This talk explores how the Duterte dynasty uses shifting gender performances - from macho populism to LGBT-inclusive politics - to consolidate power and shape supporter loyalty.
This talk examines how the Duterte dynasty in the Philippines draws on gender as a political resource to consolidate power. It argues that these performances of gender operate relationally, as the Dutertes function as a political family unit. From former president Rodrigo Duterte’s macho populism to current vice-president Sara Duterte’s more flexible performance of femininity and masculinity, including her embrace of LGBT politics, gender has been central to the dynasty’s political repertoire. These performances are not fixed and are recalibrated in response to key political moments, including the breakdown of the Duterte–Marcos alliance, corruption allegations and impeachment proceedings against Sara Duterte, and Rodrigo Duterte’s extradition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague where he faces trial for crimes against humanity. It also examines how gender operates as a framework through which supporters relate to the Duterte dynasty. It explores the reciprocal relationship between performance and reception, showing how the Dutertes’ gendered performances of authority, care, strength, and protection shape supporters’ political imaginaries, and how these are taken up, reworked, and reinforced through supporters’ own gendered expectations and understandings of leadership.
This project is funded by the ANU-Philippines Institute, in partnership with the University of the Philippines-Diliman Department of Women and Development Studies. The full research team includes Dr Jaya Jacobo (Assistant Professor, UP DWDS); Professor Mark Thompson (Chair Professor, Department of Politics and International Affairs, City University of Hong Kong), and Professor Mina Roces (Professor of History, University of New South Wales).
The ANU Philippines Institute Research Seminar Series is a recurring seminar series that showcases the work of scholars working on political, social and cultural issues in the Philippines and the wider region, with the goal of encouraging greater exchange, collaboration and networking amongst the research community.
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Image by Karl Norman Alonzo/Presidential Communications Operations Office
Event Speakers
Dr Sharmila Parmanand
Dr Sharmila Parmanand is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Gender Studies at the London School of Economics.
Karen de Castro
Karen de Castro is a Master's student in Women and Development at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Maverick Avila
Maverick Avila is a Bachelor of Arts in Communication graduate at the University of the Philippines Cebu.