Social media personality Donnalyn Bartolome was once again in hot water for her remarks about pregnancy.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, Donnalyn shared her conversation with a woman who opened up about her insecurities after giving birth.
“Grabe sobrang ganda niyo po. Nakaka-insecure po talaga, lalo pag tumitingin na ako sa salamin after [giving] birth (pleading emoji)” the woman wrote.
Donnalyn comforted the lady and said that there was no need for her to be insecure.
“Mommy isipin mo na lang binuntis ka…sobrang ganda mo siguro. Ako walang bumubuntis..(laughing emoji) parang talo mo ‘ko sa ganda ‘wag ka na ma-insecure diyan haaa. I’m sure maganda ka (lipmark emoji) smile ka na yiiie, Donnalyn said.
Anti-feminist
Social media users questioned Donnalyn’s comment associating beauty with impregnating a woman. The social media star was also criticized for her perceived toxic positivity.
“Nabago na pala ang batayan ng pagiging maganda. Ano na naman ba kasi yun ate Donna?” a Facebook user commented.
“Itong si Donnalyn ginagawang hobby pagkakalat ng toxic positivity buwan-buwan. accla, ano dati ka bang baliw? Binuntis dahil sobrang ganda?” a Twitter user wrote.
“Bagong pamantayan ng kagandahan ay pag binuntis ka,” an online user said.
Sociologist Athena “Ash” Presto found Donnalyn’s remark anti-feminist and pro-machismo.
“Pangit ng word na ‘binuntis.’ Parang walang nagawa ang babae eh—wala eh, ‘binuntis’ siya eh. Ang passive na nga ng tingin sa babae, ginawa pang affirmation of beauty kapag binubuntis ka na parang ‘yun na ang sukatan ng pagkatao mo. Anti-feminist ito,” Presto wrote in a tweet.
“Sa pagkakasabi ni Donnalyn, parang utang pa ng babae sa lalaki na binubuntis siya kasi nalalaman niyang maganda siya,” the sociologist continued.
“Parang sinabing galing sa lalaki kung anuman ang maganda sa babae. Anti-feminist ito, at pro-machismo. Mga lalaki lang ang iniaangat ng statement, hindi babae,” Presto added.
According to the sociologist, Donnalyn’s statement is also heteronormative, meaning it assumes that all people are straight and cisgender, unless stated otherwise
An online user also expressed alarm over Donnalyn’s comment as it may encourage people, especially the youth to be impregnated.
“Hala! Parang [hindi] ito maganda lalo na sa mga kabataan! Baka lahat mag pabuntis?” a Twitter user said.
Poor word choice
Other social media users, meanwhile, said they understood Donnalyn’s intention but it was not translated well because of her poor choice of words.
“While I understand that her intention might be to just send positive vibes to people sobrang off talaga ng choice of words niya,” a Twitter user said.
“When you only want to say something positive but your choice of words and delivery are completely inappropriate. That is me most of the time,” a social media user wrote.
“As a single mom, I think she only meant to uplift her fan. No malice intended. Minsan kasi masyadong pinapalaki ng socmed ang issue. Hatred is used as fuel to ignite negative emotion. Whereas, it should be the opposite. Chill everyone! GV [good vibes] lang!” a Facebook user commented.
On January 3, Donnalyn made headlines for her comment, which questioned some Filipinos’ feelings about returning to work after the Holidays.
The vlogger was heavily criticized because of this as social media users said the comment invalidates the feelings of other people.
READ: ‘Medyo nakaka-invalidate’: Reactions to Donnalyn Bartolome’s back-to-work comments