Final Reflection: The Beauty of the Philippines

The CHID Philippines: Knowledge Construction and Social Action Program was definitely an eye opening experience. To me, it was like finding missing pieces of yourself that you never really knew was missing in the first place. In learning about American colonialism in the Philippines, I felt a combination of mixed emotions as a person of Filipino decent as well as a citizen of America. It was initially me coming back to a familiar place, realizing how unaware I was to my own cultural heritage/history, and finally leaving with greater perspective and sense of pride that I did not have before coming to the Philippines. 

The readings, class lectures, and field trips allowed me to hear the Filipino perspective not provided to me prior to college. I learned about the deception of America and the ways they sought to colonize the Philippines for their own benefit. After the Philippines had fought hard to gain independence from Spain (their colonizer for over 300 years), America secretly set up a staged battle with Spain to occupy and eventually buy the Philippines from Spain for 20 million dollars (Andresen, 2012, p. 73). In order to justify their actions, the U.S. deemed the Philippine’s republic unfit for self-government and reinforced themselves as friendly allies to the Filipinos through the Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation. The Filipinos fought back in the Philippine-American War, but eventually the U.S. took full control of the archipelago and would implement their education policies that would be a powerful force in shaping the way Filipinos viewed themselves (Illeto, 1998, p. 4).

The Philippine-American War was labeled in text books as “the splendid little war” and had little to no acknowledgment of the many deaths and torture tactics by the Americans. America was constantly framed as the Philippine’s savior from Spain and their solution to becoming civilized people, which perpetuated a colonial mentality (Ileto, 1998, p.14). Colonial mentality is defined as an internalized oppression in which there is an “automatic and uncritical rejection of anything Filipino and an automatic and uncritical preference for anything American” (David and Okazaki, 2006, p. 241). Today we still see the imprint of America in the Filipino culture, which has resulted in damaging consequences for the Philippine society.       
There are many social and economic problems affecting the Philippines that was mentioned in our readings and further explained in our lectures/field trips(i.e. poverty, displacement, loss of indigenous culture, racial discrimination, abuse of Overseas Filipino Workers, destruction from natural disasters, and more). Many of these problems result from the legacy of Spanish and American colonization and continue to exist because of the colonial mentality instilled into Filipino citizens through education. Filipinos are taught to favor/rely on America instead of having Philippine nationalist values. Constantino (1982) says, “When some of our more intellectually emancipated countrymen spearhead moves for nationalism, for nationalism of this or that endeavor, do the majority of Filipinos support such moves? No, there is apathy because there is no nationalism in our hearts which will spur us to protect and help our own countrymen first” (Constantino, 1982, p. 185). These social issues and lack of confidence in the Philippines allows the country to remain in its third world status, but also affects Filipino's and Filipino American's psychological well-being.

By seeing and learning about the many societal problems in the Philippines and how it connects to colonial mentality, I began to realize that these problems are also my problems. I am fortunate in that I do not have to face the many hardships that some of the Philippine population may face every day, but what I have learned is that these problems have the potential to hinder all Filipinos, regardless of class, religion, language, gender, or nationality. Filipinos are all products of colonial mentality at some level and have been faced with manifestations of colonial mentality. For example, even the psychological well-being of Filipino Americans are affected by Colonial Mentality(CM), which aid in perpetuating many of these social/economic problems in the Philippines. A study by David and Okazaki (2006) found that “CM is passed on to later generations though socialization and continued oppression and that it negatively affects the mental health of modern day Filipino Americans” (David and Okazaki, 2006, p. 241). To help solve these problems, the Filipino citizens need pride in themselves and their country so more people can work together to properly address these issues realistically. As a Filipino American and a person of color, I believe we need to understand that these are our problems too and we need to educate ourselves so that we can also empower and support the Philippines. Throughout the program, I was inspired by many people who advocate resistance from colonial influence and those who helps uplift the Philippines as a whole.

An aspect of Filipino culture that this study abroad program exposed me to was the work of local artists in forms of paintings, films, clothing, dance, and music. I found all these arts to function as pieces of educational work as well as showcasing Filipino pride. Local street art and music was also a way to give voice to the voiceless and express political messages important to the people. The indigenous art was a way to break the stereotype that Filipinos were “uncivilized” and celebrated the indigenous culture prior to the colonial powers that occupied the Philippines. My favorite artistic symbol, used in Kidlat Tahimik’s Mababangong Bangungot, was the jeepney. The jeepneys were originally military vehicles of the United States, but today have been transformed into colorful reflections of Philippine culture and have become a part of the Filipino way of life (Tahimik, 1977). Whenever I see a jeepney now, I recognize that it was a tool in American colonialism, but I am proud that Filipinos have taken these vehicles of the past to benefit the Filipino people through a means of transportation. Jeepneys to me are an artistic form of resistance and empowerment.

Lastly, our final project was a way to connect all we have learned and to do further research on a topic that interests us in accordance to our program. My group consisted of Lalaine, Mary Jane, Ben, Catalina, and myself. The prevalence of Skin Whitening Advertisements and Products emphasized in the Filipino culture led our group to investigate more on the Skin Whitening phenomenon and perceptions of beauty in the Philippines. No conflict arose as we decided to split up the work according to our individual strengths. Catalina, Lalaine, and I conducted interviews, Mary Jane and Ben focused on the research on Skin Whitening, and we all contributed in incorporating/connecting key points from our readings to our final presentation. Discussion within our group was really important in our success. We talked about the phenomenon of Skin Whitening, sharing our own perspectives, and interpretations and connections to our readings.

We decided to conduct interviews to hear the different perspectives on Skin Whitening and perceptions of beauty. We interviewed with two University educated students (Lance Valenzuela, a student at Philippine Women’s University and Lawrence Joy Dela Fuente, an alumni of the University of the Philippines Diliman) as well as a variety of people in public venues such as the mall, groceries, and coffee shops. Our group decided to title the project “White Out” because in looking at billboards and TV commercials, we saw a common emphasis of lighter skin and European features. There is little to no representation of how majority of the Filipino population looks like, such as having darker skin. After gathering all our research and interview material, we created our thesis for our project: “Skin Whitening is a physical manifestation of American occupation of the Philippines and colonial mentality. It is one of the top selling markets in the Philippines, but many Filipinos are unaware of the harmful health effects. Though many are unaware, there still exists Filipinos that advocate for self-love and national pride.” In our presentation we featured our video with our interviews as well as real Skin Whitening commercials in the Philippines.

What I learned in doing this project is that Skin Whitening is not just a phenomenon in the Philippines, but very common for people of color around the world. In learning about colonialism, we are given the historical context of the prevalence of Skin Whitening. Ontal (2002) says, “The hierarchy of color, introduced during the Spaniards' reign, was institutionalized under the Americans" (Ontal, 2002, p. 130). Ontal's (2002) reading also makes comparisons to the experience of African Americans and Filipinos to show that people of color share in common the struggle of racial discrimination and mistreatment from America. Skin Whitening continues to be a top industry in the Philippines because of education policies that teach students to favor a Eurocentric perspective, in which light skin is associated to being more civilized and of higher status (Andresen, 2012, p. 77). In our interviews, we see this favoring of white skin in people's perceptions of beauty. 

Skin Whitening is also an example of an industry that benefits America more than Filipinos. Even though the Skin Whitening industry creates jobs for Filipinos, it also comes at the cost of distorting the Filipino perception of beauty and potentially causing health risks. We learned that a main health concern in Skin Whitening products is the “hidden mercury content, and thus mercury poisoning, depending on individual susceptibility” (Mendoza, 2014, p. 220). As most of these Skin Whitening companies are American owned (i.e. Palmolive, Vaseline, Olay, and Dove), America is able to obtain the monetary benefits and maintain their power while potentially putting Filipinos and other people of color at risk. We also found that advertising commonly guarantees no harmful effects and that many consumers do not double-check to see if the ingredients are hazardous (Mendoza, 2014, p. 236).  

Something that I observed in our interviews was that those who are considered to be more educated had a better understanding of the connection between Skin Whitening and the history of Spanish and American colonialization. Additionally, their perceptions of beauty resisted the stereotypical beauty standards that Skin Whitening advertisements promoted. According to our research, those who are more educated are less likely to use skin whitening products (Mendoza, 2014, p. 228). Our interviews with those that had been exposed to a transformative education (education that challenges mainstream academic knowledge and teaches people about their own ethnic history) reinforced the claim of the benefits that transformative education produce in students. These benefits include creating non-Eurocentric perspective, increase self-esteem, respect for diverse cultures, and decrease of deficit thinking (Andresen, 2012, p. 82). As more Filipinos are educated in the Filipino perspective of history, this increases chances for Filipinos gaining a better pride in their country and greater esteem in themselves. This empowerment of the Filipino people is an essential first step in helping the Philippines from corruption and raising awareness to all that the Philippines contributes to the world. 

Overall, I think the most that changed in my thinking is my perception of education. I learned how the implementation of the American education system was an intentional plan, tool, and weapon to colonize and Americanize the Philippines. I still believe education is very important in spreading knowledge, but it is also important to be critical in reading any type of medium whether it be a text, movie, or a piece of art. One should not absorb and believe that anything and everything is the absolute truth at first glance. One must question/find out the context of the message and background information of the artists, authors, or producers of the content.

I have been to the Philippines before this study abroad, but I have always felt disconnected and out of place whenever I visited the country that is supposed to be my homeland. But after this trip, I can honestly say I feel more connected to the Philippines than ever before. This trip was important to me because learning about the history of the Philippines felt essential to grasping my own identity. Identity is defined as having a “capacity for self-reflection and the awareness of self” (Andresen, 2012, p. 67). Through hearing the perspective of both my classmates and the Filipino citizens we met along the way, I was able to gain a better understanding of who I am and my place in the world. I was able to de-construct my miseducation and become aware to the privilege I have as a Filipino American. I would like to thank Dr. Third Andresen, Leah Panganiban, and advisers for giving me this opportunity to see so places I’ve never been to, to hear different perspectives from a spectrum of people, to see the beauty of the Filipino culture, and to gain a greater awareness of myself.

Works Cited

Andresen, T. (2012). Knowledge construction, transformative academic knowledge, and Filipino

            American identity and experience, In E. Bonus, E. & D. Maramba, (Eds.) The “other”

students: Filipino Americans, education, and power. Charlotte, NC: IAP.

Constantino, R.  (1982). Miseducation of Filipinos. In I In A.V. Shaw & L.H Francia,

      Vestiges of war. (pp.  177-192). New York:  New York Press.

David, E.J.R., & Okazaki, S. (2006). The Colonial Mentality Scale (CMS) for Filipino

Americans: Scale construction and psychological implications: A review and recommendation. Journal of Counseling Psychology 53 (1), pp. 1–16.

Ileto, R.C. (1998). The Philippine-American War, Friendship and Forgetting. In Shaw,

A.V. & Francia, L.H. Vestiges of war. (pp. 3-21). New York: New York Press.

Mendoza, Roger Lee. “The Skin Whitening Industry in the Philippines.” Journal of Public
Health Policy (2013): 219-38. PubMed. Web. 19 June 2014. 

Ontal, R.G., (2002). Fagen and other ghosts: African-Americans and the Philippine-

            American war. In A.V. Shaw & L.H Francia, Vestiges of war. (pp. 118-133). New

York: New York Press.

Tahimik, Kidlat (1977) “Mababangong Bangungot” (film).