The power of women

I recently had a very interesting conversation with Nini Borja, a good friend and who regularly appears on my show The Bottomline as a panelist. We were discussing women, and I asked Nini: “What to you is the best thing about being a woman?”

Nini gave the question a lot of thought before saying that the one thing she felt made women special was their ability to do a lot of things, all at the same time. “Women are the best multi-taskers. If men listen to us and see how we accomplish a lot of things, day in and day out, may nanay diyan, may career woman, may madre, may teacher. Everything, we can do, and we can do it sabay-sabay.”

Of course, that’s not to say that men can’t multi-task. But it is true: Women have done so much over the last few decades that it’s hard to ignore the fact that they’ve become used to playing multiple roles. We’ve seen an increase in two-income households where women assume the primary role of nurturer and caregiver and at the same time, play an active part in the labor force. And even in the workplace, they also play multiple roles. Especially among younger women, we’re seeing them take on more than one job, after which they come home to play their roles as mother and wife. The world has opened up to women like never before. Having grown up with a mother who worked from my earliest years, I’ve become a big believer in the power of women.

She may not be a mother or wife yet (she’s far from getting married), but Bianca Gonzalez certainly epitomizes this idea of a modern woman who lives life to the fullest. She is a magazine editor, a newspaper columnist, a social media advocate (with more than two million followers on Twitter), a blogger, a TV host and a commercial endorser and on top of all that, still manages to keep her relationship with basketball star JC Intal going strong. In everything she does, it’s easy to see how Bianca fits the profile of the ideal Filipina. It used to be that Filipina women were shy and reserved, the type who would keep to themselves, do what they were told, and speak only when spoken to. It was also very rare that they felt free to express their opinions on important issues.

Bianca, however, does this on a regular basis. When I discovered her 10 years ago and started managing her career, she was the kind of artist who doesn’t simply accept things the way others do; she asks questions and doesn’t stop until her curiosity is satisfied.

She is known for being outspoken and confident, but Bianca says there are also days when, like other women, she struggles with feminine issues. Feminine hygiene is a subject that used to mystify her. While she may never have been afraid to speak up about youth empowerment or similar issues, she would become embarrassed to talk when the subject turns to intimate issues, like red days.

Sometimes she still feels conscious about discussing this “intimate” subject. “Because of our culture, Pinays in general are too shy to talk about matters down there. I, myself, was so embarrassed when I first had to see an OB. But it’s something every woman must do. We are shy to talk about itchiness or odor down there, understandably, for fear of being misjudged,” she says.

Now she is starting to feel more comfortable since she was picked to become the new celebrity brand ambassador of Betadine Feminine Wash. As part of her duties, Bianca had to study the product and all the available research on it, and that’s when she found out so many things about feminine hygiene.

One thing Bianca learned in the course of doing all her research is that there is a direct correlation between a woman’s confidence and red days. She found out that because of germs and the possible risk of infection, it’s important that women be able to make the right choice as to a feminine product that will offer maximum protection.

Medical professionals concur with her opinion. “Meron siyang correlation because you know when you’re having your menses, you don’t feel good, you have cramps, and you feel bloated,” says Dr. Lylah Reyes, an obstetrician-gynecologist connected with the FEU Hospital.