Digital Portfolio - Gender Discrimination

DIGITAL PORTFOLIO

Maria Winona G. dela Cruz

N08A

FOREWORD

Regardless of the field I chose, I have always had a soft spot for writing. I loved the idea of transferring things that I see or feel into paper wherein people could relate their feelings. This is why I got really hyped when I found out that there is a general education course for English Communication Skills. Flash forward to the first day of the term, I really did not feel like I have had a good start. I had a feeling that I won’t be able to excel because most of the time, I am really sleepy or I lack inspiration but Dr. Leah proved me wrong. With her adept and sweet personality, she pushed us all to our limit which made us produce wonderful outputs. An example is my digital portfolio. This is a compilation of all the written essays we have done throughout the term. It consists of my entrance essay, definition essay, argumentative essay, reflective essay and media logs 1 and 2. Outlines are also included for readers to know the flow of each essay. My definition essay talks about the phenomena “Hugot”. It further explains the new definition of self expression in the 21st century. On another note, my argumentative essay states my personal stand against abortion.  It states all of my reasons on why it should not be approved as a law in this country. Also, my entrance and exit essays, which showcased the topic “Gender Discrimination”, show the change in my writing skills throughout the course. My media logs are also featured in this portfolio. The first one was a research by Dr. Gustilo, and the other one is a documentary film.  Lastly, my reflective essay talks about my ENGLCOM experience.

All the writing activities we had come with a huge task of planning it.  We had to study a lot of technical stuff before writing the actual essays. At first, I was not really comfortable with a lot of processes but then I realized that this is one of the tricks for a person to produce great essays worth reading. Working things out such as the writing skills, reading skills, etc. really made a difference with my technique in writing. Processes such as outlining, organization of ideas, and using the introduction-body-conclusion are my favorites. Happy reading!

THIS CONTAINS…

ENTRANCE ESSAY

“Gender Discrimination”

DEFINITION ESSAY OUTLINE

“Hugot”

DEFINITION ESSAY

“Deep Within”

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY OUTLINE

“Legalizing Abortion”

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

“Legalizing Abortion”

EXIT ESSAY

“Gender Discrimination”

REFLECTIVE ESSAY

“In Fourteen Weeks”

MEDIA LOG # 1

“Sentence Level Errors”

MEDIA LOG # 2

“666 is Real”

ENTRANCE ESSAY

“Gender Discrimination”

According to some, God created the world with all the wonder it is with, there was the important/ highest form of creation He did - us humans. We are equipped with natural abilities, knowledge, emotions, etc. In the beginning, he created the first man and woman, Adam, and Eve. In line with what religion has taught us, Eve came from Adam. She was a part of him. There was equality among the two of them. Flash forward to the Spanish era. The Patriarchal System was adopted. Women were illiterate. People believed that women were only meant for housework. They should not be granted rights or a place in society. They were only meant for display, and that was it. Their voices could not be used for the betterment of society. With that, there was no equality. A hundred years after their colonization, the Japanese era flourished. Women were treated like slaves. Their bodies were used for the satisfaction of Japanese soldiers. No respect was given to them. Even to small children from 1-5 years old. Obviously, there was no equality. Among all the mentioned eras and the given information about them, what was common? Some promoted equality, most did not. What now is the real issue? Discrimination is the issue. But what is discrimination? To be more specific, what is Gender Discrimination?

This topic has been very controversial. Some people may have not noticed it, but it is a real problem that should be dealt with accordingly. To be able to address it well, I have three points that I think the society should look into. First, gender is not a social hierarchy. Being a man does not make one a stronger person. It is not entitled to someone braver, stronger or anyone else. It also does not mean that people who step with an unlikely gender cannot perform the task very well. Sometimes, those who do better are those we don’t expect to do better. They’ll just go and surprise you with their amazing skills that made them earn their rightful position. One of which is about presidency. The first time Cory Aquino stepped up to be a part of the snap elections during the dark days of the Philippines, many were shocked. They may not have been shocked but the way that they did not believe in Cory’s skills must have been about her gender. Some thought that it was only her husband that could do the job. People believed in her simply because she is the wife of Ninoy. There was no strong proof that she was cut for the job. When she won, people were finally at ease. Marcos was no longer ruling the country, “it was the time for change”, according to the people. All the people who believed in her, watched as she led the country to the better side. She did great. All those who assumed that she would screw up walked out in disbelief; she finally proved something about herself. With that example, gender was the main issue. But as we went on it was not about it. Her story was about her determination to lead the country the way it should be led, according to her husband. Second, gender is supposed to be one’s identity. As we all know, identity is a part of us, and as humans, we are entitled to be respected and to respect vice versa. I once saw an advocacy about being a girl; people were shot on-the-spot. They were asked to demonstrate on how to be a girl. They named several verbs and asked them to do it “like a girl”. At first, they made fun of it. They did sloppy things like flapping arms imitating a girl acting very slobbish. After that, they asked the person how they run. They ran the way they do. And with that they realized, being a girl should not be an insult. They themselves are girls and all of them should be respected. It would be disrespectful to see people act like girls who are meek, fragile, and “maarte” in a sense. It’s all about respect. One should give it, and one should give back. Lastly, gender is something that should not be forced. If a guy wants to be a guy, let him do it according to how he wants it to be, and vice versa, let them. We live in a free country. One should be able to do things how they want it to be done. We shouldn’t meddle with their business. Don’t tell them to “man up” or “act like a woman” because no one should dictate you.

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