Plantita

Abstract

Isang nausong neolohismo ang “plantita” ngayong 2020 sa gitna ng COVID-19 quarantine. Pinaghalong “plant” at “tita” ang terminong “plantita” na ginagamit bilang pantukoy sa mga babae, na namumuhunan ng oras, tiyaga, at pera sa pangongolekta at pangangalaga ng mga halaman. Nakababawas ng stress at pinagtitibay raw nito ang pagkamakakalikasan. Subalit, lalong nakasisira ang kulturang ito sa biodibersidad, lalo na sa natural na paglaganap ng mga halaman. Sa patuloy na pagtaas ng demand, pinagtuonan ng pansin ng mga nagbebenta ng halaman ang plant poaching bilang paraan upang kumita nang mabilisan sa gitna ng economic recession na dulot ng pandemya. Dahil dito, nanganganib ang mga ecosystem at mga halamang bihira nang makita. Kasabay nito, nagtaas na rin ng presyo ang mga supplier at mga negosyante, at nagreresulta ito sa pagiging eksklusibo ng mga halaman sa mayayaman at maykaya. Ang paggamit naman ng mga artista at influencer sa social media upang ibida ang kanilang mga mamahalin at hindi pangkaraniwang mga halaman marahil ang lalong nag-udyok sa karamihan na maging interesado sa kultura ng paghahalaman dahil sa pagiging status symbol nito. Karaniwang ginagamit ang katawagang “plantita” bilang simbolo ng pag-angat sa herarkiya ng lipunan. Binibigyang-diin nito ang lumalaking agwat sa pagitan ng mayayaman at mahihirap. Mas lalo nitong inihihiwalay ang mga taong may kakayahang maglaan ng malalaking halaga ng salapi upang magkaroon at mag-alaga ng mga mamahaling halaman na ipinapalamuti lamang sa loob ng kanilang mga tahanan, pati na rin sa kanilang mga social media, sa mga miyembro ng lipunan na mas pinipiling pagkakitaan na lamang itong trend na ito, at ilaan ang kanilang kita para sa mga pangunahing pangangailangan.

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Keywords

plantita, plant poaching, halaman, houseplants, quarantine, pandemya, antas sa lipunan

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Title (English)

Plantita

Abstract (English)

The neologism “plantita” trended this year 2020 in the middle of the COVID-19 quarantine. “Plantita” is a portmanteau of the words “plant” and “tita” used to refer to people, mostly women, who invest time, effort, and money in collecting and caring for plants. The hobby is used to ease stress and supposedly promote environmentalism. However, the plantita culture has ironically become detrimental to biodiversity in ecosystems, especially to the natural occurrence of these plants. As the demand no longer meets the supply, sellers have turned to plant poaching as a means to earn easy profit in the middle of the pandemic-driven economic recession, putting ecosystems at risk and contributing to the endangerment of many marketed plant species. Along with this, plant suppliers and businesses are also seizing the opportunity to mark their prices up, making plants even more exclusive to the middle- and upper-classes. This glamorized version of gardening was further fueled by celebrities and social media influencers as they used their social media accounts to show their vast and expensive collection of flora. This act encouraged large audiences to develop interest for plants as well with the promise of the plantita lifestyle being a social status symbol. “Plantita,” as a label, is mostly used as a titular decoration. It highlights the widening gap between the social classes, separating those capable of investing huge amounts of resources into the care for expensive, rare plants to be exhibited in their houses and even social media accounts during a pandemic, from the poor who would rather find ways to make a living out of the trend and designate their earnings for basic necessities instead.

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Keywords (English)

plantita, plant poaching, plants, houseplants, quarantine, pandemic, social class