PagmaMAHAL: The cost of lust and love

by: Roxanne Christine Dela Cruz

An upbeat love song plays inside Heart’s bedroom as she prepares herself for a very special date. Freshly shaved, showered, and manicured.

She put on her special red lipstick and her sweetest cologne, posing in front of her mirror for the hundred times, before she heads off to see her boyfriend.

On the other hand, Valentin made sure there’s no stray strands of hair left on his head as he applied the stickiest gel he could find.

Ready to go he grabbed the gift he purchased from an online shop that keeps popping on to his for you page–claiming that it’s the perfect valentine’s gift for girlfriends– he sets out a goal to end the day with a bang.

Valentine’s day, the time of the year where love floated in the air. Spreading romance through the power of chocolates, flowers, and intimacy. Restaurants, hotels, and lodges set out promos for couples.

“Advertisements and online listings do influence our choices for homestays. We look for places that offer good value — comfortable, home-like, and with amenities such as a kitchen, clean bathroom, or a pool. These spaces help us feel closer and make up for the time we’re apart due to distance” Karen said about how they usually find accommodations for their outings with her significant other.

SWEET DREAMS. A promotional poster of Dairy Milk Chocolate for their special edition release for the upcoming Valentine’s day. Source: Cadbury

Chocolate brands release a special packaging to align with the event. Variety of flowers — real and artificial — blanketed the streets. Malls and public spaces are filled with couples proclaiming their love for each other. As the sun prepares itself to set, they set out their minds to find someplace private to finally put a euphoric end to their day.

But behind these heart shaped rose tinted glasses, lies the strings of cupid’s arrows that target the hearts and mind of couples especially the youth on what these romantic events are all about. Hypercommercialization repaid by physical intimacy lies beneath the chocolate covered facade of Valentine’s Day. Constant bombardment of online and offline advertisements of products such as chocolate, flowers, and jewelry, created the idea of what women should be receiving during the day. After, behind closed doors they will be repaying these gifts with their bodies to show their gratitude and love to their partners.

Preparation for Valentine’s is the longest phase to show love. This is where hypercommercialization shoots their arrows into everyone’s mind.

According to Fordham University hypercommercialism is “trend toward weaving advertising and promotion into the fabric of mainstream media.” A variety of promos for hotels and lodges will float around. Affordable places to stay the night enticing couples to extend the day of celebrating love. Tips on how to celebrate valentine’s day inserted with subtle advertisements for a libido enhancing infused chocolate circulates the internet, tempting people to try under the idea of giving their entirety. Forging a symbol of trust between each other. These narratives created for these products create an idea on how giving one’s body is a perfect way to celebrate and lay stronger foundations for their relationships.

SPICING THINGS UP. Tiktok video of a libido induced chocolate brand promoting their product as a perfect surprise gift for boyfriends and a promotional poster from a hotel advertising promos for valentine’s day.

These ideas slowly became naturalized and eventually became a norm. Women, especially adolescents, try their best to appeal to their partners through following the narratives exhibited in these advertisements.

They prepare themselves to give a part of them, already surrendering to the notions planted by the capitalist system fueled by hypercommercialism.

“…I also put a bit more effort into my makeup since we have a tradition of taking photos at a photobooth during our dates” Karen also added on how she usually prepares for celebrating Valentine’s day.

“As a woman, I get to receive gifts from my partner during Valentine’s day” Nicole, another person in a relationship, said when asked what she usually gives during Valentine’s day. She explained how she’s not the one who prepares gifts for her partner, rather she’s the one who receives them on the special day.

Women are expected to look pretty, receive flowers and chocolates in order to be considered as valued by their partners. In contrast men are expected to give these items and in return they expect their partners to engage in intimate gestures with them. So in order to do that they both succumb to the whispers of commercialism. Preparing themselves to be the best when Valentine’s day finally arrives.

But what really happens during the date, is hypercommercialism really a factor that defines what the perfect valentine’s day really is?

Is intimacy really the payment for the things given during valentine’s? Does this notion have a lasting impact on how people perceive and act during the day celebrating romance and love?

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