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For some reason, this corner of the Pinoy Blogosphere has suddenly become hooked obsessed with Jologs. This sudden surge seems to have been caused by one Ade Magnaye who has been churning out articles that show the ‘finest’ example of the Jolog species umm.. socio-cultural clade. Aside from the usual spam comments, death threats and indecent proposals that the author usually gets for everything he writes, his work also set off a deluge of similarly themed articles that either showed all out disdain, pure amusement and a perfect opportunity to make fun of one’s children.

Carl Jung’s collective unconscious must be at work here: looking for more Jologs-related articles? click here and here.

To preserve my reputation as a family-friendly blogger, I advise children to call their parents to accompany them while they read the next lines of this article.

I first encountered the term when I was a sophomore in high school. It’s quite amusing that the term ‘jologs’ was actually used to refer to the batch directly one year our junior. I didn’t quite get what it meant but it certainly didn’t sound like a compliment. Later on I picked up on the breadth of it’s definition.

Dyed hair? Jolog.

Uber-flamboyant shirt that seeks too much attention? Jolog.

The color orange?

Keep in mind that the term ‘jolog’ could refer to a person, thing, place, expression, mood, concept – you get the idea, it could be anything. And just like any concept, it is subject to the society that is at work. Obviously, the color orange or a bleached streak of hair may be chic and cutting edge for other people, but for the people I hung out with, those things are the stuff that they won’t be caught dead with.

You’re one of them if you follow fads.

During those days, I always assumed that the term jolog evolved from Jolina Magdangal. In the late 90s, Jolina was a spearheading a massive media campaign for AMA The School of Today – or should I say Yesterday? Everything about her could have been considered jologs. Her multi-colored hair accessories along with her striking outfits made her an easy target for the tag. As if it wasn’t enough, she released the song ‘Paper Roses’ that instantly became the lightning rod for jologs haters.

On the opposite end of the Jologs spectrum lie the hopelessly hip-hop and the “rap-metal” fiends who live to jump around in sweaty mosh pits. Their degree of self-confidence and assessment of their coolness is inversely proportional to how the rest of the people in see them. They are a totally different species of jologs.

The term got so overused that a certain corner of the population started their own brand of elitism by calling people who call other people jologs, jologs. The drive to create a semblance of hierarchy and social stratification just doesn’t end, eh? Behind this hypocrisy is a conscious effort to divorce oneself from fads. All of a sudden, it wasn’t only the ghetto boy wannabes who were getting tagged jolog, the now-growing list also features every person who raises an eyebrow whenever someone with overly made-up hair walks by. Call it the Revenge of the Jologs or Jologs Pity, but at that moment, the definition was blown out of the box.

Sometime around the turn of the millenium, Philippine Television culture had a renaissance. From being the staple shows for household helps and stay-at-home moms, soap operas started gaining critical and commercial value. These shows started gaining more mileage and this shift in preferences caused a massive upheaval in public perception. The fact that a film of the same name came out at right about the same time further bolstered the momentum of the Jologs movement.

If you had a sense of individuality, you are jolog.
From being a total undesirable, being somewhat jolog became less of a loaded term. It transformed into a badge of honor. People started owning up to their ‘dirty little secrets’. All of a sudden, people stopped being closet fans of novelty songs and everyone embraced the kinks on their armor of good taste.

Yes, the revolution happened. Judy Ann Santos’ fans are still jologs but they now have clout. They are now aware of their status and their mere numbers give them pride in the face of the elitist stares of others. People became more comfortable in making fun of themselves.

“Ay, ang jologs ko, araw-araw akong nanonood ng Pinoy Big Brother”

“Etong t-shirt ko, ukay-ukay lang yan, jologs ‘no?”

“Oo, Piolo-Juday ako! Syempre Jologs eh!”

The tide turned. From an overwhelming preference to glamorize every aspect of one’s personality, people started turning to the their genuine sentiments towards things. They were no longer scared to be judged and looked down upon. The new jologs had a refreshing sense of self-assurance that was ineffaceable despite exposure to elitism.

It was a type of confidence that gave the kitsch jologs something to proud about. From being people who followed fads and trends because their taste wast just too unrefined to do otherwise, they became the very people who chose their path because they chose it for themselves – not because somebody told them to take it.

Was it excellent marketing? What ever it was the Jologs suddenly became empowered. They now cut across the social classes. You can be rich and still be unapologetically kitschy – and be loved for it. Once the floodgates were opened, there was no stopping the Jologs Pride.

Yes, the tide turned. The kitschy actors and actresses actually get more respect now. But the revolution happened – but just for that type of jologs.

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For these guys, you gotta be sorry for them. Jologs parin sila.

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