WOMENS VOICES IN THE IMAGES AND SHADOWS OF PATRIARCHY

This study described the images and shadows of patriarchy through the voices of women, how they were portrayed, and treated in the patriarchal society. A qualitative descriptive design was used. Interviews were conducted to generate data. These data were analyzed using descriptive thematic analysis. The key informants to this study were married women with children living in one family. These women dutifully did their responsibilities as wives and mothers, depicting the typical Cebuano household. Under the patriarchal society, their voices are limited: managing the family is their strength; emotional attachment to the family is their weakness; expanding their social reproductive roles is their opportunities; and domestic?related issues such as infirmed and/or loss of family members and child expectancy pressure plus the eventual child?rearing are their threats. The Cebuano women in the rural areas are dominantly traditional since they still ascribe to motherhood as part of their gender identity. Their images and shadows are reflections of a systemic culture of partriarchy.