Online Monitor
Death by interview
INSTEAD OF shedding light on issues surrounding transsexuals, GMANews.TV’s Aug. 22 webcasts fostered sexist views through unnecessary and crass questions.
The interviewer was so unprepared for the webcast series that he couldn’t even use terms like sex change or sex reassignment surgery (SRS) properly.
In the interview with Amazing Philippine Theater’s Lena Santos, the interviewer asked: “Ano ’yung mga paghahanda na dun sa pagbago ninyo ng sekswalidad o kung ano man ang tawag (dun)?” “Ilang taon na after…nag-change kayo ng, kung ano man (How did you prepare for your sex change or whatever you call it? How many years has it been since you changed your whatever)?”
The interviewer asked if the procedure was already being done in the Philippines. Dr. Jaime Jorge, a doctor GMANews.TV featured in another webcast, has been conducting SRS in the country since 1989.
The horrible questions followed: “Meron din po bang kiliti nung nagbago ka ng kasarian?” and “Paano naman ’yung practice ninyo…like any man-woman relationship din ba (Do you still feel aroused after the sex reassignment surgery? Do you have sex like those in a man-woman relationship)?”
“Wala namang nambabastos sa inyo or ngayon marami nang nagkaka-crush sa’yo siguro dahil sa ganda ninyong iyan, at ano naman ‘yung nakikita, naglalakad kayo sa daan at siguro ang daming lalaking sumisipol, napatingin, ano naman ‘yung feeling…nakatulong ba yun sa pagiging ganap niyo na pagigiging babae (Does anyone get fresh with you or do a lot of people now have a crush on you? Because you are now so pretty, men must be looking and whistling at you whenever you pass by. Do these help you feel like a real woman)?”
In the webcast with entertainer Jessica Angeles, the interviewer asked if transgenders have the same kiliti as the average male or female. And then a follow-up: “Pero pag mga babaeng pinanganak na babae, meron silang parts doon sa sex organ na bahagi, na para makiliti. Eh ‘yung sa inyo meron din bang ginawang ganun (Women are biologically equipped to experience arousal. Was surgery able to provide you with that, too)?”
The interviewer also asked if more men were now interested in Angeles after the operation, how many boyfriends she now has, and if she still experiences being spurned.
Sensitivity was nowhere to be found in the question and answer. Angeles was asked which comfort room “he” entered before and after the operation, and how “she,” as a woman today, urinates. As if this were not enough, she was asked, “Saan napunta ‘yung tinanggal, pin-reserve niyo ba or tinapon na lang ng ospital (What did you do with your severed part; did you have it preserved or did the hospital just throw it away)?”
“Hindi naman nakaka-miss? Meron namang ibang nakikita (Don’t you miss it? Or does your new body make up for it)?”
“Maraming gustong makakita. Anong itsura ba talaga, tulad din sa itsura ng (sa) babae? Gusto ko sanang itanong na puwede bang makita, pero siyempre hindi pwede…bawal dahil maraming nanonood (A lot of people want to see it. What does it look like? Like a woman’s? I want to ask you if I could see it but that would be impossible … many people are watching).”
The next statement was even more absurd: “Di tulad ng mga babae na may monthly period, so tuloy-tuloy ang … (sex) (Unlike women who have monthly periods, you are able to have sex all the time).”
Loren’s love life
WHAT IS it about Sen. Loren Legarda’s love life that the press can’t resist? ’s July 26 entry again took off from a question about the senator’s romantic affairs in a Kapihan sa Senado report.
The story started with a quote from Legarda: “My love life is my career at ang taumbayan (and the people).” She went on to say that the absence of a “special someone” allowed her to work irregular hours during the campaign and this propelled her to first place in this year’s Senate elections.
The report quoted Legarda as saying, “Seriously, it is highly recommended to have no love life. As you can see, I was very effective in this campaign. I was very focused. With limited resources and political organization, I emerged number one because I ran my own campaign.”
When pressed to name her “special someone,” the report said Legarda considered the 18.5 million Filipinos who voted for her as “special.” In what could pass for a press release, the rest of the story discussed the senator’s reactions to allusions during the last State of the Nation Address that she could be President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s successor (“‘My love life is my career, people,’ says Legarda,”).
Tracking ‘Egay’
GMANEWS.TV DID a good job in providing visuals and supporting documents to its weather stories. It followed the progress of typhoon Egay by showing the path of the typhoon through a flash presentation (link). The flash presentation showed where the typhoon was first spotted as well as where and when it progressed from a tropical storm to a typhoon.
In an earlier report about typhoons Chedeng and Dodong, the site uploaded a copy of the old guidelines insofar as the suspension of classes during stormy weather was concerned (the National Disaster Coordinating Council just issued a new one on Aug. 18). At the time of the report, questions were raised about who should first decide on the suspension of classes.
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