Racism in the Philippines

Actually, this is not racism in its purest form. Filipinos are not so much discriminating on the basis of race as much as mere skin tone. Philippine society is very much segregated by skin color. The paler your skin the greater the level of success is available to you. Likewise, dark skin is a fast ticket to the bottom. Most of the dominant families in politics are pale skinned.

Historically, this traces back to the Spanish occupation. The wealthiest, most powerful Spaniards who came to the islands were pale skinned. During their time in control of the archipelago, they vigorously spread their genes among the brown skinned natives. The lighter offspring of these pairings received higher social status and even became eligible. Soon, an even paler generation of native Filipinos emerged. These were born to privilege and lived in the big hacienda bearing the name of legitimacy, their father’s name.

The brief decades of American governance did little to change these patterns as America was equally segregated by skin color. Filipinos adjusted to some degree as the Civil Rights Movement eventually lead to a degree of equality for Blacks in America. The Viet Nam War brought large independent, strong Black men to the islands.

This brings us to modern Filipino society. It remains very conscious of color, promoting the lighter skin above all. Virtually every product in the country contains skin-whitening ingredients. Women walk around on sunny days huddled under an umbrella afraid to tan. They go to the beach in long pants and shirts for the same reason. This also explains the fact that natives of tropical islands do not usually know how to swim.

                                                                                                                                                                           Yes, the Philippines has racism. However, they will never solve the problem until they first acknowledge the problem. Unfortunately, one of the traits of Spanish Catholic cultures is to deny any faults and to become angry and defensive if somebody points them out. That is the biggest difference between American and Filipino cultures. We face our faults and act to eliminate them.