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The article presents an examination into the social conditions of the Philippines, particularly in relation to the Muslim minority society of the Mindanao. Details are given discussing the social relations between the Mindanao and the larger Christian Filipino society, centering upon the dichotomies of conflict and peacemaking, as well as the internal gender relations within the Muslim community, centering upon the "invisibility" of Mindanao women. Aspects examined in depth include the unacknowledged role of women within peacemaking activities, the tribal feud system of "rido," and a lack of social justice protection for women.

In national narratives of 'Malayness', a specific language (Malay) and religion (Islam) have become key aspects of an identity that excludes migrants and those of 'questionable' sexualities. Consequently Filipina migrants working in the nightlife industries in East Malaysia have been subjected to disciplinary discourses of ethnicity and sexuality that underpin these national narratives. Attempts to tighten migration laws and curb nightlife activities have resulted in a racialisation of Filipina migrant sexualities. Using ethnographic methods, this article explains the impacts of dominant state and public discourses of migration, ethnicity and gender, which Filipinas encounter in their everyday lives in their destination country. In the process the article also reveals how Filipinas resist these discourses and hence participate in the formation of their subjectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]