BY SAMMY JULIAN
BIKINI contests are now outlawed in Iloilo City. This after the city council recently approved an ordinance banning such events.
According to the proponent of the measure, the aim of the ordinance is to set moral standards to promote quality of life and protect women from abuse, harassment and exploitation. It is in consonance with Executive Order 29, Series of 2014, issued by the current Iloilo City mayor and it is in line with the provisions of Republic Act 9262, otherwise known as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act of 2014.
The proponent pointed out that Section 9 of the Gender and Development Code identified indecent shows as nude and other provocative shows, public or private, which exhibit women and children as sex objects.
As such, it is a violation of human rights to influence or force men, women and children to dance naked in public or private places for commercial or entertainment purposes. Persons or agencies engaging in such shows, public or private, shall be penalized in accordance with law, she said.
Section 10 of the Gender and Development Code states that exposure of the woman’s body in any beauty contest that tends to humiliate and abuse women’s bodies shall be considered a form of violence against women.
With the ordinance, the city government shall create a body to regulate and monitor beauty contests and similar activities. Exemptions are allowed when the city or barangay conduct its festivals and special celebrations like the Dinagyang and Paraw Regatta and other school-related activities provided the organizer secures a special permit from the city mayor.
Any person found guilty of violating the ordinance will be penalized with a fine of P5,000 and one year imprisonment upon the discretion of the court, the ordinance stated.
Any establishment found guilty shall be penalized with P5,000 and revocation of business permit to operate. In case the offender is a corporation, partnership, association or similar entity, the President or Manager shall be held liable for the offense.
We agree on the premise of the ordinance and we applaud the city council for approving it. Truly, swimsuit competitions — especially bikini contests — reinforce the idea that girls and women are primarily valued for their physical appearance, and this puts tremendous pressure on women to conform to conventional beauty standards by spending time and money on fashion, cosmetics and hair styling. This pursuit of physical beauty even encourages some women to diet to the point of harming themselves.
But personally speaking, bikinis should not lead to public indecency. I have been seeing bikinis since my childhood and there is nothing inherently wrong with wearing them.
In a way, bikinis (or the persons wearing them) are not indecent; the problem is with people whose thoughts drift when they see women in bikinis.
We espouse the profound belief that women should just wear bikinis if it makes them feel good. It doesn’t imply anything about them because women aren’t second-class citizens who should have to dress to appease men.
It’s their body and they can wear anything they wish!
We know that a lot of our female friends don’t wear bikinis to show off their body. They don’t wear it to try to tempt other men or try to make other men stumble. They wear it because honestly, they are comfortable in it. They simply feel comfortable in their own skin.
What makes us sad is that there is so much judgment and so many hateful words thrown around toward women who wear bikinis. What we’d love to see is more love for others, and less judgment.
But the law is the law and we all must respect it. So now bikinis should only be restricted to swimming./PN
