Positivity is a powerful thing and for many moms, staying positive is one of the key weapons to help them face challenges head on throughout their journey of motherhood. Just take supermom Jeanette Ipapo-Tuason, for instance, who’s managed to become a pioneer of a company in a male-dominated industry while rearing five kids.
“My main business is Tuason Racing School,” she shares with theAsianparent Philippines. “We teach people how to race and we organize different racing and automotive events. I worked in a male dominated industry. Not just regular males, but alpha males and a lot of egos. Let’s just say in racing it’s kind of required. Some people say, I am a perfect fit because I’m not your typical girly girl.”
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She recalls how, when she started building the company with her husband and brother-in-law in the late 90s, seeing a woman at the forefront of a racing team was truly rare.
18 years on, Tuason Racing school has become one of the biggest racing grids in Southeast Asia. Through the years, they’ve blazed the trail for many racing schools to follow. Now, they’ve expanded to different parts of the world and have teamed up with some of the world’s biggest brands.
Switching gears, she now wants to empower other women, using her professional experience as a way to build a community of like-minded positive moms.
“Nowadays, there’s so much negativity, disrespect, rudeness, body and slut-shaming, online and off. You can’t deny it’s in the headlines, Facebook feed, even the table next to yours’ conversation,” observes Jeanette. “The advent of social media have give us connectedness but facilitated a lot of divide and disagreement.”
Continuing, she emphasized how the motoring industry, alone, has become sort of a “battle ground for more trash and hate.”
“Women have always felt the girl driver shaming from time immemorial,” she confided. With the help of her friend, host and supermom Issa Litton, Jeanette co-founded the Chicdriven Women Empowerment Expo, which seeks to empower women through advice that will help them “have it all!”
“What would be the best way to help women feel empowered these days? A change of mindset towards positivity and respect.”
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“We thought, what would be the best way to help women feel empowered these days? A change of mindset towards positivity and respect. That’s what we need. We don’t need to have the same choices or have the same opinion but we need to respect each other. Women play a big role in this because we have the direct hand in molding the next generation.”
To kick things off, Chicdriven hosted a special screening of the blockbuster hit Wonder Woman, which was attended by many empowered women who support the cause, including fashion and lifestyle blogger, Cat Arambulo-Antonio; Celebrity Mom, Model and Pet Lover Vanessa Matsunaga – Sunga; and popular Life Coach and plus size model Kimi Lu.
“We’re all moms. We love our kids. We do our best. We try to do whatever we can.”
Before the screening, working mom Cat confided that she had been bullied by other moms. “I felt judged,” she confided, referring to times when other moms questioned her about not being able to drop her child at school often. “I feel that this is the way I do things. There’s no judgment needed. We’re all moms. We love our kids. We do our best. We try to do whatever we can.”
Kimi Lui also had her fair share of judgment, particularly for being plus-sized. “It comforts me that I’m relatable. I’m confident in the thought that I can inspire others to be okay with (their weight), to not be ashamed.”
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Brazilian-Japanese model Vanessa Matsunaga, who’s felt the pressures of working in an industry mostly driven by superficial beauty, thinks the best way to fight negativity, is to use it as “fuel to keep on going.”
“There’s nothing worse for a hater than to see you be successful and it’s really nice, you don’t have to reply or fight back the way they do because it’s really low, it’s terrible,” she shares, adding how she believes bullying begins at home. So parents should be careful how they talk about someone behind their back, even if the person is a stranger or a celebrity.
“Being a mom, I know how important it is to bring up my kid in the right way, so gossiping is a no-no in my house.”
Expect more enriching talks, engaging conversations, and fun activities at this year’s much anticipated Chicdriven Women Empowerment Expo, which will be happening on July 1-2 at Glorietta Acitivity Center – Palm Drive and on October 7-8 at Alabang Town Center and Sponsored by Mazda, Pldt, Glorietta, Ayala Malls, Marie France, La Germania Philippines, Philipine Daily Inquirer, TRSDDA, L’oreal Professionel, Standard Insurance, Tuason Racing School.
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