Beverly W. Siy talks about ‘Pukiusap’ during the Philippine Readers and Writers Festival 2018 in Makati City on August 11. (Photo by Alvin I. Dacanay)
NOW is not exactly an awesome time to have a vagina. We have people applauding leaders who talk about shooting women in the vagina or grabbing them by the pussy. Some of those who cheered on this anti-vagina sentiment are women who have betrayed the sisterhood, intentionally or not, in favor of the ultimate vagina wrecker—patriarchy.
Then again, has there ever been a good time to have a vagina? This is one of the important questions answered in Pukiusap (Pride Press; 144 pages; 2018), Beverly W. Siy’s superb Filipino translation of Swedish comic-book artist and radio moderator Liv Strömquist’s 2014 work Kunskapens Frukt (Fruit of Knowledge).
The vagina has, arguably, remained a taboo topic, even for women. Cultural programming has convinced women that they have absolutely no right to talk about their own bodies, unless it’s to castigate themselves for being fat or yearning for white skin. Most women would prefer any conversation about the vagina to be stuffed with euphemisms. How many times have some women called out other women for daring to talk about the vagina without the expected hushed tones? You’ll get a barrage of “Ano ba ‘yan? Nakakahiya (What is that? It’s shameful)!”
Pukiusap pokes fun at this screwed-up sensibility with its seemingly harmless, bubblegum pink cover that features a drawing of a figure skater whose panties are stained with menstrual blood. It is guaranteed to stir up a lot of pussy haters.
Of course, there is the witty title that addresses all the elephants—or pussies—in the room. Pukiusap—a play on the word pakiusap, or “please”—is obviously not a literal translation of Fruit of Knowledge, and reminds one of Eve Ensler’s celebrated episodic play The Vagina Monologues, translated into Filipino as Usapang Puki.
From its title and illustrations to its irreverent tone, Pukiusap certainly offers a refreshing take on a topic that patriarchal culture has tagged as taboo.
The graphic nonfiction book opens with the author (or a cute illustration representing her) pointing out how society always wants to hush up vagina-centric discussions. It then begins to list the men who have demonized or subjugated the vagina, among them the clitoris-hating Dr. Isaac Baker Brown; the misogynist Saint Augustine; and Prof. John Money, the proponent of the binary two-gender system.
Pukiusap manages to shoot down every anti-vagina sentiment that so many people, including women, have subscribed to. It’s a treasure trove of factoids about the vagina and its many enemies.
One of the highlights of the book for me is the story about the Pioneer Plaques. These were a pair of gold-anodized aluminium plaques placed on board the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft that were launched toward Jupiter and its surrounding areas in 1972 and 1973, respectively. Linda Salzman Sagan, wife of scientist Carl Sagan, designed the artwork for the plaques.
The plaques were supposed to serve as pictorial messages for extraterrestrials in case they got into the spacecraft. The plaques feature several elements, including a diagram of our solar system and a drawing of a naked man and woman.
Pukiusap points out that the pudendal cleft (the slit between the labia majora), or “maikling guhit na indikasyon ng puke ng isang babae (the slit indicating the woman’s vagina),” was erased. It was later revealed that John Naugle, the associate administrator for space science and applications at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the time, nixed that cleft.
This just goes to show that even men who are capable of reaching the stars are not able to break through their own misogynistic biases. Because, really, would aliens really take it against NASA if they were shown an accurate representation of the human female anatomy?
It’s raining mens
Another very significant segment in the book is about menstruation, aptly titled “Bundok ng Dugo (Mountain of Blood).” When it comes to this particular subject, women are assaulted on all fronts.
For starters, when it’s that time of the month, we are all constantly worrying that we’ll bleed through our clothes or that we’ll leave blood stains on seats. Pukiusap notes that the shame that women feel over the stain is very complex: “So, ang kinakatakutan natin pag may mens tayo ay hindi ‘yong mapipilitan tayong gumawa ng dagdag na gawaing-bahay, kundi natatakot tayong malaman ng iba na may regla tayo (So, what we fear whenever we’re menstruating is not that we’ll be forced to perform more housework, but that other people would find out that we’re menstruating).”
Pukiusap then adds that Leviticus 15 in the Old Testament further ruined people’s perception of menstruation. Indeed, the said chapter classifies it as one of the “discharges causing uncleanness.” To be specific, verses 19 to 30 is a litany of anti-menstruation reminders. Check out these gems: “When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening. Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. Anyone who touches her bed will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.”
On top of that, all those sanitary napkin and feminine wash advertisements keep insisting that women should feel dry and smell fresh during their periods. Truth be told, that is pretty hard to do when blood is gushing between your legs. You’ll feel like a stuck pig bleeding like there’s no tomorrow. Who the hell can stay smelling fresh when they’re barely able to stand up or concentrate on work because of severe menstrual cramps?
Pukiusap brings up all these complaints about the vagina being punished, objectified, pathologized, and politicized without becoming “whiny.” The book retains a very fun-loving and energetic tone, despite the horrors that it discusses.
Pukiusap should be recommended reading for young girls. Their lives will probably turn out better if they read Pukiusap first before they encounter Leviticus 15 or any other nonsense. Of course, the chance of this happening in Philippine schools is highly unlikely. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) would probably not allow so much knowledge to be given to the young girls who need it most. I won’t be surprised if the CBCP ends up calling for a ban on this book, even if it doesn’t glorify Satan in any way. They’ll probably hate it because it infers that female masturbation is a wonderful thing.
Pukiusap is also the perfect material for the “TL;DR (too long; didn’t read)” crowd. The comic-strip form serves it well. The illustrations are entertaining and cheeky. The words alternate between cheeky, enraged, exasperated, and sarcastic. There is never a dull moment with this book.
I think the book’s only weakness, if you can call it that, is that some of its references may not make an instant impact on Filipino readers. For instance, the Salem witch trials, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, and Sarah Baartman may put off the less determined crowd. Then again, there’s always Google to help them know more about these curiosities.
More than anything, Pukiusap should encourage women to get to know their vaginas and give them the love that they deserve.
Pukiusap costs P395 and is available in National Book Store branches.
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