First Women's Magazine in Cebu

On April 26, 1930, the first issue of the weekly magazine, Babaye (1930-1940), came off the press.

Subtitled Mantalang malinis alang sa panimalay, it is the first "women's magazine" in Cebuano. It is, however, a distinctly male magazine: edited by a man (Napoleon Dejoras), with more male contributors than women, and rather stereotyped in its notions of what would interest women readers. With a portrait of a pretty woman as standard cover, it carries articles on women personalities, beauty contests, love, family, and manners. A feature on female honor students at the Cebu City Intermediate School carries this heading: Maayong laki ang mga babaye sa "intermediate".

The publication of the magazine was a response to two things. The 1930s saw a rising consciousness of women's rights - particularly in the context of the suffrage movement. It was also recognized that the women made up a large portion of the magazine-reading public(since it was assumed, women had the leisure of reading).

Women's magazines continuue to be a major feature of the publishing scene, and views on " what interest women" remain largely stereotyped.

From an article by Ybarra