Recently, I went on a trip to The Philippines and as much as I love it there I always tend to notice one thing – the striking supply of skin whitening products. In almost every store there’s always an entire section solely dedicated to whitening your skin. Even most of the skin products (ie. toners, moisturizers) will state that it has a whitening effect on the skin.
When I first arrived in the Philippines I’m understandably a lighter skin tone because of the lack of sun we can get in Canada. Without a fail, I get stares from people. As a kid I assumed I looked like a tourist – but as I grew older I realized it was because my skin wasn’t as dark as everyone else. As the trip goes by and I spend more time in the sun and undoubtedly tan, the stares stop. Filipinos have always had a desire to have a whiter skin complexion. Consequently, you’re treated differently by society. Filipinos have become so accustomed to glorifying the idea that if you’re whiter than most, not only are you more attractive, you’re of a higher social class.
How did this start?
The Spanish Colonial Era was the period where the Spanish were taking over The Philippines. That is rumored to be the start of the preference for a whiter start, seeing as most labor workers would have darker skin due to sun exposure. As a result, if you weren’t tan, you were more valuable. After The Spanish Colonial Era, The Philippines was colonized again by The United States and Japan, which further embedded the idea that the whiter you were, the better. Yet, colorism isn’t uncommon in Asia. Countries such as China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and South Korea.
Because the problem dates back so far into history, most Filipinos won’t see a problem with skin whitening. Whether they want to be lighter or darker is up to them. Nonetheless, the ads broadcasted on television consistently elucidates that to be more attractive to others, you have to be white.
Filipinos view white skin as a privilege. The deep-rooted white superiority complex instilled in The Philippines has gotten to a point that using skin whitening products is the norm – as people actively search out for these products to get whiter.