The Gist

‘#NOTOBODYSHAMING’ TRENDS AFTER THESE NOONTIME SHOW HOSTS MADE FUN OF A YOUNG CELEBRITY’S ‘HAIRY’ ARMS AND LEGS (AGAIN)

We need to talk about how intrusive and inappropriate Philippine media can be, especially when it comes to masking offense with humor, and the same, tired excuse that, "If it's just a joke, it should be okay."

PAULINE NACAR / 26 February 2021

It’s no secret that a problematic layer to Filipino humor is our habit of pulling out insults for a couple of laughs, may that be among casual conversations with friends or in late night sketches at comedy bars. It’s a part of our culture that undoubtedly needs to be laid to rest, but such is difficult when big media personalities themselves use it for their own material on national television.

This is the case when It’s Showtime hosts dragged young singer and actress Vivoree Esclito into their segment by making fun of her “balbon” (hairy) arms and legs. The incident happened in the “Hide and Sing” segment of the show where body features of the contestants are presented to the hosts for them to guess the singer’s identity. When Showtime host and Itchyworms frontman Jugs Jugueta saw a portion of the contestant’s arm with visible hair, he exclaimed: “Si Vivoree ‘yan!” (That’s Vivoree!)—to which the other hosts laughed in unison. 

All except for singer and fellow host Karylle who called him out and said she was also “very hairy.” Jugueta then laughed it off and said that it was only a joke. This is the second time this week that hosts mentioned the young actress after being presented with a photo of balbon body parts. The “mocking” comment happened again, as influential comedian, Vice Ganda, in a separate episode, mentioned Vivoree’s name to be synonymous with anything “hairy”.

This joke, of course, was founded on Esclito being known to have “hairy” features before her big transformation in reality show Pinoy Big Brother back in 2016. A transformation she emotionally welcomed after talking to “Kuya” about her insecurities and how people’s stares and comments made her feel bad about her appearance, and ultimately, herself.

After the Showtime clip went viral, “NO TO BODY SHAMING” was one of the top trending topics on Philippine Twitter, with netizens calling out the hosts and our overall culture of making fun of people’s appearances for entertainment.

 

Esclito then responded by retweeting an old tweet of hers after similar comments circulated online back in 2019. As someone who has been on the receiving end of such jokes ever since she joined show business, it’s a matter very close to the young artist’s heart. As she fears that, although these comments don’t harm her as much anymore, this culture of body shaming might grow even more to hurt other people. She also shared a few Stories on her Instagram on the matter.

 

She also emphasized that other people’s bodies are NONE of our business, putting the spotlight on the disturbing Filipino culture of feeling like we’re entitled to share our opinions on such sensitive and personal matters.

The practice of using someone’s physical appearance for jokes, or for anything remotely “entertaining” has been such a common occurrence in Philippine media, that it’s become the norm even in society as a whole. Kids say it to one another in school, family members poke fun at it every reunion, friends use it to banter with one another, and TV hosts pull it out for some cheap chuckles from the crowd.

Bottomline is, body shaming should never be funny. For starters, we have no right to comment on other people’s appearance, period. It’s a second layer that we especially shouldn’t do it in such a derogatory and shameful manner. What beauty standards are we upholding and perpetuating by doing this? And what message are we telling the youth when it comes to their beauty and acceptance, if something as trivial as hair is considered ugly and funny?

We have a long way to go in our journey towards having an accepting and respectful society, but hopefully this incident will make more people realize that insults coated with humor doesn’t make it any less insulting. And humor founded on ignorance and disrespect should never be funny.