Childism and its threats to Filipino children during the Duterte administration’s COVID-19 response
Article
While the policy responses of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration have been subject to much criticism, little has been said about Filipino children and their families who were directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. What is common, however, is the explicit use of the child as a metaphor to criticize Duterte’s actions. This metaphor is inherently childist and prejudiced towards children and their well-being. Thus, this paper examines the views of the media and the general public regarding Duterte and his administration, highlighting expressions of childist language. It also uncovers the systemic neglect of children under the Duterte administration, through a desk review of documents, reports, and implemented mandates that directly impact children and their families, specifically in the context of COVID-19. With these, the paper illustrates how childism and the metaphor of Duterte as a child poses a threat of neglect towards the Filipino child, resulting in policies crafted by a government and society that is prejudiced against children. Ultimately, a call to elevate the discourse is presented, urging greater care in how we contextualize children, as they are often overlooked but significantly affected by policy decisions. Reducing the pandemic response of the Duterte administration as “infantile” subverts the imminent threat of further neglecting the needs of children, which has yet to be addressed by robust government action that highlights a more responsive shift towards children’s development.
Narrative of Malaysian modernity: COVID-19, Malay women portrayals and popular television serials
Article
Academic studies often explore the dynamics between Malay women and popular culture within the context of Malaysian modernity. Researchers commonly investigate resistance to the government’s moral initiatives for women in society. This article examines how popular culture, specifically serial television drama, depicts the portrayal of Malay women during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on the concepts of obedience, disobedience, and control. The government’s “Duduk Rumah” [Stay at home] and “Kita Jaga Kita” [We take care of ourselves] campaigns, initiated by then Prime Minister Muhyidin Yassin to combat the COVID-19 epidemic, placed additional burdens on women, assigning them significant domestic responsibilities as household managers, including the well-being and education of their children, as well as maintaining family cohesion. We argue that these targeted government policies exacerbated the concerns and uncertainties experienced by Malay women during lockdowns. Furthermore, we contend that the government demonstrated less sensitivity, care, or coordination in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an increase in domestic violence, divorce, depression, and emotional stress among Malay women. These challenges were prominently depicted in Malay television serials, serving as a vital platform for contemplating the impact of the government’s moral initiatives on Malay women. Our research offers insights into the enduring progress, or lack thereof, in the status of women both within and beyond the domestic sphere, as part of Malaysia’s pursuit of modernity.
Abstrakt
Kajian akademik sering meneroka dinamik antara budaya popular dengan wanita Melayu dalam konteks kemodenan Malaysia. Penyelidik kebiasaannya tertumpu kepada penentangan terhadap inisiatif moral untuk wanita dalam masyarakat. Artikel ini meneliti bagaimana budaya popular khasnya terhadap drama rantaian yang membawa pemaparan wanita Melayu ketika pandemik Covid-19 dengan menumpukan kepada konsep pematuhan, ketidakpatuhan dan kawalan. Kempen kerajaan “Duduk Rumah” dan “Kita Jaga Kita” yang dilancarkan oleh Perdana Menteri Muhyidin Yassin untuk menangani epidemik COVID-19 dilihat telah menambah beban wanita menerusi tanggungjawab domestik sebagai pengurus rumah tangga termasuklah pendidikan, kesejahteraan anak-anak serta perpaduan keluarga. Kajian ini berhujah bahawa dasar kerajaan yang disasarkan ini memburukkan lagi kebimbangan dan ketidakpastian yang dialami oleh wanita Melayu semasa perintah berkurung dilakukan. Apatah lagi, kerajaan dilihat tidak sensitif khasnya penjagaan atau penyelarasan dalam menguruskan wabak COVID-19 yang seterusnya membawa kepada peningkatan keganasan rumah tangga, perceraian, kemurungan dan tekanan emosi dalam kalangan wanita Melayu. Cabaran ini digambarkan dengan jelas dalam drama rantaian televisyen Melayu yang berfungsi sebagai platform penting untuk merenung kesan inisiatif moral kerajaan terhadap wanita Melayu. Kajian ini menawarkan pandangan tentang kelangsungan kemajuan, atau kekurangannya, dalam status wanita di dalam dan luar lingkungan domestik yang menjadi sebahagian daripada usaha mengejar kemodenan Malaysia.
#MassTestingNowPH tweets as acts of citizenship: The rhetorical functions of tweets in pandemic-stricken Philippines
Article
Constrained physical mobility and oppositional action during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines drove many Filipinos to turn to social media affordances, like Twitter’s hashtags, as sites of free speech, dissent, and collective action. One of which, #MassTestingNowPH, called for the implementation of mass testing for the vulnerable population and objected to Rodrigo Duterte’s militaristic pandemic response. This paper examined how #MassTestingNowPH tweets served as acts of citizenship and exerted their rhetorical functions in the digital space during this global medical crisis.
Using rhetorical political analysis, this research found that #MassTestingNowPH tweets manifested acts of citizenship by asserting citizens’ rights and responsibilities, and exacting government’s accountability in newly-formed ad hoc publics. Users criticized the country’s COVID-19 response and the injustices of VIP testing for some of its officials. These criticisms enabled them to generate collective grievances for medical frontliners and the marginalized. With these sentiments, netizens called on their audiences to act on their judgment and assert their citizenship in online and offline platforms. These tweets, as acts of citizenship, performed three rhetorical functions: forensic, epideictic, and deliberative. This rhetorical process shaped Twitter’s hashtag as an ad hoc public and the meaning of citizenship in our highly-networked world.
