CALL FOR PAPERS IS ONGOING
Georgie Marie L. Martinez¹ & Julianne A. Quisao²
¹Securities and Exchange Commission
²Council for the Welfare of Children
Despite mounting evidence showing the benefit of parents communicating about human conception and genitalia to their children, several studies show challenges for these have been culturally thought of as taboo subjects that parents find difficult to talk about. This exploratory two-case study investigates how two families from separate municipalities in Quezon Province communicate about these topics with their children. Families were purposively selected based on capability to respond openly on the topic of sexuality with practical consideration for proximity during the pandemic. Family A has two children – an 8-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, while family B has a 5-year-old female child. With the consent of parents, 92-minute-long recorded conversation sessions with the families, including retrospective participants’ commentaries on recorded conversations constituted the data for this research. The cases indicate that both families seldom talk about human conception and genitalia. Both families also tend to talk less directly about human conception because parents think that the topic is inappropriate for their children’s age. Moreover, parents from both families used representations and metaphors, such as trees bearing fruits and vaccine injection, in explaining the process of human conception, with mothers typically leading the conversation. Family A focused on communicating the subject to their daughter because they think she needs more protection than their son. On the topic of human genitalia, Family A used euphemisms while Family B did not. Drawing on the Family Communications Pattern Theory, these findings suggest that both families use what we call “communicative covers” as aids for communicating human conception and genitalia to their children to soften the stigmatizing effect of communicating such topics they deem taboo and age-inappropriate.
Keywords: communicative covers, human conception, human genitalia, parent-children communication, sociolinguistic practices
Sa kabila ng maraming pag-aaral na nagpapakita ng kahalagahan ng pakikipag-usap ng mga magulang sa kanilang mga anak tungkol sa pagbuo ng tao at mga bahagi ng katawan na may kaugnayan sa reproduksiyon, nananatiling hamon ito dahil itinuturing pa rin ng marami na sensitibo o bawal pag-usapan ang mga paksang ito. Sinuri sa pag-aaral na ito kung paano pinag-uusapan ng dalawang pamilya mula sa magkaibang bayan sa Quezon Province ang mga paksang ito sa kanilang mga anak. Pinili ang mga kalahok batay sa kanilang kahandaang magbahagi ng karanasan tungkol sa sekswalidad at sa pagiging praktikal ng kanilang lokasyon noong panahon ng pandemya. Ang Pamilya A ay may dalawang anak—isang walong taong gulang na babae at isang limang taong gulang na lalaki—samantalang ang Pamilya B ay may isang limang taong gulang na babae. Sa pahintulot ng mga magulang, nagsagawa ng 92-minutong naitalang usapan kasama ang mga pamilya, na sinundan ng kanilang mga komento at paliwanag tungkol sa mga napag-usapan. Ipinakita ng resulta na bihira lamang pag-usapan ng parehong pamilya ang tungkol sa pagbuo ng tao at mga bahagi ng katawan na may kaugnayan sa reproduksiyon. Karaniwan ding hindi direktang ipinapaliwanag ng mga magulang ang proseso ng pagbuo ng tao dahil naniniwala silang hindi pa ito angkop sa edad ng kanilang mga anak. Gumamit din ang mga magulang ng mga paghahambing at simbolikong paliwanag, tulad ng punong namumunga at pagtuturok ng bakuna, upang ipaliwanag ang konseptong ito, kung saan kadalasang ang mga ina ang nangunguna sa pag-uusap. Mas binigyang-pansin ng Pamilya A ang pagpapaliwanag sa kanilang anak na babae dahil sa paniniwalang mas kailangan niya ng proteksiyon kaysa sa kanilang anak na lalaki. Sa usapin naman ng mga bahagi ng katawan, gumamit ang Pamilya A ng mga katawagang hindi tuwiran, samantalang mas direkta ang Pamilya B. Batay sa Family Communications Pattern Theory, ipinapakita ng mga natuklasan na gumagamit ang mga pamilya ng tinatawag na “communicative covers” o mga paraang nagpapalambot sa pagpapaliwanag ng mga paksang itinuturing nilang sensitibo at hindi pa angkop sa edad ng kanilang mga anak.
Mga Susing Salita: communicative covers, pagbuo ng tao, genitalia, komunikasyon ng magulang at anak, sosyolingguwistika
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