"JOLOGS"

I admire people who are confident with themselves and don’t get affected by other people’s criticism about them.

I was in a shopping mall somewhere in Cainta when a girl caught my attention. She was laughing with her friends, they’re talking about a “JOLOGS girl” (that is what they name her) who passed by a while ago. In an instant, my attention automatically shifted to the girl that they are talking about. She was wearing a skirt with red and white stripes that labanderas in the ilog usually wear (according to the gossiping girls), gray shirt with the picture of Jose Rizal printed on it, a pair of black flip flops and a huge backpack. I’m sure that she heard the giggling of the group of girls and what they are saying about her but she doesn’t get affected at all. I was surprised with her reaction so I followed her and talked to her as well.

She was Tek Reyes (TEK is her nickname), a 19 year old nursing student. I found out that she was used to all kinds of criticism. She states that she was “immune” and doesn’t get affected by what others comment about the way she dresses. She told me that she is comfortable with what she wears and she was just being herself. She also admitted that the set of friends that she have are “JOLOGS” too. JOLOGS is what they call themselves because that is what our society classify them as. But what do we literally mean by the word JOLOGS?

According to WikiPilipinas.org, JOLOGS is a Filipino slang term/word used to describe or depict a person who is out-of-style, trashy-looking, pathetically cheap and corny. It is sometimes equated with another Filipino word for cheaply-dressed person, BADUY. Filipino linguists offer different theories concerning the origin of the word. Some say that it came from a food called “Dyolog”(dilis and itlog)-the food of the poor, some say that it is named after a cheap disco, Jaloux while some state that it originated from the Jolina Organization. Whatever its origin was, having Jologs as a term to classify a person’s sense of style is a form of discrimination.

I do believe that nobody has the right to discriminate a person just because he or she doesn’t share the same taste in fashion that the people in upper classes have.
Respect for anyone's individuality is what we must all learn.


by Raffonzyl Bonifacio
chiksi (^<>^)