Abstract:
By using Foucauldian analysis to examine how respondents and society viewed battered men, what
their subjectivities entailed, what practices they engaged in, and the institutions that were
influencing them, the study sought to identify the dominant discourses regarding Filipino battered
men. The study identified four discourses, including namely: men must be tough/dominant, men
as providers and problem-solvers, battered men as nakakahiya, and male victims are helpless.
Positions like men being matapang, macho, dominant, padre de pamilya, providers, victims of
financial abuse, nahiya, under de saya, helpless victims, and advocates from these discourses.
Their subjectivities were influenced by these positions, which led them to believe that men must
suppress their feelings to avoid displaying vulnerability, that they must always prove something
to society, and that male victims are helpless in the Philippines. Therefore, these subjectivities
influenced specific practices such as remaining mum about one's abuse, concealing their emotions,
and just tolerating abuse at the expense of female partners. Contrarily, some people have practiced
advocating for their rights as victims and amending the current law to protect male partners while
having subjectivities regarding helpless victims in the face of the law. Those that have influenced
the discourses are the institutions of society, family, relationships, and law. |
