Filipino feminism from the margins

This work engages with the tradition of “critical theory at the margins,” a developing tradition that comprises works from scholars reflecting on Philippine marginality through the framework of the Frankfurt School critical theorists. They claim that there are normative sources of emancipation in the practices of local communities, and these practices are the “best alternatives” against capitalism in the Philippines. I argue that although resources for resistance can be found within the practices of communities, the idealization of indigenous values obscures rather than articulates forms of oppression. Instead, I stress that it is necessary to examine particular material realities that provide grounding for varied forms of oppressions and forms of emancipation. With urban poor Filipina women as the focus of my analysis, I narrate experiences of marginalization through the works of development scholars and highlight how intersectionality enables us to think with and from the margins.