By: Ramelyn R. Seguerra
Published: June 30, 2023
Growing up in a Filipino household, when you open the television, the first thing you see is the artistas. The actors and actresses who portray the characters in a show. The people you will usually see on TV are mestizas and mestizos or those with fair skin, who are usually bi-racial. They always look so elegant and flawless with their pretty smiles, long straight hair, pointy nose, and speaking English with a different accent. They are called beautiful and are considered the 'beauty standard' in my country.
As a young girl, it would confuse me that the people I see on-screen do not look like me, although we live in the same country. 'Aren't Filipinos usually tan, have flat noses, and speak Filipino?' I would think to myself. I encountered a handful of girls my age, who also have the same features as the actresses on TV, and everyone knows and agrees that they are beautiful. This would awaken an insecurity in me, that I didn't even know I had, because seeing the actresses on TV is like a dream, that is far from real life, but seeing girls who are actually the beauty standards right in front of me, and being a girl who doesn't fit said standard, what does that say about me? 'Am I not pretty like them?' A young and naive version of me would think The fact that Filipinos from Visayas always portray 'poor' characters did not help at all. It felt like a personal attack on my people.
With a beauty standard far from what most Filipinos look like, they would try to change themselves. They would use whitening products to achieve fair skin and would straighten their hair to look like the girls on TV. I do not blame them for trying to fit in with others, nor do I blame the actresses on TV, because a lot of them have genuine talent, and it is not anybody's fault that they are born with the looks that they have. It is society's standard that I blame. How for years, it has always been like this. Most likely rooted in the colonialism of Spain, where since then, you are considered beautiful if you are a mestiza or you are mixed with Spanish blood. Since the Spaniards are the highest and the richest class during their colonialism. Even now, if you ask Filipinos who the symbol is for being a Filipina, they would say Maria Clara, a character from Jose Rizal's novel who is mixed with foreign blood. Perhaps it is because of this mentality that led to stereotyping Filipino's social classes based on their skin colors. Growing up, I often hear the term 'kutis mayaman' when I hear the grown ups talking about other people. This term, when translated literally means 'complexion of the rich', and what does the complexion of the rich looks like? Of course, it would mean a light skin tone and a smooth complexion. But where does that leave the rest of us? Those who do not have the fair skin that the society love so much, nor the perfect complexion with our scars and wounds- which to me is so beautiful. It tells us stories. Each scar, each imperfection is a narrative of a part of a person's life. It tells us that they have experienced life, and they have lived it. Unfortunately, society's beauty standards do not share the same perspective with me.
You cannot blame a particular individual for colorism in the Philippines. It is years after years of oppression that built up to it. Thankfully, the media is now gradually getting more progressive, and features Filipinos who look like most Filipinos. Nadine Lustre has been an icon for morenas, making them feel more comfortable and confident in their own skin. We are even competing globally with Vogue Philippines featuring Apo Whang-Od, a 106-year-old indigenous tattoo artist. And Dolly De Leon is one of the main characters in the Academy Award-nominated film 'Triangle of Sadness'.
Seeing people who look like me on different types of media, is a relief to think that the next generation would not be as saturated with toxic beauty standards as I was. It is not entirely abolished yet, but it is a start to improving and helping the next generation feel and accept who they truly are without the need to change anything about how they look.
References:
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https://www.google.com/url?sa-t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/ viewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1044%26context%3Dauctus&ved=2ahUKEwiN5r2R50P_AhX
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