Paul Christian Ocampo

Bianca Gonzalez and Iza Calzado list the comments women receive that they want to change

Article (news)

Nikka Avegail Sabio

Push Team

<p>In celebration of Women’s Month, Kapamilya host Bianca Gonzalez and actress Iza Calzado shared comments they have received as women, and remarks they believe should be shifted to promote a more positive and empowering perspective.</p><p>In a recent episode of Bianca’s Paano Ba ‘To podcast, the two discussed six common statements about women and offered fresh insights to outdated mindsets.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>“Women Can Do It All”</strong></div><p>Bianca and Iza clarified that while women are capable of managing multiple responsibilities, they do not and should not be expected to do everything at once.</p><p>“I think that the messaging is good to empower, that we are capable on doing things that we wanted to do, but I think to demand that we do it all at the same time, manage the household, manage the family affairs, have the career, go back to previous weight pre-pregnancy, ang daming demands na maybe sometimes sa conditioning din natin,” Iza shared.</p><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DGvNY0lTTqx/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A8606155.4%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Now a mother, she admitted that juggling multiple roles is challenging.</p><p>“Minsan naiisip ko ano ba ang dapat patunayan. Minsan naiisip ko na ano ba talagang kailangan ko patunayan. Ang hirap sa akin mag-no. Pero minsan sasabihin ko na I have to pace myself. I want to do it all but I think first I have to show up for myself and then my family. At this age and stage, talagang kailangan,” Iza said.</p><p>Stopping the thought of being pressured by the phrase, Iza wanted to give a special shift from the message.</p><p>“Buying it into that narrative, I think there has to be a secondary subhead na “not at the same time,” she explained. “It’s not balance eh, it’s juggling at the same time…. You actually don’t have to do it all and be it all.”</p><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong>“Siguro ang ganda mo lalo kung maputi ka”</strong></div><p>Bianca and Iza called for an end to beauty standards that equate fair skin with attractiveness.</p><p>“I just feel na sana this would shift kasi hindi. Even if you have dark skin, brown skin, super black skin, beautiful lahat iyon,” Bianca expressed.</p><p>Iza added that beauty should be seen beyond physical appearance.</p><p>“I think it’s just the appreciation of human beings. Let’s try to find what is good about this human being. What is this human being&#x27;s strength? Ano ang maiiambag niya sa mundong ito?” she expressed.</p><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-1" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGvS7XSzuaY/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A8606166.799999999%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-1" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Both women stressed the importance of teaching children to appreciate their natural beauty.</p><p>“Kailangan namin na icondition na it’s okay to have dark skin,” Iza said.</p><p>“Ang babae ay inaalagaan lang.”</p><p>As married women, Bianca and Iza challenged the notion that a woman’s role is to be taken care of financially.</p><p>Iza recalled hearing a colleague make this remark and firmly rejected the idea.</p><p>“It will never be an allowance. Hindi iyon tulong to spoil me, to give gift to me,” Iza clarified. “The assumption na I am provided for by a man na may gusto siyang kaakibat.”</p><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DG0KdXAT42N/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A8606182.200000001%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>“The narrative na hindi porket na ikaw ay babae ay wala ka ng power to make that money or you are given allowance to whatever it is that you do for the family,” she expressed. “Homemakers deserve so much more”</p><div> </div><div><strong>“Still being single for older ladies”</strong></div><p>Bianca expressed frustration over how society often views single women negatively. The Kapamilya television personality expressed how people must stop their assumptions about a woman who is single for many years.</p><p>“Sana magshift yung perspective na iniisip ng tao sa babae na kapag single ay ‘Ano kaya problema sa kaniya? Siguro mataas ang standard, siguro suplada’... Bakit negative ang connotation sa kababaihan kapag single, lalo na kapag tumatandang single?”</p><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-3" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DGu97j1THW4/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A3%2C%22os%22%3A8610535.700000001%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-3" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Iza also pointed out that a woman’s worth is not defined by marriage or motherhood.</p><p>“They might say your clock is ticking so hindi ka na magiging nanay but it’s not the only reason you are getting in a relationship, that is not the only purpose of a woman or human,” she expressed.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>“Women pit against each other”</strong></div><p>Bianca and Iza also condemned the culture of pitting women against one another, whether online or in the workplace.</p><p>“Kung may dalawang successful na babae who usually work together or work in the same place bakit kailangan na one versus the other? Bakit hindi pwedeng pareho sila mag-strive?” Bianca expressed.</p><p>She emphasized that it’s possible to support one woman without tearing another down.</p><p>“You can stan one without absolutely tearing apart the other. Pwede naman mas bias yung isa and di mo bat yung isa, that&#x27;s perfectly fine pero when you go out of your way to really hate, destroy both ends. Mali iyon,” Bianca added.</p><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-4" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DGkwOQNp11B/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A8610577.200000001%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-4" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Iza added that there is space for all women to succeed, saying “There&#x27;s so much space for them in that industry that they have made a name for themselves… May space for all of us. Iba iba tayo. Let&#x27;s find the strength for each other… To acknowledge is good but to dwell on it mali.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>“Women characterized as someone perfect”</strong></div><p>Iza, who was nicknamed &quot;Mama Mary&quot; after her role in <em>Starting Over Again,</em> admitted that being seen as perfect felt burdensome.</p><p>“In the beginning it was fun and it was funny, especially because I like wearing the scarf on the head,” Iza said. “(But) I am no Mama Mary. Kaya ko (minsan) sinasabi na baka more on Mary Magdalene. Kaya nireresist ko.” </p><p>Although she felt grateful for how it was received and acknowledged by people, Iza admitted that she is far from the personality and character of the Holy Mother.</p><p>“I am almost rebelling against it. I wanted to show all of you na hindi ako si Mama Mary… Ang hirap niya panindigan. Ang hirap na standard… Tao lang ako and ang dami kong pagkakamali,” she added</p><div><iframe width="1265" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PiOUPOB4Oi8" title="6 Comments About Women We Should Rethink with Iza Calzado" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>She pointed out how women are conditioned from a young age to be flawless.</p><p>“Women at a young age, girls are always conditioned to be perfect,” Iza shared.</p><p>“Ako, what I have to deal with is to be okay with my imperfection, to my physical shell, the outer hell, to what is actually going on inside me, the demons and shadows that I personally battle with and be okay with myself and know that I am not Mama Mary,” she added.</p><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-5" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGxeqDizj3P/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A5%2C%22os%22%3A8610616.700000001%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-5" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Rather than feeling pressured by unrealistic standards, Iza expressed her thoughts the Holy Mother is her inspiration and guidance to be better and be grateful in life.</p><p>“At this point in my life, I have learned to embrace that Mama Mary narrative and justs ay na I just have Her as my North Star and just be grateful. Gagawin ko na lang siya na ehemplo. To serve as a moral compass for me,” she explained.</p>

<p><b>Bianca Gonzalez and Iza Calzado share a fruitful conversation about women on Paano Ba ‘To podcast episode.</b></p>

Bianca Gonzalez and Iza Calzado share a fruitful conversation about women on Paano Ba ‘To podcast episode.