gdp's Comments

Filipino Freethinkers : The Privilege of Personhood: Why Same-Sex Couples Deserve the Right to Marry

Wed, 9 May 2012 13:22:35 +0000

What's wrong with having consensual sex with another person of legal age, regardless of them being both "male" or "female"? Nothing. That's the point we want to make against you homophobes. Yes, gay couples deserve to fuck each other like straight couples!

Filipino Freethinkers : The Privilege of Personhood: Why Same-Sex Couples Deserve the Right to Marry

Wed, 9 May 2012 13:19:11 +0000

I'm fine with polygamy, actually, as long as it's consensual. I don't think anybody is harmed by big love. Ephebophobes... hmm this is iffy because of the variability of ages of sexual consent, and actual ability of teenagers to be sexually responsible. Adultery is not acceptable of course. It's lying. If both you and your partner are perfectly happy with an open marriage and occasional threesome / swinging party, and you're honest about it to each other, who cares?

Filipino Freethinkers : Catholicism is a Country Filipinos Can't Leave

Sun, 6 May 2012 10:44:33 +0000

How do you "officially" leave Catholicism out of free will except by being excommunicated? A manner similar to renouncing your citizenship? Just curious.

Filipino Freethinkers : An Open Letter to Miriam Quiambao: Let's defend every word in the Bible!

Wed, 2 May 2012 13:23:17 +0000

Oh, which principle or method should we use to interpret the bible? Definitely not literalism, as you seem to be against it. Kindly enlighten us. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_hermeneutic...

Filipino Freethinkers : Prayer is No Substitute for Actually Doing Shit

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 09:31:39 +0000

I'm not a bloke! :P Actually I thought your name was cool. Sorry.

Filipino Freethinkers : Demystifying Homeschooling

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:26:10 +0000

As a dual-income family, I can't very well afford to do homeschooling right now, even with help from an external provider. I admit the idea has often come to mind whenever I look at my kid's educational materials and recall my child's experiences of bullying. Also, where else can I teach my children about such taboos like science, sex education, feminism, LGBT rights, reason, secularism and computer programming? I've chosen to bring her back to a cozier school with a smaller class size while she is in elementary. However, I plan to throw her back in to the sharks at the local high school to build mental toughness. In my observations and experience, if a student is academically-inclined (and I mean, big-time academically-inclined, top in the country and all that), nothing beats traditional school for that realistic cutthroat competition. It doesn't do much for learning (because they don't need to be reminded that; students with less aptitude should be handled a different way), but it's good training that may not often be experienced in a home-schooling environment because of the emphasis on protection.

Filipino Freethinkers : Why Miriam Quiambao Will Continue to be Ms. Universe in My Eyes

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:07:45 +0000

Just thought of another idea that might need rethinking: how some in the feminist and LGBT communities (and society in general) are against those who use their sublime physical assets for financial and personal gain. The negativity isn't as bad for actors, but gets worse for beauty queens, models and starlets. Let's not even mention porn actors and other sex workers here. Most of this probably is just ill-concealed envy, but I seem to think some of it is a knee-jerk reaction to what they perceive as commodification of people's bodies. The industry is obviously soul-sucking and opportunistic, but if a beauty queen or car show model feels empowered, is comfortable, not at all abused, and is gainfully compensated for her efforts, then are they in any way objectified? Where do you draw the line between being objectified and reveling in your power as a naturally sexual, beautiful person? Thanks for all the blog posts and replies, BTW. Learning so much!

Filipino Freethinkers : Why Miriam Quiambao Will Continue to be Ms. Universe in My Eyes

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:48:31 +0000

It does make a whole lot of sense! Thanks for the clarification. :) By the standards of the Bb. Pilipinas (Ms. Universe is a bit less fussy due to its global scope), Miriam does make the perfect beauty queen, upholding traditional values and Christian belief. Of course, this is puzzling in terms of her recent sexed-up persona and divorce, both of which are entirely acceptable in other liberal communities except for the traditional Christian one. Not disparaging her choices, just highlighting the fact that people can be quite bipolar with their life choices and beliefs. Strange.

Filipino Freethinkers : Prayer is No Substitute for Actually Doing Shit

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:40:52 +0000

Hi crusader. You misspelled your own name.

Filipino Freethinkers : Prayer is No Substitute for Actually Doing Shit

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:39:35 +0000

I think prayer is like a placebo effect for people. Doesn't accomplish what you want, but makes people feel better anyway. I don't mouth rote Catholic prayer anymore, more of a combination of positive thinking, being truthful with oneself by spouting all kinds of deeply personal, crazy thoughts, and calming meditation. Around high school I fell silent whenever the Apostles' Creed was being intoned: I felt it was bad form with god to mutter something you didn't believe in wholly.

Filipino Freethinkers : Why Miriam Quiambao Will Continue to be Ms. Universe in My Eyes

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:55:48 +0000

I believe Miriam Q is a forthright person but not terribly open-minded and definitely misinformed. I felt extremely offended (yet, it is to be accepted in our religious, patriarchal society) that she implied her beliefs gave her the last word about the definition of womanhood. I won't comment lengthily on whether transgenders should be included in Ms. Universe and other "women-only" beauty pageants (YES, if they want to be). I'm bringing up the mixed signals that I get in general about beauty pageants and beauty queens... I'm not a fan of beauty pageants, from many perspectives. Aesthetically, they are too kitschy for my taste (Did you see the video intro to Bb. Pilipinas 2012? I almost died laughing; whoever did that should be shot.) As a promoter of alternative definitions of beauty, I find women who are willing to embrace their own strange, unique beauty much more attractive than the contestants. May I ask that you clarify what you mean by the statement "But she is a beauty queen, not a gender and sexuality expert. So chill out!"? I hope that this does not mean that being a beauty queen is inherently incompatible with being a gender and sexuality expert, or that being a beauty queen is something negative. As a counterpoint, I think that pageant contestants, in general, shouldn't be disparaged for their conscious choice to join a competition, or engage in an activity that seems contrary to what feminism preaches. I'm finding faint parallels in the general disapproval of the "feminist" community for women who like dressing up sexy, undergo plastic surgery for cosmetic purposes, those who shave body hair, are housewives, are in the BDSM community, or those who engage in sex work. It's all about informed, free choice. To be a supporter of feminist and LGBT causes will sometimes mean supporting people for making decisions that run contrary to high expectations, such as being a misinformed fundie beauty queen.

Filipino Freethinkers : An Open Letter to Miriam Quiambao (1999 Ms. Universe Runner-Up)

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:44:18 +0000

We are all animals.

Filipino Freethinkers : An Open Letter to Miriam Quiambao (1999 Ms. Universe Runner-Up)

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:37:26 +0000

It's actually a very, very difficult "thing" to define, and I'd like to say I'm constantly trying to find it out. I definitely know that being a woman doesn't necessarily have to involve, or possess in absolute: 1. Biological definitions of male and female (based on hormones, chromosomes, genitalia, etc) 2. Fertility or conception or child-rearing ability 3. Stereotypical definitions of "female" characteristics such as liking pink, dresses, being motherly, nurturing, soft, etc. 4. Who I have sex with I do know I'm a person, born female, cisgendered and hetero.

Filipino Freethinkers : An Open Letter to Miriam Quiambao (1999 Ms. Universe Runner-Up)

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:50:35 +0000

It's an amazing step for Miss Universe to allow participation of transgenders in the first place. However, there's still the matter of conforming to a narrow, arbitrary beauty standard that focuses on physical assets. Plus I don't see any changes regarding the morality they try to impose on candidates. I have nothing against most beauty pageants, really. They're a different kind of fun kitsch. They just aren't terribly liberal or bastions of diversity or equality. It really also irks me to hear from people that the essence of a woman is to give birth. I'm a mother of two myself, but I am not defined by my ability to be a proper brood mare.

Filipino Freethinkers : Contraception, Corona, and Unimpeachable Dogma

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:02:05 +0000

But but I am using contraception for the very fact that I want to have sex without consequences! I also pay for it (contraception), too. dboncan acts like sex without consequences is such a bad thing. Tsk tsk. xD

Filipino Freethinkers : Contraception, Corona, and Unimpeachable Dogma

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:54:40 +0000

Oh no? What did I miss? The trolling in FF's Facebook groups got too interesting and I totes missed this.

Filipino Freethinkers : Quit Being So Butthurt, Philippines

Tue, 6 Mar 2012 14:17:26 +0000

Imagine living in a relatively unknown country like Benin. And people confusing your homeland with Burkina Faso. Unless Pinoys can point out these two countries on the map, we shouldn't really mind if some dumb American can't tell the 7,000-plus island archipelago from the 12,000-plus other archipelago.

Filipino Freethinkers : If Catholics Worshipped Satan, Would They Know?

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:50:00 +0000

you're way better than dboncan for sure. if harder to comprehend. and not at all insulting.

Filipino Freethinkers : DepEd "Drops" Science? What Science?

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:46:14 +0000

Bro. Armin handed me my college diploma, but I beg to disagree with DepEd's decision to exclude Science from the public curriculum. In education, it is perfectly valid to integrate topics belonging to other subjects into material for one subject. It serves to reinforce learning and encourages deeper understanding of the topic by making it "universal". However, for a subject as essential as Science, I think it deserves its own substantial chunk of the school day. I don't get why the perceived difficulty of Science makes it less child-friendly. You could give the same justification about Mathematics. You don't drop a subject because it's "difficult" to teach. A good curriculum expert would try to incorporate topics and teaching techniques that make the subject age-appropriate and interesting. You'd be surprised at what kids are capable of learning these days, given the right instruction. My seven-year-old learned about petioles and stamens in preschool. In contrast, her former nursery school tried to teach kids about states of matter and failed abjectly. In these instances, judging learner readiness and tailoring the delivery of the content to the audience influenced the learning outcomes. During early childhood, children are naturally curious about the world we live in. They are only beginning to grasp complex abstractions, so concrete examples to illustrate scientific concepts are a must. Perhaps considering DepEd's budgetary limitations, it considers purchasing materials like visual aids low-priority. I hope that there is no sinister, religion-induced conspiracy to keep our children from learning about the big, bad natural world and practicing critical thinking. As an aside, I wish they would consider inclusion of Computer Literacy into the curriculum. And by Computer Literacy I don't just mean learning how to type in Word. I mean my first-grader is being taught how to TYPE. Typing skills might be necessary these days, but I shudder to think that educators deem typing as a primary skill vs logic.

Filipino Freethinkers : A New Genetic Code?

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:58:25 +0000

Does the screenshot say "content provided by Fox News"? Then I am not surprised with the factual errors and misrepresentations. Science reporting is suffering from bias and churnalism.