Filipino online users countered the viral video of a young TikTok content creator as it was perceived to slander single mothers when it comes to potentially dating them.
The video, which was stumbled upon by a Twitter user, featured a young man sharing his reaction to a hypothetical situation if he would be introduced to a single mother.
“‘Yung may pinakilala sa’yo na single mom… kaso may anak na,” the text in the video reads.
The clip had a background instrumental music of “Crank That” by American rapper Soulja Boy.
“Single moms do not deserve to be shamed. It’s not easy to raise children alone bc (because) some men have no balls for the responsibilities,” Twitter user @lemeuxxST, who initially shared it on the platform, wrote.
Other Twitter users agreed with him as they quote tweeted his post, especially those who are single moms themselves.
“Juskoh. Sumakit my head. Even as a joke, this is not funny. Single moms have to take this from men almost all the time, like we’re less because we have children. We come with extra mouths to feed,” a Twitter user wrote in response to the clip.
“I’m a single mom and I don’t think this is sarcasm tho, this is literally offensive. Shaming on us single mothers who literally go through a lot alone just to raise our child. Hindi nakakagwapo ‘yung joke mo kuya, t**gina mo,” another online user said.
Others who personally know of single moms shared testimonies about them to counter the TikTok content.
“I had this shs (Senior High School) classmate who got pregnant before our graduation. She’s living a happy life now with her son and she’s already a successful owner of her online baking business. She’s also currently studying a computer-related program in college. She’s the boss! Kween tingz!!!” wrote a Twitter user.
“I know a few single moms and I only know half of what they’re going through since they don’t tell me everything but that half is already a suffering most men can’t go through in their lifetime. They don’t deserve this kind of shaming,” shared another online user.
There were those who said that while dating a single mom is a personal preference, their situation should not be joked about.
“Preference mo kung ayaw mo ng karelasyon na single mom and we’ll respect that. What’s foul is you making it as a joke and posting it on social media publicly as if it’s a negative trait,” a Twitter user pointed out.
Sociologist Bro. Clifford Sorita said mothers are also “frontliners” in the family in the COVID-19 pandemic because apart from taking care of their families and maintaining the household, they have to adjust to the lifestyle changes affecting their families as well.
“Bago mag-pandemic, matindi na ang choice ng isang nanay. Ang choice palagi niya ay siya ba ay mananatili sa bahay o siya ay magtatrabaho. Marami sa ating working mothers ang nagpupumilit na balansehin ang work-home challenges. Bago pa mag-COVID, challenge na sa mga nanay ang ganyang klaseng pagbabalanse,” he said in an ABS-CBN interview last month.
“Pero napansin natin ngayon, dahil sa COVID situation—restrictions sa mobility lalo ng mga bata—mas naging mahirap sa mga nanay ang choice. Ngayon, ang mga bata, nag-aaral na sa mga tahanan. Mga bata ngayon stay at home, ‘di pwedeng lumabas ng bahay,” Soriano added.
“So ‘yung challenge ng choice mas naging matindi ngayong COVID. Ang mga nanay mas piniling mag-stay sa bahay at alagaan ang buong pamilya,” he further said.