Bondoc Orality: A Window for Underlying Thought on Gender Stereotyping and Alternative Character Portrayals

Abstract

Now it's an incontrovertible fact that literature is one among the foremost operative means of contributing to the method of appropriation. This study deals with the connections and alterations between male and feminine roles in Bontoc oral narratives, specifically on their involvements and skills alongside the standard concept of monomyth introduced by Campbell and their consequent effect on future depictions of gender stereotypes common in Indigenous oral texts within the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). The study is centered on the importance of the foremost well-known narrative characters common among the Bontoks and the way their portrayals affect gender differences within the Bontoc society. Basing on the Bontoc oral lore, typically stereotyped portrayals of the characters were analyzed using content analysis and Rosenblatt’s transactional theory. Gender biases are anchored within the book of Henry Beard and Christopher Cerf which were identified as sexism, heightism, speciecism, socioeconomism, feelism, and lookism. Although there are numerous variations of Bontoc oral lore existing nowadays, the natural content remained dominant and therefore the stereotypical character traits of the characters remain unchanged.