I I(?K(J3 THESIS COMMITTEE MEMBER Date '
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS THESIS SIGNATURE PAGE THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS IN SOCIOLOGICAL PRACTICE THESIS TITLE: "Locating Their Penis: Pilipino American College Male Performativity, Sexuality, and the 'Bahag Syndrome"' AUTHOR: Joseph Allen Ruanto-Ramirez DATE OF SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE: November 26, 2013 THE THESIS HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE THESIS COMMITTEE IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN SOCIOLOGICAL PRACTICE. Dr. Theresa Suarez, PhD =:T-o:HE=sJ'=s""'"c?'OCOMMc;:::::::IT':':T'::E:=Eo:.,C::oHAo-:-:1-::-R----- SibNA Dr. Garry Rolison, PhD I i(?k(J3 THESIS COMMITTEE MEMBER DAtE ' Locating Their Penis Pilipino American College Male Performativity, Sexuality, and the ‘Bahag Syndrome’ Joseph Allen Ruanto-Ramirez California State University, San Marcos Sociological Practice, MA candidate December 2013 Committee: Dr. Theresa Suarez, Ph.D. (chair) Dr. Xuan Santos, Ph.D. Dr. Garry Rolison, Ph.D. In the Name of the Most Beneficent, Most Merciful 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... 2 ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 6 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ....................................................................... 7 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................... 9 HISTORY LOST & LIES MY PARENTS TOLD ME…ABOUT ME .................................... 9 FROM VILLAGE TO STAGE ................................................................................... 13 IGOROT(NESS) IN THE UNITED STATES ................................................................. 14 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................................................ 16 CRITIQUE OF WHAT IS (NOT) OUT THERE ............................................................. 17 THE STUDY OF PERFORMATIVITY ........................................................................ 19 POLITICS ON STAGE ........................................................................................... 21 PILIPINO AMERICAN IDENTITY POLITICS & PROCESSES ......................................... 22 THE INDIGENIZATION MOVEMENT ........................................................................ 24 ASIAN AMERICAN GENDER AND SEXUALITY .......................................................... 26 PERFORMANCE OF THE OTHER ........................................................................... 29 QUALITATIVE APPROACH AND ITS IMPORTANCE .................................................... 32 THEORY ............................................................................................................. 33 SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM ................................................................................ 33 SOCIOLOGICAL HAUNTING .................................................................................. 36 THE IGOROT ONLINE: A CHIMERA OF IMAGINATIVE AND REALISTIC EXPERIENCE FOR PILIPINO AMERICAN COLLEGE MALE STUDENTS ................................................... 38 ANALYZING SOCIAL MEDIA .................................................................................. 40 CRITICAL ETHNO-RACIAL STUDIES ...................................................................... 41 METHODS .......................................................................................................... 42 POPULATION ..................................................................................................... 43 SETTING ........................................................................................................... 44 QUALITATIVE METHOD ........................................................................................ 45 STRUGGLES IN RESEARCH .................................................................................. 48 ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................... 50 FROM STAGE TO YOUTUBE©: POSTING “THE IGOROT” ......................................... 52 THE SPECTACLE OF THE IGOROT: STEREOTYPES THAT BIND IGOROTNESS TO GENDERED IDENTITIES ....................................................................................... 57 BEYOND YOUTUBE©: THE .COM-ING OF PILIPINO AMERICAN COLLEGE MALE IGOROTNESS ..................................................................................................... 67 IGOROT AMERICAN VOICES: STRUGGLES IN CONNECTING WITH PILIPINA/O AMERICANS ONLINE ........................................................................................... 72 3 THE IMMORTALIZATION OF THE “BAHAG DANCE” ONLINE: WHEN .COM BECOMES THE CATALYST FOR SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL SUSPENSION .......................................... 75 FINDINGS: THE BAHAG = THE BAYAG .................................................................. 81 PERFORMING THE BAYAG BEFORE COLLEGE: IGOROTNESS IN HIGH SCHOOL ......... 83 SIGNIFICANCE .................................................................................................. 85 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 86 A CALL TO CRITICAL CYBORG MENTALITY & THE GOING BEYOND THE (DE)CONSTRUCTED NORM OF ONLINE BINARIES ................................................... 86 THE PERFORMANCE OF THE IGOROT CYBORG ON A U.S. NATIONALIST STAGE ........ 87 QUEER CYBORGS: THE CYBORG’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE “OTHER” ....................... 88 WHEN THE CYBORG MEETS ITS GHOST: CYBORG MANIFESTO AND SOCIOLOGICAL HAUNTING ......................................................................................................... 91 CHANGING THE NORM: CONCLUDING WITH A LETTER TO SOCIOLOGY, ETHNIC STUDIES, GENDER STUDIES, AND COLONIAL STUDIES........................................... 93 REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 97 4 ABSTRACT This research examines the role of online social media and its influence on Pilipino American college male’s performance of Igorotness at Pilipino Culture Nights (PCNs) stage productions by Pilipino American college organizations and how such constructions of masculinity counter stereotypes of Asian American male bodies. I observe at how college male students look to Igorot dances such as “Idaw” (also known as the “Bahag Dance”) to perform a Western notion of masculinity and maleness as both a performative identity and as a vehicle to find social acceptance of their gender identity as Asian Americans. Using netnography, or online ethnography where social media is both a site and subject of research, I analyze YouTube©, Facebook©, and Tumblr©, not only as a site of research, but as a subject that contributes to the (mis)understanding of Igorot identity and Pilipino American racialized, gendered, and sexualized performative identity. I relate the “bahag” (the loin cloth worn by Igorot males) as a phallic symbol that contributes to the performative masculine identity of Pilipino American college male students and a catalyst to (re)claim heteronormative masculine identities through the performance of the indigenous other. I conclude by tying these online identities to the concept of the cyborg (Haraway, 1991) as a socio-cultural and geo-political hybrid of indigenized (de)colonial performativity and Western heteronormative masculinity. Key Words: Pilipino, Pilipino American, Asian American, Igorot, Pilipino Culture Nights, performativity, sexuality, social media 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I dedicate my whole educational career to my mudyay/mother, Josephine Ruanto Ramirez (née Butaran-Gonzales), whose love and care sustains my activism and my pursuit for success. I hope I make you proud. Inaro’ k’ta. A special thank you to my advisor, Dr./Ate Theresa Suarez for believing in me. Thank you for the guidance and affirmations, but mostly, thank you for the laughs, tears, and food. One day, heaven willing, we will become colleagues. Thank you to Dr. Xuan Santos and Dr. Garry Rolison for being supportive and for challenging me to go further. Thank you for taking your time and having patience with me in my pursuit of a field that I later found out was completely foreign to me. To Dr. Edwina Welch, thank you for your love, support, and guidance. Sister boss-friend. From middle school, to high school, college to graduate school, from being your staff to being your mentee. Thank you for over 17 years of being you. To Dr. K. Wayne Yang, who introduced me to specters, monsters, freaks, aliens, witches, cyborgs, and zombies. My undergraduate experience would have never been the same if you were not there to academically challenge me. To Bernard Ellorin who opened the doors for me to finally come into acceptance of my Katutubo identity. You have been an instrumental figure in my success and in finding more about myself. To Mark Leo & Paula Rodelas for paving the way for a Critical Katutubo American / Critical Igorot American Studies. We are one of the first to problematize Pilipin@ pan-national identity from a Katutubo American perspective. To Manang Kirin Amiling Macapugay for all the support and love and for not turning