Just Kidding? Examining OFWs' Responses to Duterte's Jokes and Their Perceptions of Women's Safety Under His Leadership

Abstract

The road to presidency of Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte has been particularly challenging for Filipino women and feminist organizations. Since the 2016 elections, he has been drawing local and international criticisms for his misogynistic remarks on women which are frequently disguised as jokes. This paper contributes to sociological and feminist literature on gender and populism in two ways. First, by examining the gendered responses of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to Duterte's scandalous jokes; and second, by presenting OFW's perceptions of women's safety under Duterte's leadership. Using Fine's (1983) work on the social context of humor acceptance and Frye's (1983) conceptualization of women's double bind, I analyze ten in-depth interviews with OFWs in Singapore and propose a set of four responses to Duterte's misogynistic jokes. The first response is that the jokes are unbelievable, second is that they are embarrassing, third is that they are typical, and lastly is that they are forgivable. The interviews revealed that some OFWs are not even familiar with Duterte's jokes due to their busy work schedules. They initially do not believe that the jokes came from him when it was first discussed with them. Meanwhile, those who know about the criticisms Duterte is receiving for those jokes are embarrassed because of how it negatively affects the collective moral reputation of Filipinos. Towards the conclusion, I reveal stark differences in the responses of male and female OFW participants. Males defended how typical the jokes are in Philippine context while females posited that the jokes are forgivable but should still be hidden from the public. Overall, I argue that Duterte's misogynistic jokes are deemed as unnecessary but tolerable by OFWs. This response is intimately linked to how, as I show in this article, OFWs perceive better prospects for women's safety in Duterte's administration. They expect a safe space for women, drawing inspiration from sociopolitical developments in Davao City and Singapore. These OFW perspectives and aspirations, in turn, are influenced by both their current geographic location and social position as precarious migrant workers in an illiberal yet safe society.