Typically, most of the Babaylans and other shamanic groups in the Philippines were female. This highly contradicts the western ideologies that female are only secondary to men when it comes to religion or spiritual functions. But older teachings prove that originally woman were held in higher regard to men when it came to divinity. 

This is related to the ancient belief that women symbolize the Mother Goddess – who represents, or is a personification of nature, motherhood, fertility, creation, destruction or who embodies the bounty of the Earth. Giver and and taker of life, the Mother Goddess was also rooted with lunar worshipping as well due to the perceived connection between the phases of the moon to the menstrual cycle of a female. 

Moreover, women possess features that were once held as special, such as their ability to give life and being able to bleed without dying (pertaining to menstruation) that makes them sacred and closely knit with the divine.

Yet male shamans, such as the asog did also exist. In order for them to be accepted in the craft, they underwent a gender transformation (in a symbolic way) that would have them accepted and viewed by the community as female. Today we would consider them trans-women, but they were much more readily accepted by their community in the ancient past. This could explain why only there are only a few males who venture into the world of shamans today. Gender biases aside, joining the elements of masculine and feminine and other opposing forces (fire and water) in spirituality are important in attaining a harmony for which a shaman must attain first within oneself before they apply to their surroundings.