Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin (ethnicity).

The racial categories represent a social-political construct for the race or races that respondents consider themselves to be and "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country." The race categories include both racial and national-origin groups.

Race and ethnicity are considered separate and distinct identities, with Hispanic or Latino origin asked as a separate question. Thus, in addition to their race or races, all respondents are categorized by membership in one of two ethnicities, which are "Hispanic or Latino" and "Not Hispanic or Latino".

In 1997, OMB issued a Federal Register Notice regarding revisions to the standards for the classification of federal data on race and ethnicity. OMB developed race and ethnic standards in order to provide "consistent data on race and ethnicity throughout the Federal Government. The development of the data standards stem in large measure from new responsibilities to enforce civil rights laws." Among the changes, OMB issued the instruction to "mark one or more races" after noting evidence of increasing numbers of interracial children and wanting to capture the diversity in a measurable way, and after having received requests by people who wanted to be able to acknowledge their or their children's full ancestry rather than identifying with only one group. Prior to this decision, the Census and other government data collections asked people to report only one race.

How data on race and ethnicity are used

The OMB states that “many federal programs are put into effect based on the race data obtained from the decennial census (i.e., promoting equal employment opportunities; assessing racial disparities in health and environmental risks). Race data are also critical for the basic research behind many policy decisions. States require these data to meet legislative redistricting requirements. The data are needed to monitor compliance with the Voting Rights Act by local jurisdictions."

"Data on ethnic groups are important for putting into effect a number of federal statutes (i.e., enforcing bilingual election rules under the Voting Rights Act; monitoring and enforcing equal employment opportunities under the Civil Rights Act). Data on Ethnic Groups are also needed by local governments to run programs and meet legislative requirements (i.e., identifying segments of the population who may not be receiving medical services under the Public Health Act; evaluating whether financial institutions are meeting the credit needs of minority populations under the Community Reinvestment Act).”

Brief overview of race and ethnicity in the U.S. Census' history

Census 1790

In 1790, first official year of the U.S. Census, the following questions were asked, four of which had racial implications:

Number of free White males aged under 16 years

Number of free White males aged 16 years and upward

Number of free White females

Number of other free persons

Number of slaves

In 1800 and 1810, the age question regarding free white males was more detailed.

Census 1820

The 1820 census built on the questions asked in 1810 by asking age questions about the slaves who were owned. Also the term “colored” enters the census rhetoric. In addition, a question stating “Number of foreigners not naturalized” was included.

Census 1830

For the 1830 census, a new question which stated “The number of White persons who were foreigners not naturalized” was included, as well as combining the number and age question of both slaves and free colored individuals.

Census 1850

The 1850 census saw a dramatic shift in the way information about residents was collected. For the first time, free persons were listed individually instead of by head of household. There were two questionnaires: one for free inhabitants and one for slaves. The question on the free inhabitants schedule about color was a column that was to be left blank if a person was White, marked "B" if a person was Black, and marked "M" if a person was Mulatto. Slaves were listed by owner, and classified by gender and age, not individually, and the question about color was a column that was to be marked with a "B" if the slave was Black and an "M" if Mulatto.

Census 1870

For the 1870 census, the color/racial question was expanded to include “C” for Chinese, which was a category that included all east Asians, as well as “I” for American Indians.

Census 1890

For 1890, the Census Office changed the design of the population questionnaire. Residents were still listed individually, but a new questionnaire sheet was used for each family. Additionally, this was the first year that the census distinguished between different East Asian races, such as Japanese and Chinese, due to increased immigration. This census also marked the beginning of the term “race” in the questionnaires. Enumerators were instructed to write "White," "Black," "Mulatto," "Quadroon," "Octoroon," "Chinese," "Japanese," or "Indian."

Census 1900

For 1900, the “Color or Race” question was slightly modified, removing the term “Mulatto”. Also, there was an inclusion of an “Indian Population Schedule” in which “enumerators were instructed to use a special expanded questionnaire for American Indians living on reservations or in family groups off of reservations.” This expanded version included the question “Fraction of person's lineage that is white.”

Census 1910

The 1910 census was similar to that of 1900, but it included a re-insertion of “Mulatto” and a question about the respondent's "mother tongue.” “Ot” was also added to signify "other races", with space for a race to be written in. This decade's version of the Indian Population Schedule featured questions asking the individual’s proportion of white, black, or American Indian lineage.

Census 1920

The 1920 census questionnaire was similar to 1910, but excluded a separate schedule for American Indians. “Hin”, “Kor”, and “Fil” were also added to the “Color or Race” question, signifying Hindu (South Asia Indian), Korean, and Filipino, respectively.

Census 1930

The biggest change in this year’s census was in racial classification. Enumerators were instructed to no longer use the "Mulatto" classification. Instead, they were given special instructions for reporting the race of interracial persons. A person with both White and Black ancestry (termed "blood") was to be recorded as "Negro," no matter the fraction of that lineage (the "one-drop rule"). A person of mixed Black and American Indian ancestry was also to be recorded as "Neg" (for "Negro") unless he was considered to be "predominantly" American Indian and accepted as such within the community. A person with both White and American Indian ancestry was to be recorded as an Indian, unless his American Indian ancestry was small, and he was accepted as White within the community. In all situations in which a person had White and some other racial ancestry, he was to be reported as that other race. Persons who had minority interracial ancestry were to be reported as the race of their father.

For the first and only time, "Mexican" was listed as a race. Enumerators were instructed that all persons born in Mexico, or whose parents were born in Mexico, should be listed as Mexicans, and not under any other racial category. But, in prior censuses and in 1940, enumerators were instructed to list Mexican Americans as white.

The Supplemental American Indian questionnaire was back, but in abbreviated form. It featured a question asking if the person was of full or mixed American Indian ancestry.

Census 1940 (Population)

The 1940 census was the first to include separate population and housing questionnaires. The race category of "Mexican" was eliminated in 1940, and the population of Mexican descent was counted with the White population.

Census 1950 (Population)

The 1950 Census questionnaire removed the word “color” from the racial question, and also removed Hindu and Korean from the race choices.

Census 1960 (Population)

The 1960 Census re-added the word “color” to the racial question, and changed “Indian” to “American Indian”, as well as added Hawaiian, Part-Hawaiian, Aleut, and Eskimo. The Other (print out race) option was removed.

Census 1970 (Population)

This year’s census included “Negro or Black”, re-added Korean and the Other race option. There was a questionnaire that was asked of only a sample of respondents. These questions were as follows:

a. Where was this person born?

b. Is this person's origin or descent...

Mexican

Puerto Rican

Cuban

Central or South American

Other Spanish

None of These

14. What country was the person's father born in?

15. What country was the person's mother born in?

16.

a. For persons born in a foreign country- Is the person naturalized?

b. When did the person come to the United States to stay?

17. What language, other than English, was spoken in the person's home as a child?

Spanish

French

German

Other

None, only English

Census 1980 (Population)

This year added several options to the race question, including Vietnamese, Indian (East) Guamanian, Samoan, and re-added Aleut. Again, the term “color” was removed from the racial question, and the following questions were asked of a sample of respondents:

11. In what state or foreign country was the person born?

12. If this person was born in a foreign country...

a. Is this person a naturalized citizen of the United States?

b. When did this person come the United States to stay?

13.

a. Does this person speak a language other than English at home?

b. If yes, what is this language?

c. If yes, how well does this person speak English?

14. What is this person's ancestry?

Census 1990 (Population)

The racial categories in this year are as they appear in the 2000 and 2010 Census. The following questions were asked of a sample of respondents for the 1990 Census:

8. In what U.S. State or foreign country was this person born?

9. Is this person a citizen of the United States?

10. If this person was not born in the United States, when did this person come to the United States to stay?

The 1990 Census was not designed to capture multiple racial responses, and when individuals marked the Other race option and provided a multiple write in, the response was assigned according to the race written first. “For example, a write in of "Black-White" was assigned a code of Black, a write in of "White-Black" was assigned a code of White.”

Census 2000 (Population)

Race was asked differently in the Census 2000 in several other ways than previously. Most significantly, respondents were given the option of selecting one or more race categories to indicate racial identities. Data show that nearly seven million Americans identified as members of two or more races. Because of these changes, the Census 2000 data on race are not directly comparable with data from the 1990 census or earlier censuses. Use of caution is therefore recommended when interpreting changes in the racial composition of the US population over time.

The 23rd federal census, 2010 asks one ethnic and one race question (questions 1-4 not reproduced here, questions 5 and 6 paraphrased):

8. Is the person of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?

*No, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin

*Yes, Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano

*Yes, Puerto Rican

*Yes, Cuban

*Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin — Print origin, for example, Argentinean, Colombian, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, Spaniard, and so on.

9. What is the person's race?

*White

*Black, African Am., or Negro

*American Indian or Alaska Native — Print name of enrolled or principal tribe.

*Asian Indian

*Chinese

*Filipino

*Other Asian — Print race, for example, Hmong, Laotian, Thai, Pakistani, Cambodian, and so on.

*Japanese

*Korean

*Vietnamese

*Native Hawaiian

*Guamanian or Chamorro

*Samoan

*Other Pacific Islander — Print race, for example, Fijian, Tongan, and so on.

*Some other race — Print race.

This census acknowledged that "race categories include both racial and national-origin groups."

The following definitions apply to the 2000 census only.

"White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish."

"Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as 'Black, African Am., or Negro,' or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian."

"American Indian and Alaska Native. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment."

"Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes 'Asian Indian,' 'Chinese', 'Filipino', 'Korean', 'Japanese', 'Vietnamese', and 'Other Asian'."

"Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicate their race as 'Native Hawaiian', 'Guamanian or Chamorro', 'Samoan', and 'Other Pacific Islander'."

"Some other race. Includes all other responses not included in the 'White', 'Black or African American', 'American Indian and Alaska Native', 'Asian' and 'Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander' race categories described above. Respondents providing write-in entries such as multiracial, mixed, interracial, We-Sort, or a Hispanic/Latino group (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban) in the "Some other race" category are included here."

"Two or more races. People may have chosen to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, by providing multiple write-in responses, or by some combination of check boxes and write-in responses."

The Federal government of the United States has mandated that "in data collection and presentation, federal agencies are required to use a minimum of two ethnicities: 'Hispanic or Latino' and 'Not Hispanic or Latino'." The Census Bureau defines "Hispanic or Latino" as "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race." For discussion of the meaning and scope of the Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, see the Hispanic and Latino Americans and Racial and ethnic demographics of the United States articles.

Use of the word ''ethnicity'' for Hispanics only is considerably more restricted than its conventional meaning, which covers other distinctions, some of which are covered by the "race" and "ancestry" questions. The distinct questions accommodate the possibility of Hispanic and Latino Americans' also declaring various racial identities (see also White Hispanic and Latino Americans, Asian Latinos, and Black Hispanic and Latino Americans).

In the 2000 Census, 12.5% of the US population reported "Hispanic or Latino" ethnicity and 87.5% reported "Not-Hispanic or Latino" ethnicity.

Relation between ethnicity and race in census results

The Census Bureau warns that data on race in 2000 Census are not directly comparable to those collected in previous censuses. Many US residents consider race and ethnicity to be the same concept.

100 93.7 47.9 2.0 1.2 0.3 0.1 42.2 6.3 5.3 1.0

!Race !!Hispanic orLatino!!% ofH/L!!% ofUS!!Not Hispanicor Latino!!% of NotH/L!!% ofUS
!Any races	35,305,818	|	12.5	246,116,088	100	87.5
!One race:	33,081,736	|	11.8	241,513,942	98.1	85.8
!White	16,907,852	|	6.0	194,552,774	79.1	69.1
!Black orAfrican A.	710,353	|	0.3	33,947,837	13.8	12.1
!A. Indian/Alaska Nat.	407,073	|	0.1	2,068,883	0.8	0.7
!Asian	119,829	|	<0.1	10,123,169	4.1	3.6
!Hawaiian N.& Pacific Is.	45,326	|	<0.1	353,509	0.1	0.1
!Some other	14,891,303	|	5.3	467,770	0.2	0.2
!2+ races:	2,224,082	|	0.8	4,602,146	1.9	1.6
!Some other+ W/B/N/A	1,859,538	|	0.7	1,302,875	0.5	0.5
!2+ W/B/N/A	364,544	|	0.1	3,299,271	1.3	1.2

In the 2000 Census, respondents were tallied in each of the race groups they reported. Consequently, the total of each racial category exceeds the total population because some people reported more than one race.

The Census Bureau implemented a Census Quality Survey, gathering data from approximately 50,000 households in order to assess the reporting of race and Hispanic origin in the 2000 Census with the purpose creating a way to make comparisons between the 2000 Census with previous Census racial data.

The AAA also stated,

The recommendations of the AAA were not adopted by the Census Bureau for the 2000 Census or the 2010 Census.

2010 Census

The 2010 US Census includes changes designed to more clearly distinguish Hispanic ethnicity as not being a race. That includes adding the sentence: "For this census, Hispanic origins are not races." Additionally, the Hispanic terms are modified from "Hispanic or Latino" to "Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin".

Although used in the Census and the American Community Survey, "Some other race" is not an official race, and the Bureau considered eliminating it prior to the 2000 Census. As the 2010 census form does not contain the question titled "Ancestry" found in recent censuses, there are campaigns to get non-Hispanic West Indian Americans, Arab Americans and Iranian Americans to indicate their ethnic or national background through the race question, specifically the "Some other race" category.

The Interagency Committee has suggested that the concept of marking multiple boxes be extended to the Hispanic origin question, thereby freeing individuals from having to choose between their parents' ethnic heritages. In other words, a respondent could chose both "Hispanic or Latino" and "Not Hispanic or Latino".

Other agencies

In 2001, the National Institutes of Health adopted the new language to comply with the revisions to Directive 15, as did the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the United States Department of Labor in 2007. See Race and ethnicity (EEO).

See also

Criticism of the term Latino

Language (United States Census)

Race (classification of humans)

Race in the United States

Race and ethnicity in the United States

United States Census, 2000

References

Category:Demographics of the United States Category:Race in the United States

de:Race (United States Census) es:Raza (censo de los Estados Unidos) fr:Race (recensement des États-Unis) gl:Raza (censo dos Estados Unidos) id:Ras dan etnisitas di Sensus Amerika Serikat ru:Расовый состав США

Name	Angela Tsai
Birth place	Livingston, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Sports broadcaster, television host
Spouse	Michael Hollick (2007-present)

Angela Tsai is an American actress and host originally from New York City. She hosted Comcast's "Dating On Demand" network and their spin-off reality show "On A Date", seen on CN8. She also hosted AZN Television's "NBA Timeout" and was a correspondent for NBA TV. She also hosted news updates and player interviews and features for the NBA and NBA TV.

She can be seen interviewing stars on the red carpet at the 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards in Los Angeles, CA.

Angela is a graduate of Duke University. She majored in Public Policy Studies and minored in Visual Arts. When she first moved to New York City after college, she worked as a full-time graphic designer for the entertainment industry, and spent several years mixing drinks at Bar None, the legendary East Village watering hole. It wasn't until the past few years that she has made the transition to performer.

Angela Tsai was featured on the cover of Woman International Magazine and noted as an "Up and Coming Actor" in Audrey Magazine.

She was hired as a courtside reporter for the Sacramento Kings in 2007.

She was hired as the host of "The Cheering Life", an original program on the MSG Network's new channel, MSG Varsity, in 2009.

Personal life

Angela Tsai is currently married to actor Michael Hollick, who does the voice of Niko Bellic in Grand Theft Auto IV.

External links

Angela Tsai official website

Angela Tsai on IMDB

Angela Tsai @ Epiq

Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:American people of Taiwanese descent Category:Duke University alumni

The history of Filipino women writers is an account of how Philippine women became literary “mistresses of the ink” and “lady pen-pushers” who created works of fiction or factual and historical storybooks, poetry, novels, short stories, essays, biographies, autobiographies and other known writing genres. Writing in English, Spanish, Filipino and other local languages and native dialects, female writers from the Philippine archipelago utilized literature, in contrast with the oral tradition of the past, as the living voices of their personal experiences, thoughts, consciousness, concepts of themselves, society, politics, Philippine and world history. They employed the “power of the pen” and the printed word in order to shatter the so-called "Great Grand Silence of the Centuries" of Filipino female members, participants, and contributors to the progress and development of the Philippine Republic, and consequently the rest of the world. Filipino women authors have “put pen to paper” to present, express, and describe their own image and culture to the world, as they see themselves.

Image and influence

Among the principal influences to the Filipina image of herself and to her writings include four women in Philippine history, namely: Gabriela Silang, Leonor Rivera, Imelda Marcos and Corazon Aquino. Often mentioned in Philippine literature, these four represents the struggle, perception and character of how it is to be a woman in Philippine society. Gabriela Silang was a ''katipunera'' or a revolutionary – a representation of female bravery – who fought against the Spanish colonialism in the 18th century. Silang was a contrast to the chaste and religiously devout image of the Filipino lady as portrayed by Jose Rizal through his Spanish-language novels, ''Noli Me Tangere'' and ''El Filibusterismo''. Within the pages of these novels of the 19th century, Rizal depicted Leonor Rivera - a girlfriend of his - through the fictional character of ''Maria Clara'' as the epitome of virtue, the ideal Filipina. Then there was the arrival of Imelda Marcos – the “beauty queen… dictator’s wife… the power-seeking kind of a woman…” – and then there was the advent and the rise of Corazon C. Aquino, the first woman president in Asia and the Philippines – the elected 1986 replacement of a male despot, Ferdinand Marcos. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, after two male presidents (Fidel V. Ramos and Joseph Estrada, respectively), followed the footsteps of Corazon Aquino into becoming a leader and political figure of an Asian nation.

In later years of modern-day Philippine literature, from the 1960s to the 1980s, feminism became the focus of Philippine women writers – first in poetry and then prose – in order to break away from what is termed as the “Great Grand Silence of the Centuries”. The creation of an image unique to themselves – through their own individual efforts – became the norm. There were criticisms against the ''Maria Clara'' image portrayed by the Philippine paladin, José Rizal, as well as critiques and female disapproval of how Filipino men writers wrote about women. Contemporary feminist female writers were also inclined towards breaking away from the traditional, idealized and typecast image of Filipina women of the past, being matriarchal mystics, and figures that perform sacrifices, undergo suffrage and works of martyrdom which were expected from their pious upbringing. Women writers also passed judgment against the typical portrayal of women as sex symbols. Among the first lady writers to break away from the old style and genre exemplified in the works of past female writers such as Paz Latorena's traditional "teachings" about the ideal Filipina was the feminist poet, Marjorie Evasco. Other women writers like Kerima Polotan Tuvera, Rosario Cruz Lucero, Ligaya Victorio-Reyes and Jessica Zafra even stepped forward to boldly make it a “fashion” to discuss aspects of womanhood that were previously regarded as taboo in Philippine society, such as subjects about female anatomy, erotica, divorce or separation from former husbands, abortion, premarital affairs, and childless marriages. An example is the 1992 publication of ''Forbidden Fruit'', a bilingual volume combining Filipino and English language works of women.

Language and education

Contrary to the treatment received by Filipinos during the Spanish colonialists’ period, education of the Philippine citizenry was prioritized during the times of American occupation, such as the activities of the Thomasites and U.S. military personnel in the islands beginning the early 20th century. Thus, only the elite class of society – those known as the Ilustrados – preferred the use of Spanish rather than enhance and develop the native ancient scripts (''baybayin''), languages and dialects. Filipinos of both genders were able to obtain school and learning opportunites resulting to being educated in the English-language and a high literacy rating for a developing country like the Philippines. However, despite of this advantage, grants and similar forms of funding were not immediately available to Philippine writers, for both men and women. But in turn, in contrast to this lack of pecuniary support for writers, many works in the Filipiniana style proliferated and were written dominantly in Philippine English, but fewer however in the local maternal languages.

During the four-year Japanese occupation of the Philippines during the Second World War, the Japanese delivered the concept of “Asia to Asians,” an idea that halted the proliferation of English as the language of literature in the Philippines, because it sparked the publication and media broadcasts by means of the exclusive use of the vernacular or the “childhood languages” of Filipinos. This Japanese contribution to the Filipino’s linguistic enlightenment reawakened the already existing move towards uplifting the status of the local languages as forms of literary expression prior to the introduction and propagation of English in the Filipino archipelago. The common “languages of childhood” of the Filipinos, in general, include Tagalog, Visayan, Hiligaynon, Cebuano and Ilocano, among others.

Still, despite of the Filipino’s reawakening to their “languages of childhood”, the status of the English language returned and elevated. This rejuvenation was due in part to the spread of English-based Philippine magazines, in conjunction with the publication of serial “romantic and melodramatic” novels by women writers who wrote in their “mother tongue” through the pages of comics and magazines such as ''Liwayway'', ''Bannawag'', ''Bulaklak'', ''Aliwan'' and ''Tagumpay''.

The competition between the use of English and Filipino as main modes of communication was unrelenting even after the end of World War II, the proclamation of Philippine Independence in 1946, and the official adoption of Filipino as a second official language other than English in 1987. The persistence of this competitive phenomenon had been accounted for the economic, military and cultural association of the Philippines to the United States, the encouragement of the use of English in combination with the dialects in schools and universities, and also the need to gain a larger audience of readership. As a result, bilingualism - and even multilingualism - became the linguistic style and norm.

Themes, character, and genre

Literature penned by women authors in the Philippines embark upon the many realities and faces of Filipino society: the gap and the friction between the rich and the peasantry, personal experiences and dilemmas, love stories, their formative years, married life, employment; culture, beliefs, religion, rituals and tradition, womanhood, livelihood, family and motherhood, the duties of a female spouse; periods in history such as the Second World War, the war for Vietnam, the presence of the American military bases, nationalistic ideals and questions of cultural identity, the Marcos despotism, the EDSA revolution of 1986; poverty, prostitution, the effects of globalization and pollution, volunteer work, and the need to migrate for economic survival.

Historical background

:''Main articles: Women in the Philippines and History of the Philippines.''

Precolonial to Spanish colonization

Prior to the surge of Spanish conquerors and colonizers, Filipino women were already creating and recording poetry using perishable materials such as banana leaves. Indigenous Filipino women were also singing tribal songs, at a time when they were of equal status to their male counterparts. They could own property, become rulers themselves in place of the men, act as ritual leaders or ''babaylans'', and had the right to divorce husbands. In this sense, the Philippines was very similar to Spain, where the highest power was bestowed upon a woman. Both the founder of the Spanish nation (Isabella I of Castile and the highest ruler of Spain and the Philippines during the last times of the Spanish colonization (Isabella II of Spain) were women and had absolute powers to lead the future of the nation.

Isabella II introduced the Education Decree of 1863 (10 years before Japan had a compulsory free modern public education and 40 years before the United States government started a free modern public school system in the Philippines) that provided for the establishment of at least two free primary schools, one for boys and another for girls, in each town under the responsibility of the municipal government. That put the Philippines way ahead in offering education for women in Asia, even ahead of some European countries.

Leona Florentino, a female poet who was the product of that public education system during the final moments of the 19th century, is now regarded as the "founder of women's literature" in the Philippines.

Revolution against Spain

During the final stages of the 19th century, Filipino women participated in the nationwide revolt against the governing Spaniards, although less prominently than their male counterparts. Among their role and contributions were “to influence” the state of affairs of an “emerging republic” and to claim equal opportunity in education, which includes learning the Spanish-language. An inspiring group of women who debated against and pushed for the eradication of discriminatory laws, particularly the right to be educated in schools, was the so-called “21 women from Malolos, Bulacan". Another would be Leona Florentino (1849–1884), who eventually became “the mother of Philippine women's literature”, and who was also regarded as the conduit from “oral to literary tradition”. Born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Florentino was a poetess of Ilustrado background who wrote in Ilocano and Spanish. Her poems were recognized in Europe in 1889 following her untimely death.

American interlude

From the onset of the early years of the "benevolent" American occupation of the Philippine archipelago – after Spain lost control of the islands through war and opted to sell its Asian colony to the U.S. – the ambience was approving to the publication of vernacular literature which included the abundance of local magazines. Parallel to this, the United States of America established an English-based public education system. Both men and women were able to study in schools, colleges, universities such as the University of the Philippines. Women were gradually beginning to regain equal footing with men, as it was during precolonial times. Both genders were able to publish works in their newly adopted language. During this European-Hispanic to Anglo-American linguistic transition, among the women who became active in creating Philippine literature in English were Paz Marquez Benitez, Paz M. Latorena, Estrella Alfon, Angela Manalang-Gloria, Genoveva Edroza-Matute, Loreto Paras-Sulit, Lilledeshan Bose, Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, and Lina Espina-Moore. Most of these literary pioneers also wrote simultaneously in the vernacular, although there were also those who became defiant and wrote exclusively in their mother tongue. An example of which was Magdalena Jalandoni, a Hiligaynon-language writer who was able to produce volumes of manuscripts. Among Jalandoni’s 24 Hiligaynon novels, two were translated into English. Those who excelled in both English and their local lingua franca was Lina Espina Moore, who became known as a forefront promoter of Cebuano literature. Moore's 1968 novel, ''Heart of the Lotus'' was the first Cebuano novel in the English language. Filipino women authors also became active pariticipants in the development of Philippine media.

Japanese intervention

As discussed, during World War II, the Japanese were able to influence and encourage the Philippine literati in developing the vernacular literature, in parallel existence with the English language introduced by the Americans through public education. The impact of this fellow-Asian intervention lingered through and survived after the Philippines achieved the status of a freely governing Republic. Exemplars are the Philippine-language works written by Lualhati Bautista and Liwayway Arceo. There were also published manuscripts that confer personal familiarity with events that occurred during the four-year long Japanese period such as those achieved by Estrella Alfon, Maria Luna Lopez, and Rosa Henson.

Marcos and Martial Law years

The 20-year authoritarian rule of Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s brought forth literary themes of cultural revolution, social awakening and political consciousness, reinvigorated nationalism, opinionated movements and protests, disapproval of the patriarchal society, and mass migration. Women writers began writing about the situations of female domestic helpers and slum dwellers employing their skills in both the vernacular and English. The purpose of writing also in the native language was to stimulate, educate and awaken consciousness of the citizenry. Many writers were either “detained, tortured,” or “killed.” Among the women who became writers of this societal, political and activist genre were Gilda Cordero-Fernando and Ninotchka Rosca. Anti-Marcos movements, the “fiery texts” of writers, the People Power movement or the 1986 Edsa Revolution dislodged the despot from the seat of power, and was replaced by an elected first woman president, Corazon C. Aquino.

Modern-day challenges and status

Filipino women have been receiving recognition and support from non-governmental organizations, libraries, and other publishers, but despite the efforts of these organizations and the writers themselves there are challenges that still confront Filipino women’s literary career. These include literary commercialism that prevents women writers from becoming parallel with so-called "esteemed authors", the struggle for additional acknowledgment of their status as writers, and obstacles related to economics.

Migratory trends and movements

Migrant literature

One aspect of Filipino women writings includes the production of the so-called “migratory literature,” an account of how and why women had to leave their country in order to excel and express themselves through pen and print. In the 1930s, Filipino women authors opted to travel after obtaining the liberty to do so, and for other reasons such as the lack of a grant system within the confines of a developing country and the “resistance of a patriarchal society”. But the exodus of Filipino female writers during the 1970s differed in purpose from that of the 1930s, because they left the country to survive economically and escape government persecution. One of the first voyager-writers was Paz Latorena.

The destinations of journeying migrant settlers were North America - primarily the United States – and Europe, Australia, Arab nations, Japan, Singapore and other Asian countries. In general, this “Great Migration” of Filipinos created “films, novels, short stories, poetry and comics” in the Philippines that portrayed wayfarers as economic heroes and heroines of the country.

Yet there were still some of those who chose to remain, instead of abandoning the Philippines, as in the case of Lilledeshan Bose; and there were also home-comers who, after traveling and staying abroad, returned to stay permanently, such as Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo. Other authors of “migrant literature” are Marianne Villanueva, Nadine Sarreal and Edessa Ramos.

In addition, the Filipino settlers who founded Filipino communities in the United States of America triggered the generation of Filipino-American literature such as the works of female novelist Jessica Hagedorn. Migrant Filipino writers Linda Ty-Casper and Cecilia Manguerra Brainard stayed in the U.S., publishing for both Philippine and American readers.

Recognition and support

Present-day associations that support, endorse, publish and collect works of Filipino women writers include the Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings (ALIWW) of the Ateneo de Manila University, and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, among other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Philippines. Outside the country, there is the Philippine-Finnish Society in Helsinki, Finland.

Samples of published Filipino women literature are ''Comfort Woman: Slave of Destiny'' by Rosa Henson published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and ''Tulikärpänen - filippiiniläisiä novelleja'' or ''Firefly: Writings by Various Authors'' (''Firefly: Filipina Short Stories'') by Riitta Vartti sponsored by the Philippine-Finnish Society. Another non-governmental human rights organization publication is ''She Said No!'', an anthology of stories.

The Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings - a part of the Rizal Library at the Ateneo de Manila University and the first of its kind in Philippines - facilitates the collection, archiving, preservation, and promotion of Filipino women literature about and written by Filipino women. The program includes the acquisition of related photographic material, and literary promotion are held through lectures, exhibitions, publications and book launchings. ALIWW holds the annual ''Paz Marquez-Benitez Memorial Lectures'', a series of lectures established to honor Paz Marquez-Benitez who is considered as the “matriarch of Filipino writers in English”. This special program also assists in bringing to light Filipino women who excel in vernacular writings.

See also

Women in the Philippines

Literature of the Philippines

History of the Philippines

Timeline of Philippine history

The Thomasites

Philippine English

Philippine literature in English

List of countries where English is an official language

List of countries by English-speaking population

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

The History of Filipino Women's Writings, an article from Firefly - Filipino Short Stories (Tulikärpänen - filippiiniläisiä novelleja), 2001 / 2007

Vartti, Riitta (editor). Preface of the anthology Firefly, Tulikärpänen - filippiiniläisiä novelleja (Firefly - Filipino Short Stories), Kääntöpiiri: Helsinki, Finland 2001/2007

Vartti, Riitta (editor). Filippiinit-seuran julkaisut (Finnish)

Vartti, Riitta (editor). Tulikärpänen filippiiniläisiä novelleja (Finnish)

Ateneo Library of Women's Writings (ALIWW) website, main page

Filipino Women Writers in English at Ateneo Library of Women's Writings (ALIWW)

Filipino Women Writers in Filipino (the language) at Ateneo Library of Women's Writings (ALIWW)

External links

Filippiinit-seura ry Finnish-Philippine Society (official website, navigation page)

Finnish-Philippine Society (official website, main page)

Category:Philippine literature

tl:Mga manunulat na kababaihang Pilipino