What defines a Filipino? Is it the way we look or certain skills that we’re supposed to have? Does it matter if we speak Tagalog? A majority of the world knows our community as just enthusiastically hospitable or being in the medical field and while those are accurate, it doesn’t stop there. Whether you’re a born and raised local or a proud immigrant, being a Filipino means more than just being able to sing or dance. Just like everyone else, Filipinos are limitless.
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Are criticizations about our physical attributes a form of concern or body shaming? If you’re Filipino, you’ve probably heard phrases like “tumaba ka” (you’ve gotten fat) one too many times. While it’s nice to know our relatives pay close attention to us, most of the time it gets too hurtful to even know how to respond. And how exactly do we respond when our culture has normalized these attacks on our looks as just “casual greetings”? Sadly, this is nothing new for us as Filipinos have long internalized discrimination against brown skin, flat noses and of course, plump tummies. Can something normalized be deemed toxic? And if it is, how do we get rid of it for the next generations?
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One of the many things Filipinos are great at and arguably known for is dancing! At any Filipino party, you see titas line dancing or your cousins busting out moves to the Otso-Otso as if their lives depended on it. Through the years, dancing has merged into a billion-dollar industry and a legitimate profession even. However, Filipinos and other POCs in the industry do not get the full credit for their work. America’s various reality dance competitions continue to profit off of Filipino talents yet because of our participation in these, Hip-Hop has become more acceptable to the masses in comparison to the 1990s when this genre of dance originating from Black people, was criminalized. But are Filipinos actually helping or are we contributing to the erasure of Hip-Hop to its origins in Black culture?
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