ATENEO DE NAGA UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL
1st SEMESTER A.Y. 2019 – 2020

Name: NEA A. BESMONTE Subject: Literary Criticism Date: August 24, 2019
MLL SHORT PAPER #3: FEMINISM Prof: Marifa B. Prado

FEMINIST CRITICISM OF “GIROK” BY AIDA CIRUJALES

Marriage is a cultural fixture of the society that masks patriarchy into the union and intimacy between
husband and wife.
Girok by Aida Cirujales exercised patriarchy in four ways which I will discuss in this paper. First, male sharing
of household chores can still be viewed as patriarchal. Second, sexual encounters in the text are male
empowered. Third, there is a male dominated culture of violence and rape between the couple. And lastly,
male sexual freedom outside marriage is present in the text. I have assumed the persona in the poem as the
patriarchal society looking inside the intimate relationship between husband and wife.
Being the dominant and powerful gender in the patriarchal view, men are seen to be the heroes in all
situations. They are there to be dependable, savior and bringer of comfort to their women. Hence, when a man
shares household chores freely with his wife, the patriarchal society understands it as being very good and being
very generous to his wife. He is then given praises and even considered the epitome of an “ideal man”, one who
provides for the family and even exerts effort to rescue his wife from the grueling demands of household chores.
“Sa karakter sa gawi kan agom, ‘boundary’ na kita orog kun ang agom na lalaki, mahiguson man talaga
maurag magluto, maglinig, mag-aling asin iba pa.” This hero view on the husband requires the wife to give him
willing sexual favors any time he wants to have them. And even in this, the society feels he is the one giving the
wife the favor because she is lucky to have him. “Ta kun an agom na babaye maswerte talaga orog kun ang
agom malinig, pulido maglaba kaya bago sinda magturog o madiridiklom pa an bado ninda, amay na
pighuhuruba pa.” Males doing household work is not a feminist victory, it rather compels the patriarchal woman
to be sexually submissive to her husband because she feels indebted by his effort to save her from it.

The text suggests the sexual initiatives are coming from the husband – “kaya sa mga pagirok ni mister” –
a typical patriarchal concept that projects men to be active and the women passive in sexual encounters. The
Madonna or the wife material in the society should be someone who has self-control, asexual and virginal. And
so, initiatives in having sex is left to the expertise of the men. “Alagad, an pinakapwerte sagabos na mga pagirok
iyo an malaen-laen bagang klase nin mga hadok…” As if men are the sole responsible for the pouring love and
affection in their marriage. “An naumbitan nagkakapira sana sa mga pagirok kung paano ang mag-aragom
pirmi sanang duyapot asin pinapadanay, an liputok nindang pagkamuot.”

The culture of violence and rape hides comfortably under the sheets of marriage. When women do not
live up with the expectation of the patriarchal society, it somehow becomes a reason for them to be oppressed
more than they already are. If the Madonna turned to be a ‘hag’ – wrinkled, dry, and unpleasing to the eyes
instead of the lovely, submissive, and virginal wife, the society automatically looks down on her and refer her as
something worthless. “Alagad sa mga babayeng alang na, nakakapongot kaya sa mga pagirok ni mister,
nagdudulag na lugod.” “Orog na kun and babaye maluya na, dae nang alsom.” Even her biological or
emotional limitations are not reasons for her to not to perform her wifely duties in bed with her husband. A
husband’s request for sexual intimacy may intensify into violence or even rape – “Kaya kun pigkakarinyo o
pinapagirukan kan agom sa kadudulag, ta habo na, nagsisigyapot kan kubong”. “May malalata sa hawak ta
sa semento nag huragbong” shows evidence of violence and rape inside marriage which the society knows
about but is silenced by the patriarchal culture. Instead, the husband is given more reason to take advantage
of his wife which leads to my last evidence of patriarchy in the text.

The wife is blamed for her husband’s choice of finding another woman to sexually satisfy him. She is
blamed for being old and not being able to have more sexual appetite (which the patriarchal society
conditioned her to be) just like her husband. The husband, being great as portrayed in the text, was not
reciprocated with goodness by his now old and sexually unresponsive wife that makes him feel emasculated –
enough reason for him to find another woman to replace her and restore his male bravado. “Minahanap lugod
nin iba an lalaki nin kakarinyuhon.” Setting the concept that it is alright for men to womanize when their wives do
not satisfy their need.

In conclusion, Girok perfectly described the sad but almost accepted truth of patriarchy in marriage.