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Historically, the politics of dress as expressed in terms of a Filipino dress/Western dress binary had gendered implications. Women as 'bearers of tradition' wore national dress while men wore the western suit and jacket, reflecting the gendered power relationship in the society. Because of the stark visual contrast between these two types of dress, these visual markers became politically potent. Women in the Philippines, from suffragists to powerful women, have used clothing and gender stereotypes associated with particular forms of dress as part of political strategy and empowerment.
Politicians of all ilk and of both sexes have manipulated dress precisely because it is a very visible public marker of one's allegiance, identity and political colour. And yet, the study of the politics of dress has not yet been given much attention in the production of knowledge on politics in the Philippines. Instead, dress studies have focused on the history of Philippine costume, the ethnography of dress, or the history of clothing materials. This article is a step towards a history of appearances in twentieth-century Philippines, focusing on the politics of dress and its gendered implications. It explores how women have capitalized on the semiotics of dress as part of political strategy and empowerment. When national dress was 'invented' in Asia, women were represented as 'bearers of tradition' associated with the emerging nations' past. But they were very astute readers of the semiotics of dress and used clothing as a strategy for pursuing quite radical agendas.
In the American colonial era (1902-1946), Filipino men (but not women until 1937) were permitted to vote and run for office at the local and national levels as part of America's policy of democratic tutelage in which the Philippines was to be gradually 'given' the institutions of democracy (free press, elections, etc) in preparation for self-government. The gender inequity in citizenship was reflected in attire. Men wore the western suit and jacket (the Americana) while...