On day 1 of this study, or may I say a simple observation of what is, I viewed a personal account on the good sales of whitening products in the country. As friends and loved ones have pointed out on the sameness of 'darks' and 'whites' in different countries, that the whites want to be dark and the darker skinned in other Asian countries want to be white, my study, or rather my exploration will be solely on the reasons of the Pinoys.
I was thinking of interviewing a few ladies on this issue, or may I just say, a choice, but then I've come to realize that maybe I've got enough information on this since I have spoken to quite a few before, and besides, I'm brown myself. Now, one thing great about us Filipinos is our sense of humor. Although a Libyan friend of mine said once that Filipinos are racists. "Really?" I asked her. I did a self check after that, but that's another story. Anyway, friends from college called me Ms. Jones, the daughter of Grace, and I thought it was really cool. For those who do not know Grace Jones, she was a Jamaican-American singer in the '80s. I think things for me were not as rough if compared to what others had to go through since I was, and still am, surrounded by big time alaskador friends. And as an alaskador rule, you don't insult, you just tease--more on the Pinoy alaskador next time. I was called Ms. Jones because of my color, so it became my second name. I was so fond of it that I found myself inventing a story and telling my friends in the mountaineer group I joined that I was really half-black. 'Talaga!' they would say, amazed. "Yes!" I would answer, "So you may now call me, 'Carla Jones Escobar."
But the hard part about a made-up tale are the questions:
Friend : "Paano ka naging half black?"
Me : "Ahh...yung nanay ko black?"
Friend : "Saan nagkakilala nanay at tatay mo?"
Me : "Uuh...sa Queens."
Friend : "Aaah..."
It's a good thing I still remember my answers, just in case I bump into them someday. But sometimes the comments or the remarks are really not that funny. There are those who are quite harsh with people who are dark. Another sad thing is that there are foreigners here in the Philippines who have the gall to stay here and look down on, not really brown skin,but the Filipino. I remember this one instance when I went to the RCBC building to watch a Spanish guitar concert. It was Spanish month, and every year I look forward to this month since the shows are always great and the activities are fun too. But one thing I don't like about it are a few, of course only a few, at least I'm hoping they are only a few, Spanish people in the audience who would give attitude, those who feel they could live in our country and be snooty at the same time. After the concert, a lady came up to me and spoke Spanish, "...Espanol?" I didn't understand a word she said, but in the end of her remark she said 'Espanol'. So I said, "I'm sorry ma'am, I don't understand you. I'm Fili..." she gives out a grunt and leaves before I can finish. I wanted to chase after her and say my piece. I wanted to say, "Excuse me, you are in the Philippines therefore you are my guest and this is my home. If you don't know how to respect us Filipinos, I suggest you leave my country, the sooner, the better." I hated myself for being too surprised with the old lady that I didn't say anything. I ended up giving a nice Spanish lady, who gave me a pleasant smile, a look that sort of said, "I don't want you here." Tsk, tsk, I should have told the old lady off so the nice one was spared. More than the brown skin, I believe it is the identity that those who use whitening products are trying to hide sometimes. I cannot say all of them have the same reason, but maybe it is safe to say that there are those who do have this as a reason. It is still the colonial mentality working on us.
So I conclude that to favor whiter skin for a Filipino is not like tanning in the US, where the person wears his or her tan like a piece of clothing. Its purpose lies more on vanity. Tanning is to simply be different from their usual look, at least for a few days, or weeks. But the Filipino's preference for whiter skin somewhat comes from a wounded history. It goes back to a memory of the white supremacy ruling over our people. Our color represents our struggles, our fight for justice, and Braveheart's call: Freedom--freedom from oppression, freedom from violation of our rights. But even with the battle our forefathers fought, an identity scarred with time is still like a fresh wound we need to heal. Maybe we prefer white in order for us to band-aid the bruises that came with the battle. Maybe we prefer white to disassociate us from the inferior status the colonizers brainwashed us with. Maybe we prefer white because up to this day there are those who think, or maybe they are not thinking at all, they can bully us in our own country.
I am hoping that someday the battle will be over, that we shall embrace our color and race with pride and dignity. Although if we compare then and now, there are big differences that had happened. If we go back to the '80s, the brands bought then were mostly imported. But nowadays there are many who do wear and buy local brands with pride. I love the Filipino flag shirts and jackets, and I know many do too. Loving our identity and our race does not mean we think we are greater than others. It just means we know we are great, and everyone is great with us.
A unity of colors, identities and races means the coming of the rainbow.
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