DISCUSSION FRACTURED FILIPINO IDENTITY

by Niña Mae C. Oliverio

Illustration by: Karina Adel A. Vestil

“I want to have a light skin tone so I can be prettier.”

“I prefer to buy products from that country because they’re more durable and high in quality.”

These are some lines you might read on the internet or hear from the people around you. This inclination to value other countries’ cultures over one’s country is called xenocentrism.

Jasmine Montemayor (2015) from the University of the Philippines Los Baños defines xenocentrism as “the acknowledgement and patronization of a person in any foreign feature,” which can be seen in clothing, delicacies, movies, and “can also be patronization of foreign characteristics and traits.”

Xenocentrism is rampant among us Filipinos, because we are very active when it comes to supporting other countries in terms of products, music, tradition, physical appearance, and the like.

Beauty Standards

The Philippines is a woven country, having been colonized multiple times. Hence, there is no wonder that the Filipino culture is a mixture of different cultures which becomes evident in the Philippine dialects, traditions, and sometimes, physical appearances.

The skin color of most Filipinos is in the shade of brown, especially those who are of full-descent. There are also Filipinos who have a white complexion. Their skin color is sometimes assumed as people who are of Chinese descent. However, the desire to become whiter has become extensive through the years.

Preferring “white beauty” may be traced from the Spanish colonizers who linked Filipinos with dark skin to the lower class while those with light skin are in the upper class (Madarang, 2018). Consequently, the idea of dark-skinned individuals being inferior to light-skinned people surfaced—this has been one of the prime concerns that the status quo is facing. Some Filipinos with a dark complexion would want to achieve a light skin so they could feel more confident than they ever were.

In an article from CBC News in 2021, Madeahl Yamyamin, a Canada-based Filipino, said that she felt “satisfied” and “confident” if her skin was lighter, especially since she was raised in a Filipino culture. Hence, she received skin-lightening treatment every week.

Meanwhile, there are people who may be forced to achieve a lighter skin because of the pressure from their surroundings; sometimes, from being bullied.

In a 2021 Inquirer article by Czareenah Dagasdas, she shared her experience in Canada as well. Their family was processing some papers and got interviewed by an employee in a government agency. She said the government employee asked her, “Why are you so dark?”

“That was the first time I was made to answer a question about my skin color. It felt like I had committed a crime,” Dagasdas wrote.

To note, she is a full-blooded Filipino with a natural “dark skin tone.”

She tried using a skin-lightening soap; eventually, she achieved a fairer skin, but she was still in “disbelief” since it was still not enough for her peers. “In my peers’ eyes, if you were born dark, you were pretty much a second-class citizen, and nothing could change that,” she said.

It is sad to learn that we have become so squeezed with the thought that having a whiter and fairer skin makes someone prettier. Achieving that kind of skin is good for those who want to enhance their beauty. However, lightening one’s skin in order to put an end to the bullying they receive from their peers is a different story.

Products and Infrastructures

Based on Montemayor’s study in 2015 (Legitimacy of Philippine Sovereignty), there have been quite a number of xenocentric practices that the Filipinos do, especially on products and infrastructures.

For instance, in 2013, the store Kultura Filipino, which supposedly sells Philippine-made products, had “exhibited Santa Claus and other Western items,” as per the blog by Harner (2013).

In terms of infrastructure, based on observation, people often prefer other countries’ designs on buildings, houses, and other facilities. For example, when building a house, other people would choose the American-style house. When it comes to parks, other local governments would choose to have a Singapore-like output.

Fractured Identity

As a country that has been influenced by foreign countries: Spain, Japan, China, and America, exercising non-Filipino practices is not new. It has become a part of the culture, however, people must not forget that the Philippines has always had its unique traditions, practices, and cultures.

As time revolves, Philippine culture also evolves. Filipinos adapt to new norms that are far from conventional.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to have lighter skin, if that can make one happy or if it is the only way for someone to feel confident about their appearance. But, if the desire for a lighter skin is due to society’s pressure, people are making someone neglect their natural beauty—even worse, their identity.

One should remember that the medium to deep skin color (morena/moreno) shines differently. People of all colors must be celebrated.

If we have nothing good to say regarding someone’s appearance, we better keep our comments to ourselves. No one deserves to question their looks just because it does not meet society’s standards.

There is also nothing wrong with idolizing how foreign countries design and construct their systems and facilities because the Philippines always adapts.

In hindsight, we should not forget our roots as Filipinos. We must evaluate our choices. Too much preference for other cultures’ things and practices can mean that we are rejecting what our country can offer.

Even if we do not have a monolithic identity of what a Filipino is, we must go back to the values that we hold dear—that is, family. At least, there is still something that holds us together, and it does not have to be a ssmonolith identity.