The Colorism Within Us: Celebrating Multi-Facted Filipino Identities
When I was younger, I used to compare and contrast my skin tone to my sisters’ skin tones. My eldest sister had the lightest skin. My middle sister had the darkest skin. My skin was found somewhere in the middle. My eldest ate used cosmetics, like Eskinol, to keep a fairer complexion. We could only find these types of products at the local Filipino market or at Seafood City. My second eldest ate, who usually got negative comments on her darker complexion, refrained from using the products. Source: Belo Men Ad I wanted to try these products for myself, but was advised not to because of my young age. I had no idea what the products did. I had no idea why my family used them. I just knew that I wanted it. I wanted to look like my eldest sister so that people wouldn’t say that I wasn’t light enough. Filipinos, along with other brown Asians, have been contrasted to East Asians and their hyped stereotypes. Unfortunately, the popular ideology of colorism within the lar...