These Are Our Most-Read Opinions and Essays of 2023
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What can we say about the Esquire reader of 2023? Well, they definitely like a lot of drama, we can tell you that much. From pieces critiquing 2023's biggest watershed moments and all people who got us talking to commentaries on cultural phenomenons, viral events, and more, these are the top 10 opinions and essays we wrote this year. Smart, irreverent, judicious, very Esquire.
Esquire Philippines' Most-Read Opinions and Essays of 2023
10| Selective Outrage: Notes on the Religious Controversy Du Jour
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The point is that, whether you like what Vega did or not, that’s the price we pay for the freedoms we enjoy. If you’re offended, sure, be offended, but go all in. Don’t stop with Vega. Be offended by that guy who dressed up as Jesus during Holy Week hurling cuss words left and right. Be upset by the dozens of creators on social media who mine religious cliches for material. Clutch your pearls and feel insulted by that guy who mixes church and worship songs with pop songs. And please, for the love of god, speak up and express fury when people in government spit out vulgarities and take the Lord God’s name in vain. Because if you don’t, it’s pretty clear that the only reason you’re offended now isn't because the person you’re hating is singing a remix version of "Ama Namin" in a club—it’s because she just happens to be a drag queen.
9| Are Pageants Still Relevant?
Another related but perhaps more compelling reason for the public’s sustained fascination with pageants is the existence of a complex network of Philippine pageant fandom. This network includes vibrant pageant enthusiasts, members of the creative industry supporting pageant candidates, institutions that organize pageants and mobilize support from government units and private agencies, and the very proactive pageant candidates themselves. This complex fandom network emerging from a nation that has had a long history of pageant engagement and victory is a veritable source of sustenance.
8| The Tipping Point: Just How Much Should You Tip at Restaurants?
This is a good thing—not just for people with unsturdy morals, but for everyone involved: the tippee, the tipper, and the tipper’s audience. Now the date (or compulsory family gathering) can take place as it should be, patterned after the way humans can lead better lives: begin with a short period of anxiety while you calculate 110 percent on every item you are thinking of ordering, and end with a beautiful, relaxing flourish as you scoop up your card, or every last coin of your change from the tray when it returns.
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The problem is, in our post-colonial reality today, economics is racial. Across much of the world today, one’s economic strata is still largely determined by one’s ancestry, ethnicity, and nationality. The legacy of over 400 years of plunder, land grabbing, genocide, and slavery cannot be undone in just a few generations. Colorism truly is elitism, in more ways than one.
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6| Congratulations, Slater Young! You Just Found Out That Objectifying Women Is Bad!
While Young's good husband persona may have been tarnished a little bit, he still possesses quite the cache to move forward with grace here. Maybe he should use some of that in calling out the friends who turn his GCs into pigsties. Maybe don't tolerate that kind of indecency. Maybe don't uphold this twisted mindset where women are just begging to be seen and validated by men. Better yet, maybe he shouldn't have ever contributed to this culture of violence against women, even in a diminutive way. How disappointing, really, that it took this long for the gold standard of husbandry and fatherhood to realize that. But, better late than never.
5| Unfortunately, Gloria Diaz Is Stuck in 1969
Self-image is important. Perception, too. Miss Universe has learned to open its doors to the different ideas of womanhood we have today. In 2012, the Miss Universe Organization allowed transwomen to compete in pageants. Miss Spain Angela Ponce even made history in 2018 as the first openly transwoman to compete in Miss Universe. Meanwhile, beginning in 2023, mothers and married women will be permitted to enter the contest. In front of the global public, these contestants have the opportunity to showcase these evolving definitions right before our very eyes. And they will be beautiful to see.
4| Why Do We Have to Shame the People Who Actually Try?
Trying, after all, is the great catalyst of growth and the facilitator of improvement. See, we've learned to despise pretentiousness for one simple reason: trying hard isn't chic. Cool should require no effort, they say. Talent is "supposed" to be natural to the artist. We're all supposed to be prodigies who burst out of our mothers' vaginas knowing everything all at once. But a lot of times, effortlessness takes years of discipline, skill, work ethic, creative stamina, glorious failure, and, yes, pretending. Some of us are better off with the trial-and-error method, too.
3| The Hate Toward Liza Soberano Just Reeks of Internalized Misogyny
The hate just takes away from Soberano's efforts to become a better actress and advocate over the years. I mean, what more do we want from Soberano at this point? She's done the movies. She's done the shows. She's gone through the loveteam cycle and crushed it. She's said all the right things. Newsflash: she's also actually a decent actress now and someone who donates and gets involved with charitable causes. She, too, was one of the most vocal defenders of ABS-CBN during a state-sponsored crackdown.
2| TVJ Exiting Eat Bulaga Is the End of an Era. No, Really
The point is that this is history unfolding right before our eyes. TVJ saying goodbye to Eat Bulaga is a watershed moment, and one that signals a very firm end to a very specific period in local broadcasting. “The end of an era” is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot even in casual conversations, but, in this case, it truly and indubitably is, and those of us aware of the gravity of the situation should be allowed to take a moment and mourn as such.
1| Donnalyn Bartolome and Her 'Main Character Syndrome' Just Couldn't Help It
Sure, the toxic positivity part in all of this irks us. But I think what makes this especially intriguing is that this is symptomatic of the kind of main character syndrome we all are guilty of from time to time (it's reflective of the social media age). For most celebrities and pseudo-celebrities, however, it's a way of life. They indulge in the proverbial millennial "me, me, me" culture. Look at me. Learn from me. Everyone is lazy. Everyone is entitled. It's about mindset. Freaking mindset.
