When thinking about social change, I immediately think of the color pink.
But what is social change? It is the evolution in this blog on behaviors and thoughts. A whole shift in attitudes, practices, and policies in a community, but for this discussion, a Country. Social change was done with the affiliation of the color pink.
Why, though, of all colors pink?
Well in the Philippines 2022 elections on October 7 2022, the color pink was the sign of hope; it is the color of the groundswell of an individual’s volunteers’. Pink was the campaign color for a potential candidate’s stance against the other color red. There were two contestants running head-on-head.
The first contestant is Leni Robredo. The vision is to “free” the nation from its hardships and challenges, especially during the pandemic, help the less fortunate by creating “Angat Buhay”(Lifting Life), a social campaign and to promote human rights and end the “culture of violence”; which relates to the Rodrigo Duterte mission of killing all drug users and lords. Besides that, she is a figure to help end domestic abuse. She is a symbol to empower women to be financially independent to avoid abusive relationships and environments if the woman feels trapped. With that in mind, the emphasize of the importance of education is highlighted in her campaign. Social action demonstrates bringing awareness to particular issues to create change (Gruman et al., 2016), which is what Leni Robredo was and is doing today.
The next candidate comes from a controversial family with a dark and rich background. As the former dictator, Ferdinand Marcos comes his son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., who was mainly against Leni Robredo in the 2022 elections. His primary focus was to unify the country and with the support and popularity of his vice president comrade Sarah Duterte, daughter of the previous president Rodrigo Duterte. In addition, with the help of social media, he beat the pink movement’s popularity. He says, “judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions.” He gained the title of president on June 30, 2022, as he won by a landslide in May 2022.
Despite the loss of Leni Robredo, the color pink still holds to be the color of social change in the Philippines. “The spirit of the campaign should never die out, “she said last May 13, 2022, as she formed a non-governmental organization, “Angat Buhay NGO”. Hundreds of volunteers were eager to help out the runner-up presidential candidate. This week’s lesson in participatory action research shows that her vision of helping people still lives on even if she did not take the place of the head of the Philippines, as her supporters are committed to working with many communities for a positive social change to put our psychology to work in support to their political values (Brydon‐Miller, 1997).
Resources:
- About | President Bongbong Marcos. (2023, April 18). President Bongbong Marcos. https://pbbm.com.ph/president-bongbong-marcos/
- Brydon‐Miller, M. (1997). Participatory Action Research: Psychology and Social Change. Journal of Social Issues, 53(4), 657–666. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.15404560.1997.tb02454.x
- Cepeda, M. (2022, May 14). After election defeat, Robredo to lead “biggest volunteer movement in PH history.” RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/nation/elections/after-2022-election-defeat-robredo-lead-biggest-volunteer-movement-history-philippines/
- Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353968
- Leni Robredo: The woman leading the Philippines’ “pink revolution.” (2022). BBC News; BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61318519
- Punzalan, J. (2022, May 13). What’s next for Pink Movement? Getting up from the fall. ABSCBN News; ABS-CBN News. https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/05/13/22/whats-next-for-pink-movement-getting-up-from-the-fall
I remember this election; I believe John Oliver covered it. This was a cool blog on symbolism, for sure. Pink in the United States is usually too feminine for candidates to construct their ideologies around because the majority of the voting population likely will not view it “strong” enough to lead a powerful nation. Red often conveys strong and contrasting emotions, such as passion, power, and revolution, but it can also be associated with danger and upheaval (Gill & Angosto-Ferrández, 2018). The juxtaposition of pink and red in the context of the Philippines is really interesting, as I perceive pink as a muted red.
Citation
Gill, G., & Angosto-Ferrández, L. F. (2018). Introduction: Symbolism and Politics. Politics, Religion & Ideology, 19(4), 429–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/21567689.2018.1539436