I’m a new subscriber and this is the first article I read and I knew this is the place I needed to be. Thank you for writing this. I visited the Philippines from California in 2010 with my mom and I hadn’t been there since the early 90s when I was very young. I was saddened by the skin whitening ads everywhere. At that point in my life I had done a lot of work in loving my brown skin and it was such a sad feeling witnessing that sort of beauty standard there.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there is definitely something nuanced about beauty in the Philippines, especially after centuries of colonization.
Thank you for reading and I'm glad you resonated with this piece!
Salamat for writing about these facts! It’s disheartening for me when I visit the PI and people constantly tell me I don’t look Filipino, even tho both of my parents are. I’ve gotten comments about my “pointy” nose my whole life and people ask me where I got it (my answer is always my ancestors). However, I do have faith in our younger generations who want to embrace our brownness, despite the deeeep colonial structures that plague our people.
I’m a new subscriber and this is the first article I read and I knew this is the place I needed to be. Thank you for writing this. I visited the Philippines from California in 2010 with my mom and I hadn’t been there since the early 90s when I was very young. I was saddened by the skin whitening ads everywhere. At that point in my life I had done a lot of work in loving my brown skin and it was such a sad feeling witnessing that sort of beauty standard there.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there is definitely something nuanced about beauty in the Philippines, especially after centuries of colonization.
Thank you for reading and I'm glad you resonated with this piece!
Salamat for writing about these facts! It’s disheartening for me when I visit the PI and people constantly tell me I don’t look Filipino, even tho both of my parents are. I’ve gotten comments about my “pointy” nose my whole life and people ask me where I got it (my answer is always my ancestors). However, I do have faith in our younger generations who want to embrace our brownness, despite the deeeep colonial structures that plague our people.
Thank you for your comment and sharing your experience! <3 Glad you enjoyed reading and that this piece resonates with you