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This is an excerpt of the July 2025 cover story
While men and women are seen as equal before the law, and women have fought for and made spaces in many male-dominated industries in the Philippines, Filipino women still face more judgement than men. They are frequently held to different, often more exacting, standards. What’s acceptable or “natural” for most men isn’t for most women. In addition, Filipino women are often not just subject to double standards, but contradictory double standards. Babae ka, dapat hindi ganyan [You’re a woman, you shouldn’t be like that] on one hand, and babae ka, kaya ka ganyan [you’re a woman, that’s why you’re like that] on the other, sometimes at the same time. It’s 2025 and young women, like Blythe, find themselves still facing some of the same stereotypes their mothers and grandmothers faced, while trying to be inclusive and self-aware.
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Blythe, Andrea Brillantes’s real name, means cheerful, pleasant, and kind: all the things our society in general expects young women to be. And while Andrea/Blythe is all those things, with her bubbly beauty, and gentle voice, she is also more than just a name or a pretty face. She’s a symbol of the expectations and tensions that Filipino women face: girlhood versus maturity, modesty versus ambition, and softness versus power.
Brillantes rose to fame as a child star, but she’s more than that. She’s an award-winning actress and singer; the youngest celebrity CEO in the country; one of the most followed Filipino celebrities on Instagram and TikTok; a breadwinner for more than half of her life; and quite vocal when it comes to calling out casual misogyny online. In short, she is girlie pop, girl boss, and everything in-between.
Yet despite her achievements, she’s been judged constantly throughout her career. She’s been criticized for being too young, too girly, too loud, too sexy, too much, too real. It’s enough to make every woman wonder: Why are there so many rules for how we should speak and act in public? When do we get to be ambitious and successful without judgement? And how do we navigate all these contradictions coming at us non-stop?
FROM CHILD ACTRESS TO ONE OF HER GENERATION’S BIGGEST STARS
Brillantes started in the entertainment industry at the age of seven. She took to acting naturally, showcasing versatility and depth in various film and TV roles. She made us laugh on Goin’ Bulilit and cry in Annaliza. She won her first acting award when she was only ten. She’s been a heroine and villainess, known for her roles in shows such as E-Boy and Kadenang Ginto. She’s also starred in films such as On the Job: The Missing 8. Recently, she played twins in the series Senior High and High Street, and has a new role in FPJ’s Batang Quiapo.
Brillantes is currently one of the most bankable local actresses of her generation. She has worked hard to get to where she is and outside of acting, has proven herself a capable and responsible young woman. She built her dream house at 17 and at 19, launched her own makeup brand, Lucky Beauty.
She has gone through puberty, relationships, and different phases in her life and career all while in the public eye. Growing up in the spotlight meant growing up fast, Brillantes learned. When she started out as a child actress, she was given more freedom, to a certain extent. But as Brillantes has gone from child star to teen queen to young adult, she’s received more advice on how to look and act, and less freedom to just be.
WHAT WE EXPECT OF GIRLS
“I started [in showbiz] at a very, very early age so I was freer to make mistakes back then. Iba yun pananamit ko dati at yun mga roles na natatanggap ko. Ngayon, kailangan kong manamit in a certain way [I dressed differently and the roles I got then were different. Now, I need to dress in a certain way.],” she explains. She’s already 22 years old and her roles are getting more mature, but because she’s petite, she looks younger than her age. She explains that she doesn’t look “mature” without make-up. So, especially on the set, whenever she’s with her older co-stars, she had to change everything—from her voice to even the way she stands.
Even the way she addresses people is scrutinized. She recalls how one time, she said hello to some people in a high-pitched, excited voice and was rebuked by someone who said, “O, iha tumatanda ka na, hindi na pwede yun mga ganyan-ganyan, dapat mature ka na magsalita [Young lady, you’re getting older, you can’t go around like that, you need to speak in a mature way].” She adds that she’s always expected to act sophisticated during interviews and she can’t be too playful with her answers.
But what about young male celebrities? It often seems like boys are allowed to be boys for longer, with their transition to manhood not as forced; they are given more space and encouragement from the public. “Kahit sa set, mayroon mga mas makukulit na lalaki, mas matigas ang ulo, pero hindi sila gaanong napapagalitan. Mas mabilis kami [mga babae] mapuna [Even on set, there are guys who are more mischievous, more stubborn, but they aren’t told off as much. We [girls] are quickly criticized],” she shares.
Sadly, it’s a common thing, this scrutiny of young female celebrities. Think of Natalie Portman and Millie Bobby Brown, former child actresses as well. In a speech, Portman recounted how a radio show in the US started a countdown to her 18th birthday to mark when it would be legal to have sex with her, while Brown has talked about the negative comments she received about her looks from people who couldn’t quite accept that she was growing up. Girls are expected to either stay girls forever, or to be rushed into womanhood. Or both.
Read more of Andrea Brillantes speaking out against industry and society double standards in MEGA’s JULY 2025 issue now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio.
Photographed by JOSH TOLENTINO. Creative deck by CLARE MAGNO and TROY NONATO. Art Direction by JONES PALTENG. Fashion direction and styling by ROKO ARCEO. Sittings editors PEEWEE REYES-ISIDRO and PATRICK TY. Beauty Direction by AGOO AZCUNA-BENGZON assisted by MARA GO. Makeup ROBBIE PIÑERA. Hair JAY WEE. Nails JENNIFER PASCUAL of TRIPLE LUCK NAIL AND BROW SALON. Production Design BRADLEY HAO assisted by LEAHKIM ORSOLINO and JEROME VILLANUEVA. Fashion Assistant ERICA TEROL. Production STEF JUAN and THESSMAR LECTURA. Photographer’s Assistant TATE BERSALES. Special thanks to SHIRLEY KUAN
