#1 The Curious Existence of Freedom and Liberty in a Household with 6 Daughters? Assessment of Power Dynamics Exemplified by Our Family

Life is Different when you're handling a "Volleyball Team"

IN A HOUSEHOLD WITH 6 DAUGHTERS, everything can get extraordinarily crazy. My girls and I could be tame given the perfect circumstance (such as an environment or setting so egalitarian that no one appears to be in control unless deemed necessary; thus all girls are rest assured that none of us will be playing games against each other and everyone could provide a piece of themselves whenever faced with obstacles) but also, we could be really naughty and wild (every single the egalitarianism scale is tipped of, it appears that hell is let loose). But my parents, thankfully, are the liberal type.

Papa and mama let us live our own lives and make our own mistakes (not the grave ones, of course) and eventually learn from them on our own. In this way, our mutual independence and maturity are assured along the course of our growing years.

My father, the only man of the family is Florentino A. Cruz, Jr. My mother is Ma. Czarina P. Cruz.
The 6 lovely daughters are (from left to right in the upper right photo, in order of age and then the little angel and the down right picture) Mariah Florence Czarah, Czar Lorn Angela, Patricia Marie Angeline, Cheryl Anne Juliene, Mary Jean Clarence and Floren Tine Margareth

This kind of arrangement allowed for the existence of independent young women in the family. Evidently, the risk my parents took in raising their kids in an unconventional setting paid off bigtime - and now we owe every single good decision we made and continue to make, to them.

However, this issue of near-absolute liberty does, in any way (implicit or not) apply to boys. With my dad always on the close watch like a lifeguard on a beach, let's just say that liberty will be put under tests and negotiations.

So now, let us kick off my years of reservation and isolation through a series of blogs that can give you a backstage pass into the things that I always think about (but not saying) and kept guarded in deep isolation and compartmentalization. This particular post is focused on the power dynamics at play in our household. Adhering to the "Access" and "Control" definitions provided in class, this will serve as the simplified aggregate of everything.

Enjoy reading!

I.Resource Access and Control Profile

In terms of economic and political associations (productive aspect), my father and I share the most passions. We both love taking calculated risks such as in business and we both enjoy playing political games in a real-life setting (we can also include here my 4th sister JJ, who also loves these sort of games). These are not because we are junkies or anything, it is just that sharing the same passions made us closer.

In terms if the freedom to utilize the things we have at home (reproductive aspect), my parents usually allow us to take control after they acquire these things. They give us complete ownership of the things we have, having the final say and all not unless parental intervention is necessary.

II. Decision-making Access and Control Profile

Note: F = Father, M = Mother & D = Daughter. I am D1 or the eldest daughter in the family.

Decision-making is highly participative in our household. Each of us (even our little angel, Bubbles who is just 6 years old) is consulted for major decisions and even the trivial ones. In most cases, we conduct vote counting via raising of hands which is both cool and reassuring - that even if we are just kids in the eyes of society, in our own home, our voices are heard in equal and heartfelt manner.

III. Benefits and Burdens

Note: F = Father, M = Mother & D = Daughter. I am D1 or the eldest daughter in the family.

Burden and benefits are both well-calculated. Even though my parents, naturally as they are made into by our large but happy family, often take the burden off our shoulder when it comes to household matters, it is not the case when we are talking of induced burdens. By induced burdens, I mean, burdens which come as a result of a reckless and neglectful behavior. My parents punish us lovingly by allowing (or forcing, if found necessary) us to squish our brain juices dry in finding and hunting for solutions for the mess we have created. 

These might appear scary or even unbelievable, but these are the norms by which we live every single day together. Consequently, we rise to become strong and independent people whose affection and familial bond keep up our ties closer and closer.

IV. Positionality Assessment

Establishing the fact that our household is pretty liberal, power dynamics is not as hardcore or formal or SOP-driven most of the times. Our household functions in such a way that our acquired independence in both mind and actions (which our parents raised us to be) allowed for our interaction towards the achievement of unified goals. Rather than pouring excessively our individual powers to organizational aspects (by severe tasking routines and stuff), we are free to become who we want to be - free from the fear that the world will not look kindly upon us.

Because we are part of a family raised to conquer our own lands and fight our own battles with an assurance that if anything ever goes wrong, we have a strong family to fall back into and heal the wounds of our exploits and then try again and again and again - we became strong individually, even stronger when pulled closer to one another.

And this will always be one of the greatest things that I will be forever thankful for in this lifetime. For the powers placed and entrusted to our once feeble hands, to mine, this molded me to become the woman I am today - fearless, determined and set for achievement. ✻