Filipino beauty ideal: Be as white as you can be
I’ve been holding off on writing this entry for a while because I wanted to take pics of as many different skin whitening products while in the Philippines but alas, I couldn’t. I was able to sneak some but dammit, each time I tried to take pics when I would go to LCC, Robinsons or an SM, there was always some employees constantly restocking the shelves.
Anyhow, on with the blog post!
In the Philippines (and I stress IN), the ideal filipino beauty is to be fair-skinned. I’m not kidding you. In a land where everyone is born with a permanent tan, these people want to be white. Why? It all dates back to the Spanish rule. Back then, filipinos wanted to emulate their masters as the spanish culture melded with filipino culture (or what was left of it since the Spanish tried to destroy some of it). The lighter skinned spanish beauties were looked up as the ideal beauties of the day. When a spaniard married a filipino, they produced a “mestizo”, a lighter skinned filipino. Colonial mentality would idealized these mestizos as the ideal filipino beauties with their fair skin, straight noses and long graceful carriages where as typical filipinos were dark skinned, had flat noses and short stature.
The white-skinned ideal was still popular when the Americans ruled the Philippines for a while. The filipinos embraced the American culture enthusiatically,…still to this day. The only difference is where Americans, particularly caucasian-americans will spend money to darken their skin, filipinos do the opposite.
Now, I know that other asian countries also have this same “ideal” of “lighter skin is better” since they also sell skin whitening products. I think the Philippines is unique in this ideal since they were ruled by 2 western countries far longer than other asian countries have been.
While I was in the Philippines, I was amazed at the amount of skin whitening products that were being sold. In fact, it was just down right scary. For one, I was afraid to even buy any type of skin/cosmetic product for fear that it contained a skin whitening agent. If I had been able to, I would have taken a picture of the entire aisle of these products. To me, they seemed to outnumber just regular lotions/soaps. I was fortunate to have brought full bottles of my own skin products from the US so I really didn’t have to worry about buying any in the Philippines.
If you want to whiten your skin, you start with whitening soap. There are lot to choose from, even companies that you would be familiar with from the US. They also have their own whitening products in the Philippines.
After you shower, you could use a whitening lotion.
This seems to be one of the most popular brands in the Philippines. “Skin White”, even on their commercials, they will say “be as white as you can be!” To me, being born & raised filipino in the US, my mind just can’t wrap around this! I’ve always grown up with the ideal that you accept who you are, both inside and outside. I’ve always gotten compliments on my naturally tanned skin from envious caucasian females I went to school with or worked with. I was damn proud of the fact that I didn’t have to spend loads of money & wasting my time at a tanning salon, slathering various products on my skin to gradually darken it temporarily or god forbid, pose butt-nekkid in front of someone to have them spray tan paint onto me.
Now I go to the Philippines and as proud as I am to be filipino, people (even relatives) tell me I’m too dark and should stay out of the sun! Fortunately, I’m not one to listen to others, especially when it comes to a stupid ideal such as “staying white”. Oh yes, being darker skinned in the Philippines is actually frowned upon, particularly with the older generation.
Check out this commercial for a whitening product by Vasoline: the voiceover actually says “I love exploring new places out in the sun but my confidence is affected by my dark skin,…”
It’s one thing to be worried about the effects of the sun on your skin from prolonged exposure but this is just something else! This woman isn’t concerned with the tan lines, she’s more concerned about getting dark overall. Imagine what kind of a message this sends to young filipina females in the Philippines? “DARK IS BAD, WHITE IS GOOD!”
If you look at some of the filipino women in the commercials, they are so white, they don’t even look filipino or asian anymore. Some look like GHOSTS as they are so white!
In this one, the girl has turned “so white” that her friend doesn’t even recognize her in natural daylight!
When I went to the beaches in the Philippines, I wore SPF 50 sunscreen to prevent getting sunburned but I didn’t hide myself under an umbrella to retain a light complexion. I couldn’t even if I tried. My skin tans so easily that just one afternoon under the sun will make me 3 shades darker than what I started with. Actually, it’s rare that I do put myself so willingly under the sun because of this AND the reason for that is because my skin tone was so uneven. I had a very bad “farmer’s tan”. For the first time in more than 15 years, my arms, chest and legs are as dark as my face!!! I always take care to wear a moisturizer with some type of SPF. I’m not one that worships the sun but I’m also not one to hide from the sun because I want to stay white.
I’ve had a long conversation about this topic with my friend Clarissa and we both are pretty much disgusted with the numerous skin whitening products available in the Philippine market. To our fellow pinays in the homeland, please accept your skin the way it is and don’t try to be something that you’re not: “a white person”.
BTW, some skin whitening products contain “Hydroquinone” which is a major component of photographic developers. What is that? It’s the chemical they use when developing 35mm film. Let me tell you, I used to work in a photo lab and that shit is very strong and dangerous! I know that it’s in a concentrated form as a developer but there is no way in HELL I would allow at that stuff on my skin, even if it is at 2% concentration!
June 10th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Those SkinWhite lotion… their packaging reminds me of Head & Shoulders for some reasons. The graphics perhaps?
It’s the same for the Chinese. Whitening products are everywhere in Hong Kong. Some of the advertisements use photoshop to make the models look so white that they are reflective. I think the most popular product is SK-II. There is a Chinese saying, it’s something like, “one part of white hides 3 part of ugliness” lol. So a not-so-pretty girl will be less ugly if she has fair skin.
June 10th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Isn’t it sad that our asian culture teaches females that being darks-skinned is bad?
Seriously, I wouldn’t use skin whitening products for fear of the LONG TERM EFFECTS! Come on, you’re bleaching your skin and that’s gotta be doing something to it! I mean, I don’t even trust Philippine products in that I can’t imagine they are as strict about what they put into it as our US FDA or the european countries are!
June 12th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
“I love exploring new places out in the sun but my confidence is affected by my dark skin…”
Ha! People sure know how to reach absurd levels of physical idealism and vanity but as the old saying goes, “the grass is always greener”.
It’s too bad that people, entire cultures/races/whatever, can become so misguided in the pursuit of what they’ve come to believe is perfection.
My Dad is Caucasian but my Mom is from the Philippines so I like to think I got the best of both worlds although I do admit that sometimes I find myself wishing I had my Mom’s dark complexion or super straight, super smooth hair. Then, on the other hand I have days where I can’t stand that my body type is like my Mom’s: short and more muscular, not fat or anything, but not long and slim or willowy.
But, as another saying goes, que sera sera eh? Just have to learn to accept ourselves as much as possible and be content.
June 15th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
That second one particularly creeped me out. It’s almost like they switched the dialog with a commerical for laundry detergent. The skin is an organ, if you think about it there really isn’t any way you can call dumping chemicals on it to bleach out the pigment of an organ a healthy thing to do.
June 18th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Regarding white and ghosts.
There was a commercial last year (I think) made for Ad Congress. It was about a skin whitening product that made a high school girl’s skin white in a few days. The punchline of the commercial is the girl became a ghost at end and boys running away from her. It’s so funny!
June 19th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
[3]Yup, you just make do with what you have!
[4]Haha, you’re right! They do sound like laundry detergent ads! I never thought about that!
[5]Ooooo, maybe it’s on Youtube? I want to see it!
August 14th, 2008 at 11:55 am
I must admit that for a while i was also a victim of this so called…beauty is tantamount to being fair-skinned..huh! such stupidity..Though I’m already fair i was still not satisfied with my complexion..coz its seems the more u get white, the better ur looks..and my ex boyfriends were also fascnated with this color..they love to flirt around more to those..”Mestiza” type of girls..and eventually, i realized taht beauty is indeed not skin deep..wats in the color anyway? they do not necessarily refect the real beauty of the person much more her inner self? Well until now am still fair, even more when I got here in Canada..this winter-cold months gives me the desired color i used to want..i know wen i go back to the philippines people would surely comment on my complexion..but i know it doesnt change the fact that am just fair skinned..maybe a lot fairer..but just like that..still its me..still its me.
November 25th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Your wrong, this isn’t due to colonial rule. Fair skin has always been sought after in most of Asia long before they even came in contact with any Europeans. Rest assured, no one is trying to be like you, so you can get off your high horse. Is it just the slightest bit possible, that maybe people truly believe lighter skin is attractive and aren’t as weak minded as you make them out to be?
November 25th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Scata18: First of all, I’m not white. I’m filipino. Show me proof where it says that asians have wanted to be white before they came in contact with Europeans, in particular, Filipinos. Because I find that extremely hard to believe.
I’m far from weak minded and I think it’s the filipino mentality that “white is better” and speaking in perfect american english accent is better. Why not accept yourself the way you are instead of trying to change your skincolor.
Not sure how you folks in Tampa Bay feel about yourselves there but my filipino friends from our the country also feel the same way I do about the whole “white” mentality of skin color in the Philippines.
November 26th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Those people using umbrellas - I think it’s too exaggerated to say that they don’t want to be dark- the reason why they stay under the umbrella. The sun rays in the Philippines are painful to the skin
It is true that light skin has been long regarded in the Philippines and in Asia long before the European. Take for instance in Japan, there was this journal I read (forgot the author) where it states that lighter skin tone was the ideal beauty. Also, in Thailand, a country without European colonial past, having white skin is a craze. Also, Japan, Korea, and China are crazy over getting double eyelids, many of them wear bright haircolors. There’s also this ganguro style in Japan where Japanese girls wear fake tans…now why don’t we ask them to love their yellowish undertones?
It is true that light skin is the ideal beauty in the Philippines, but hey, don’t forget that people in the West are going crazy over tans because it is an indication of being well-traveled. Now, why don’t you throw back that question to them? Why can’t they love their white skin and stop trying hard to be tan/olive-skinned? Why not tell Koreans and Japanese to love their eyes? Why not tell those Caucasians who get their nose trims to love their high nose bride?
The issue about having white skin the Philippines is blown out of proportion. It’s funny that people exaggerate about skin whitening yet other cosmetic procedures aren’t panned so much. Liposuction, rhinoplasty, breast augmentation…these are a growing business in the Philippines and everywhere else. The popularity of Skin whiterners are most likely part of the global vanity.
I’ve always grown up with the ideal that you accept who you are, both inside and outside. I’ve always gotten compliments on my naturally tanned skin from envious caucasian females
It’s just the same for Filipino, only the other way around. Now tell your ENVIOUS caucasian females to love their pinkish-yellow skin and not to envious of you as many Filipinos are envious of light skinned people.
The double standard mentality of many Filipinos is more alarming than those who want lighter skin tone. It’s their personal choice if they wanted to have a lighter skin tone just as much as it is the personal choice of Caucasians if they want to have a olive/tanned skin tone. Aspiring for lighter skin tone does not necessarily say that you hate dark skinned people.
Ethnic discrimination is more apparent than color discrimination
Just look at Michael V and his DJ Bumbay song. He associated Indians with selling defective products. Arabs and Indians with ‘putok’. And the sad thing, there is only a few condemnation from the Filipinos themselves. Most found it funny, cool when in fact it IS offensive.
having lived in the Philippines myself, I really doubt the statement of having dark skin is frowned upon. While the ideal beauty is having lighter shade, it does not mean that having dark skin is really being frowned upon..as in the type where you won’t get a job because of your skin tone(except for modeling though). The statement ‘Dark is Bad’ is an overstatement. Grossly exagerrated
But I agree with the case of English with you. In many cases, especially in Showbiz and the capital, English is a social status. Luckily in my place, it’s not really. Well to do people here do not try to fake their accents. They speak English but not in the annoying way like many local celebs do.
December 14th, 2008 at 7:04 am
send me more info about TOP-GEL WHITENING SOAP…CAN I HAVE YOUR DIRECT EMAIL ADDRESS?
December 14th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Rolando: Unfortunately, I don’t have more info on Top-Gel’s whitening soap on hand. What kind of info are you looking for regarding the soap?
March 5th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Great post. I visited the Philippines in 2006 for the first time. I still have relatives living in Cebu who I haven’t met and so on that visit I was surprised to see so many of my female cousins looking so “pale” and in return, they were surprised to see me looking so “dark”. Even til this day, I don’t understand the concept behind the unhealthy pale skin. Don’t these girls know that they are only doing harm to their skin? The best form of anti-aging is the dark skin they were born with. That’s why Caucasian women age faster. And this is what they want to emulate? I have filipina cousins in Hawaii who except their “dark skin” because they aren’t brainwashed with those “be white” advertisements in the Philippines.
March 5th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I agree with you, Jade! All that skin bleaching is definitely bad for the skin! The skin bleaching products they use in Asia come from places that might not be as tightly regulated as it is here in the US, in terms of what is being used as ingredients in products. That’s why I was so wary of buying anything that had a whitening agent.
April 5th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
This is really informative & I couldn’t agree with you more. I grew up in the Philippines before moving to Canada. I do remember light skin as ideas when I was a child. Ironically, it wasn’t until I moved away from my home country that learned to accept my dark skin. I think that’s true of most Filipinos who move to America. Those who compare it to Caucasian getting a tan, there’s a big difference. Most Caucasians who want darker skin do not have an inferiority complex like many Filipinos who lighten their skin. Those who think this is not the case, they’re fooling themselves.
April 13th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Hell0! D0 u know where i could buy those products. or if i could buy them 4rm u, if that’s possiable. thanks :]
May 21st, 2009 at 8:53 pm
@ nikita: Thailand is a country that’s never been colonized yet their ideal beauty is pretty much the standard white skin, long silky black hair, and rosy lips Asian beauty.
The Japanese are another example of seeing white skin as the ideal Asian beauty. Examples are woodblock prints of aristocrats from the Heian era and the geisha from the Edo period.
“To possess ‘bihaku’ (beautiful white) skin, the ideal porcelain-pale complexion, has been engrained in the Japanese culture for centuries. In the past, women used to scrub their skin with ‘nuka’ (rice hulls) for skin oxidization or grind pearls into powder for swallowing. Nowadays, consumers rely on scientists to play a major role in formulating increasingly sophisticated and safer products.
Although the myth that Asian women pursue white skin is to emulate the stereotypically Caucasian beauty, the original reason behind the obsession with the lighter skin has more to do with social class differences than ‘want what you don’t have’ syndrome. It was believed that a lighter complexion is associated with wealth and higher education levels, whereas darker skin alludes to a life of outdoor labor toiling in the sun.”
there are also a good handful of Asians that were born naturally with light skin.
May 21st, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Jessa: Oh, I know there are asians born with naturally light skin. I have asian friends that are naturally very pale.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Oh…there are a lot of more important issues in the world other than that. If they want to be white & pale, let them be as long as they are not asking money from you to buy those whitening products….
June 11th, 2009 at 7:52 am
its irritating how older people here in the philippines think that white is beauty. i have a friend who’s got a black bf and her mom’s constantly complaining cause she said they might end up having dark ugly (their view of the color) kids.
June 13th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Micaela: Please. We don’t need the whole bullshit “there are more important things in the world” cliche crap here. Please take your soapbox elsewhere.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:31 am
Let’s not fall victim to group think. You only presented one side here, and it’s hardly fair to not present the other. Some would say it’s a bad thing, others would disagree. You’re not right just because you think you are. You only have your opinion. It’s not a “fact” that all whitening agents are bad (please look them up). Maybe you should open your mind a bit.
January 15th, 2010 at 12:12 am
Hmm, why don’t YOU list actual whitening product that doesn’t have ingredients that are harmful…since you seem to think that there are some that are ok to use.
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:24 pm
I was made to think that I am ugly because of my skin being always tanned and my stature cause of being short but I have been admired in the past by few people who are known to have prestigious beauty and stature as they have long narrow noses blonde blue eyes, red hair fair skinned etc etc, they thought I am pretty and beautiful. Again, I guess every individual sees beauty in different perspective and Filipinos, out of their little ignorance I supposed, based beauty on this being light skinned. I have seen an ugly light skinned people. It is a Filipino disease, shallow mindedness.
February 7th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
I am dark skinned and I grew up in the PI. I WAS one of those wanting to be light skin but I was young and immature and had a serious self esteem problem due to my skin. I envied my light skinned sister and friends because they had suitors and I’m not the type to catch attention because I was, too dark for them. But I grew up and later on realized that if someone was to like me, I want him to like me for who I am not for my skin color. I’ve come to terms with myself before I even came to the US. And even here in the US, there are still those Filipinos stuck in this kind of mentality (it actually suprises me). I see Filipinos whose wives are hella white and I dont blame them. If that’s what they think, that’s who tehy are, let them be. Even if colonial mentality is the root of this ideal, I believe the media and advertising play a significant role in keeping this mentality among the FIlipinos. Even if there’s nothing wrong with your skin, look at the way they try to make you feel bad about yourself and convince you that dark skin is indeed, a disgrace and a hindrance to your confidence. Thanks for this enlightening entry. But please don’t judge our fellow kababayans for having a 300-yr-old mentality. It is what it is.