The Evolution of Maria Clara

“You’ve come a long way, baby.” Do you remember this memorable line from the Virginia Slims ad back in the day? This 1968 Virginia Slims campaign somehow empowered women and encouraged them to smoke. It was a cigarette commercial, after all. The slogan is apt, and what came to mind when thinking of how far the Filipino woman is and how far she’s gone. Indeed, Filipinas have come a long way.

Let’s begin with Maria Clara, her full name being Maria Clara de los Santos, a fictional character in Jose Rizal’s in 1887. She embodied the ideal woman at that time, virtuous, feminine, graceful and charming. In by Lourdes V Lapus, the late esteemed psychiatrist wrote that “the Filipino culture, for all the increasing signs and protests to the contrary, still