“Growing up in a conservative country that is Philippines, there are certain challenges that come with being a Catholic Filipina. No matter how much I yearn to read poems and articles that cover sensitive or “taboo” topics, I can never seem to find any that leave an impact.”

“A massive part of misogyny has always relied on identifying women only through reference to another person, most likely a man. It really can come to a point that this practice makes it highly probable for the individual name to be forgotten. The poem makes mention of male characters in Jose Rizal’s Noli me Tangere: all who play significant roles in the story, or rather, lack of story, to the female lead, Maria Clara.”

“Like a lot of other womxn, I’ve always felt the need to apologize for things I shouldn’t be sorry for, or to be smaller so someone else can have their space. I’d quietly succeed in subjects while someone else took the credit.”