“Filipinx” and why Filipinos in America and in the Philippines Might Never Agree

WRITTEN BY BEA AVANCENA AND FRANCESA JANA SANTIAGO

This year’s San Diego Comic-Con introduced a variety of Filipino American creators and their content to a wider audience, showcasing just how much our community is actually behind people’s favorite forms of entertainment media, from literature to digital content to film and TV! Filipino Americans were present as either cosplaying fans or panelists booked to discuss pop culture. However, aside from the enticing announcements of upcoming movies and the arrival of adored celebrities, there was another reason why the convention was the talk of the internet: calling a panel of Fil-Am speakers “Filipinx”.

Photo from Comic-Con International on Facebook.

This issue trended in both Twitter and Tiktok while the official San Diego Comic Con page faced backlash under a Facebook post. With these came criticisms from Filipinos living in the Philippines, pointing out the wrongs attached to the term. Why exactly? Because “Filipino” in itself is and has always been historically proven as gender-neutral, along with many other words in the Philippine language. The label “Filipinx” was innovated by Filipino American communities as a more inclusive term for those who don’t identify with the “-Na” and the “-No” at the end. But is there room to even alter its use and replace its ending? This wouldn’t be the first time that the American diaspora had an influence on how we refer to ourselves. “Filipinx” was coined as a label for inclusivity but at the same time it westernizes the Filipino experience, only enforcing the everlasting effects of colonialism.

Even so, what homegrown Filipinos fail to see is that even though immigrant Filipinos share the same heritage and blood, their life experiences are not entirely the same as the latter’s and leaving a third-world country isn’t something they should be prosecuted for. Filipinos in the diaspora go through hostility from the homeland as they continue to be policed for how they embrace their cultural identities. For one, the history of Filipinos coming and living in America is filled with brutal racism and xenophobia which evidently influences its current generations to take any form of empowerment in order to reclaim themselves. The “x” in Filipino may be a western notion to those outside but those who identify with it, recognize the power in its name and deserve to at least be respected for it.

Just like “Filipinx”, the slang “Pinoy”, which the Philippine population popularly uses, was also created in the diaspora and both these words are optional for usage. But this ongoing feud is further proof that our relationships with those in the diaspora are complex and fractured, just because our lives are slightly unique from one another. Labels are products of specific places, times and experiences so whether you use “Filipino”, “Filipina” or “Filipinx”, adapting change doesn’t automatically mean rebranding history or culture. It's important to remember that in the end, we are all part of the same community.