Living In A Gendered Environment

Written by Andrea Tee

Photograph by Andrea Tee

     This year’s "In Search Of" study trip was graciously hosted by the University of the Philippines Visayas campus. 14 girls and 4 guys (including our intrepid lecturer pathfinder) and our student guides were housed in the on-campus accommodation. 

    While the male travelers and guides were put up in Balay Illongo, the university’s unisex dorm, the ladies of the trip were housed in UPV’s Gender and Development Programme (GDP) building--a gloriously pink two-storey building at the far end of the campus.

    Constructed through the Countrywide Development Fund of Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago--a 1965 alumni of UPV, the GDP building was formally opened on March 7th, 2008, marking the celebration of International Women’s Month. Built as the epicentre of gender-related events on the campus, the building houses the Gender and Development Program Office, the Balay-Balay (a child-minding centre), the Usgad Regional Resource Centre, the National Women Fisheries Network of the Philippines, the Anti-Sexual Harassment Office, a Gender-based library, a Teen centre, a Women’s Gallery and Museum, a Nook for Retired Personnel, and a mini-dormitory.

The suitably pink GDP Building.

 
     This dormitory became our home for the ensuing ten days. Rooms were shared in groups of twos, threes and fours, and accommodation was basic yet comfortable. Despite the lack of luxuries like hot showers and air conditioning, many of us began to refer to the dorm as ‘home’ after just a few days. There is, after all, nothing quite like returning from the excitement (and burning heat!) of the afternoon to the comfort and safety of a place that truly welcomes you. Indeed, the Manangs (big sisters) of the gender building were always warm, inviting, concerned about our well-being, and endlessly patient.

     This patience, I am sure, was occasionally tried and tested, as playing host to 14 free spirited young people cannot possibly be easy. As a veteran of two previous study trips, this is the first time I have encountered a gender-segregated living situation. While rooming arrangements have always been strictly segregated, previous study trips saw participants of both genders socializing and working in each other’s hotel rooms til the wee hours of the morning, and leaving in search of various stories and experiences to return late at night.

     Dorm accommodation however, comes with a strict set of rules. As the GDP Building was built as a safe haven for women, men are not allowed beyond the first floor, and most certainly not into the dormitory rooms. As such, this year’s travelers set up a communal working area on the first floor where we ate together, worked on our stories, and socialized as a group. Alcohol is also prohibited in the building, and an 11pm curfew kept us mindful of the time during our late night romps.

   It wasn't always easy to keep within the rules, however. Some of us unthinkingly walked into gender-restricted places (to the abject horror of the witnessing Filipino students), used the wrong entrances and exits, and sometimes failed to adhere to the curfew. Nonetheless, despite our occasional slip ups, I cannot imagine living in a warmer, friendlier place.

    Living in dorms may have been a different, and sometimes restrictive experience, but I believe that it brought us closer together as a group, and the continued presence of our Manangs gave us a sense of security and comfort in an unknown environment.

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Andrea is an honors grad trying to find her way through the terrifying labyrinth called Life. Armed only with a degree in writing, a wavering idealism, and a Myvi named Prince John, will our heroine succeed in her quest? Will the hedious beast called Reality consume her, leaving not a trace?