon for five consecutive years. Nadia Comaneche also inspired a lot of girls my age.

There was Margarita Moran who became Miss Universe in 1973. Her poster resided in a place of honor in our home.

Our fantasies were fed by Disney with colorful fairy tale princesses: Snow White, Cinderella, and of course, my favorite, Princess Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty.

Our sense of adventure and mystery was fueled by the Nancy Drew books that we used to think were written by Carolyn Keene. Now we learn, Carolyn Keene is merely the pseudonym for a group of authors writing different volumes of the series. Not all of them were female but nevertheless, Nancy Drew is our heroine to this day.

For some reason, Imelda Marcos was never an iconic figure for us. I loved the simple elegance of Jacqueline Kennedy more than the flashy former Philippine First Lady. Now I know why!

Growing up female during the 1970's was not so difficult as growing up female in my mother's time. By this decade, the idea of married women working to support their families had taken flight and society had become more tolerant of the women in the workforce. Traditionally, Filipino women only worked as teachers, nurses, or office girls. Now, a whole new aspect has come about. Because of the influence of our working mothers, many girls my age now work in other professions. In architecture, engineering, and even in the military and police forces, women have found their niche.

It seems very fitting, therefore, that just when I was about to get launched myself into the professional world, the President-Elect is female, Corazon Aquino. She of the housewifely mien and the simple demeanor. But she helped topple a dictator! No other female role model can best her.

Women around the world will always answer that their greatest influence is their mothers. And if not their mothers, then some other female in their world would be their greatest influence. I am no different.

As Maya Angelou wrote: "How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!