Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes in a tender and beautiful scene from one of my favorite movies, Shakespeare in Love. According to Filipino lawmakers, this is pornography.
The Anti-Obscenity and Pornography Act of 2008. Wow. Sounds really good, right? Okay, I promised I'd keep this blog fun and shallow but this is an issue Vince and I feel very strongly about—as artists and as Filipinos. The Anti-Obscenity and Pornography Bill may sound great but basically, it says that as long as anything (photo, song, movie, book, etc) causes arousal in a man, it is considered porn. I cause arousal in my husband—am I obscene now? The lips of Angelina Jolie can cause havoc in a man's pants—shall we ban her lips now?
According to this bill, as long as the naked body or the sexual act is described, it is porn. Great works of literature—Shakespeare, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, even the Bible!—have sexual acts in it. Can you imagine Filipinos deprived of these books? Great works of art show the naked human body. Shall we now strip our museums of these paintings and sculptures? I'm not even going to use art as an example. What about our favorite TV shows Gossip Girl, Mad Men, Lost, American Idol (the songs!), The Tudors, Battlestar Galactica, MTV videos, etc? What about our favorite movies? I can go on and on. Even my job is at stake here. If the government prohibits movies, TV shows, books and songs that describe/show sex and the human body, then what the hell am I going to print in OK! magazine?!
Alas for my magazine! Jennifer Aniston's breasts, Angelina Jolie's lips, and the sexy bodies of Katie Holmes and Cameron Diaz will soon be banned by the Philippine government.
While I am, of course, against the exploitation of women and children in pornography, a vague description of "as long as it offends people" and "causes arousal or sexual thoughts in a man" is very dangerous. Who decides what is obscene? And why is it that a woman's body is considered obscene anyway? Besides, absolutely anything can arouse a man, dammit! The bill may start with just breasts but soon our legs, butts, arms, necks, hair, and faces will be used against us.
While this bill hides behind the noble excuse of protecting our moral decency, what it's really doing is attacking our freedoms. Freedoms we women have fought for hard and long and some of us even died for them!
It boils down to this: No one tells me what to wear, what to watch, what to read, and what to do with my body.
This is what will happen to our paintings. Image from John Silva's blog.
This bill must not pass. Please be aware of what our lawmakers are trying to do—stifle our freedom of expression. If you care for free speech, please send an email to the Justice and Human Rights Committee headed by:
Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero (sen.escudero@gmail.com),
and to its members:
Benigno Aquino III (benigno_aquino_iii@yahoo.com)
Rodolfo Biazon (ponbiazon@yahoo.com)
Alan Cayetano (alancayetano@yahoo.com)
Juan Ponce Enrile (senator_enrile@senate.gov.ph)
Gringo Honasan (gringo_chq@yahoo.com)
Jamby Madrigal (man@senate.gov.ph)
(That's also a good list of people you should NOT be voting for, if they pass that bill. Why would anyone in his right mind mess with our basic right to freedom of expression??? That's political suicide.)
Please tell them to stop this bill. Please tell them that this bill is against freedom of expression. Please tell them that this bill violates women's rights. Please tell them you are a free-thinking intelligent voter who will not and can not support lawmakers who will pass a bill that suppresses our basic freedoms.
I want to keep my Shakespeare plays, my Bible, my DVDs of
Shakespeare in Love and
Love Actually, my CDs of Britney, my treasured art prints of Gustav Klimt, my books on Renaissance Art!!! Art is NOT PORN. The human body is beautiful. Sex is beautiful. It is depraved and immature minds that think women and sex are sinful. If you are a Filipino, please support and protect your freedoms. If you are not a Filipino, please blog about this and condemn this bill.
Please please don't allow our government to strip us of our fundamental freedom of expression. Please don't let them make the Philippines into a barbaric state.
For more information on this bill, please read
John L. Silva's post on his blog. Mr. Silva is senior consultant to the Philippine National Museum.
*Shakespeare in Love clip from The Oscar Guy. Magazine covers are the March 2008 (Cameron), July 2008 (Jennifer), September 2008 (Angelina) and September 2007 (Katie) issues of OK! Philippines. Klimt art print from my favorite online print store, All Posters.
That's Angelo Falconi III putting on my wig.
This is Francis Lee from Bridges Salon in Cebu City.
Ro-An is from Yes! magazine and we are
In the deep red-and-light brown super layered cut.
In the black-and-blue bob, styled by Jasmine Lisbona of Hairworks Makati.
In the copper-and-gold ash blond skull crop.
Outfit details: Ruth & Esther dress, Nine West beige pumps,
