Colonial Mentality

The colonial mentality that Filipinos have today was instilled by the Spaniard and American colonizers centuries ago. Both colonizers were light skinned and brought upon the belief that they were superior to the Filipinos. They discriminated against Filipino’s physical attributes and way of thinking by negatively labeling them as uncivilized and dark skinned savages. They used education systems and religious practices to transform Filipino culture and identity.  The damaging colonial mindset that our ancestors had to endure centuries ago continues to affect the Filipinos today. In the article Pappy’s House by Diaz he says, “For Spain, colonial regulation of money, gender, race, sexuality, language and identity took place within, among other institutions and practices. Spaniards produced the idea that they were white parents to indios figured as dark children, or pequenos ninos, or their Anglo-American cousins, the picaninnies, in need of proper guidance and upbringing.” Diaz also explains, “When the United States beat Spain and snatched Cuba and Puerto Rico over there, and Filipinas and the Marianas over here, American publications would run cartoons that consistently depicted their peoples--us!--as little black children, as picaninnies.” Having two light skinned colonizers reinforced the negative distinctions made on the Filipinos and have caused them to become mentally unstable. When I attended my first Filipino American Students Association (FASA) Conference, I learned that Filipinos wanted to be light skinned because they wanted to portray themselves as being a part of the upper class that stayed indoors. Filipinos did not want to be brown skinned because they did not want to be labeled as being a part of the lower class that were poor and worked outside in hard labor. After reading articles about Philippine colonization, the early beginnings of colonial mentality and separation of classes had taken place during the Spanish colonization when full blooded Spaniards and mestizos were portrayed as upper-class, white skinned, and well-educated. Whiteness was always associated with superiority and the colonizer. The images of Jesus Christ and saints having white skin, pointed noses, and blue eyes have also penetrated in the minds of the Filipinos. Filipinos developed a colonial mentality that is aligned to internalized oppression and feel the need to change physical attributes to fit the “white image”.

In the article The Colonial Mentality Scale for Filipino Americans: Scale Construction and Psychological Implications, David and Okazaki have found evidence through research that colonial mentality is passed on to later generations through socialization and continued oppression which negatively affects the mental health of modern day Filipino Americans. They said, “Colonial mentality is an individual-differences variable and a multifaceted construct that may be manifested in a variety of ways, including the following: denigration of the Filipino self, denigration of the Filipino culture and body, discriminating against less-Americanized Filipinos and tolerating historical and contemporary oppression of Filipinos and Filipino Americans.” During my stay here I have come to witness denigration of the Filipino body. Colonial mentality is the reason why many Filipinos have low self-esteem and have issues with their physical appearance. When I was flipping through a magazine on my flight to Boracay, I saw an ad for a nose lift. The model on the ad had white skin and a pointed nose. It was the first time I saw a surgical ad in an airline magazine. The U.S. airline magazines only have ads on hotels, restaurants, spas, malls, and products that are not related to surgery. I also noticed that that the company was owned by Korean. Getting eye-lid surgery and nose lifts are common and “normal” in Korea today. Koreans also have the same mentality that having big eyes and a pointed nose is beautiful.

                  (Goretex Noselift at Shimmian Manila Surgicenter)

          On my way back to Manila, I could not help but notice the airport advertisements for living spaces. Both models had white skin and pointed noses. In fact all the models in the advertisements had white skin. The fine print said, “Live like a star at Princeton”, “Live the high life”, and “Live in luxury”. These advertisements produce misconceptions that portray beautiful “white skinned” Filipinos are the only ones who can afford to live like a star and live in luxury. This is an example of class segregation and discrimination. Why can’t beautiful brown skinned Filipinos be plastered on advertisements that are associated with the high life?

                                         (Manila airport ad)

                                          (Manila airport ad)

I have seen advertisements of whitening products on the walls of MRT stations, inside shopping malls, and grocery stores. Through observation, I have seen skin whitening soap, tablets, cream, spray, and services that include injections and facial or body scrub. I was surprised when I saw whitening products for men when I was in front of a checkout stand at a grocery store in Cebu. The thought of Filipino men using whitening products never entered my mind. I did not think men would be conscious about their skin color and take the time to apply whitening products on a daily basis.

                          (Men whitening face wash by Vaseline)

When I was at The Terraces shopping mall in Cebu I was curious to see the different whitening products in the beauty store called Watsons. I was shocked to see rows of whitening products from companies I was familiar with in the United States. There was Neutrogena, Olay, Nivea, Garnier, Loreal etc. I also could not believe I saw whitening products from Korea.  I asked myself, “Why do Koreans sell and use whitening products when they are already light skinned?” After thinking about it, Koreans have yellow skin tones not “white”. I had the urge to ask a lady who was working there, “Why do Filipinos wear whitening products?” She looked at me as if I already knew the answer. I honestly did not know the answer. She replied, “Having white skin is beautiful.” Then I asked, “Why is having white skin beautiful?” She said, “Filipino men like girls with white skin.” I could not believe what I had heard. She is one of the many who has the colonial mentality that white is superior. If I had brown skin I would be thankful and appreciative. In my opinion, having brown skin is beautiful and Filipinos should embrace their physical attributes. There are many side effects of using whitening products. Some creams include mercury that could lead to liver damage and kidney failure. Using whitening creams that have a lot of hydroquinone causes skin irritation, burning sensation, and skin sensitivity to the sun. 

I also remember having a conversation with the UW study abroad program director’s family members about how companies only hire women of ages 18-25 with light skin and long hair. One of the family members explained that she had walked into the bank and every bank teller looked the same. They each had fair skin and long straight hair. The companies portray this “white” image everywhere. In every shopping I have gone to, the women wear whitening products. It is clearly visible when their neck is brown and their face is white. After being told that there is a certain criteria that needs to be met in order to be hired, I assumed that the people working at the malls needed to purchase whitening products to obtain a job and to socially portray the so called “beautiful white image”.(clothing store in SM north edsa)

          Before coming to the Philippines, my Filipino American auntie made a request to buy her 10 Kokuryu whitening compact powder cases at SM shopping mall. When I asked her why she wears whitening products she confidently said, “White is my skin color.” This clearly was not true because I was able to see that her neck was brown and her face was white. Filipinos like my auntie are in denial and do not realize they are being affected by colonial mentality.

It does not help when media plays a large role in selling the “white skin is beautiful” image to everyone.  The models and movie stars are all light skinned and have pointed noses. They are on Filipino television networks, movies, magazines, large billboards on shopping malls and buildings. I have not seen one famous person on Filipino television or a billboard that was not light skinned.

                                      (clothing store in SM north edsa)

                                             (SM grocery store)

Filipinos need to re-educate themselves about their roots, upbringing, values and beliefs to break away from colonial mentality. Filipinos are subconsciously unaware of internal oppression and do not understand what media is portraying. The media is infecting the minds of the Filipinos and making them believe “White = Beautiful”. The large corporations and advertisement companies make up 1% of the ruling class. In the article, Hip-Hop and Critical Revolutionary Pedagogy Gramsci believed the considerable task of instilling conviction among the proletariat that they are the creators of history would not be possible without a strong understanding of what emerged from a collective past. If Filipinos knew and truly understood the damaging influences behind the Spaniard and American colonization, they would embrace the beauty of having brown skin all throughout the media. Gramsci also believes intellectuals who are committed to the mass, are essential figures in countering a naturalized view of class-based society as they can assist organizationally, politically, and culturally in the tasks of transforming the world. Members of the Filipino community such as Blue Scholars, Anakbayan, and other Filipino student organizations verbally inform Filipinos about their history, express the issues of Philippine society and help strengthen them to take part in transforming society one step at a time. Developing critical consciousness and the movement of collective actions of people will help Filipinos break free from colonial mentality and make changes to better the community.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

Should whitening products be banned in the Philippines to overcome colonial mentality??