Introduction As a child my dreams were always about me as a princess with white pale skin waiting for a knight or prince to save me. This dream replays itself over and over in my head and has manifested in my life more than I want it to. Growing up in the Philippines, I was surrounded with people who felt they had the right to constantly comment on the way my body looks.
I was frequently told to stay out of the sun so I will not get darker or use a whitening cream to look beautiful. It seemed as a morena (or dark skinned person) my brown skin was not valued, especially not when there are mestizos (or light skinned people). The media portrayed characters with light skinned individuals and pointed noses. Their looks do not represent what …show more content…
At age five I was given body wash and lotion to help whiten my skin tone for my 5th birthday party. To this day my family perpetuates the idea that I would be more beautiful if my complexion resembles those of mestizas. Besides being deemed as “more beautiful” white people also have many advantages because of the system, while people who have brown or black skin receive disadvantages. Back in middle school I remember being put in a lower level English class, simply because they did not expect me to do well in it. However, I worked hard and proved myself so much that my teacher came up to me one day and said “Have you ever thought about being in the higher level English class?” Aside from this situation there was also another time that sticks out to me where someone was diminishing my academic abilities because of where I came from and my skin …show more content…
I remember my junior of high school I was told by school counselors that I should take statistics instead of calculus for my senior year because despite the A I received in both pre-calculus I and II, they thought I would find calculus more difficult. Thus, they strongly recommended I should take statistics. When they told me this, I was mad. I know some of my peers who were white and well off was also struggling so why did they not get strongly recommended to take statistics too. I remember telling other classmate who was also enraged at the situation. She encouraged me to take calculus despite the
I was frequently told to stay out of the sun so I will not get darker or use a whitening cream to look beautiful. It seemed as a morena (or dark skinned person) my brown skin was not valued, especially not when there are mestizos (or light skinned people). The media portrayed characters with light skinned individuals and pointed noses. Their looks do not represent what …show more content…
At age five I was given body wash and lotion to help whiten my skin tone for my 5th birthday party. To this day my family perpetuates the idea that I would be more beautiful if my complexion resembles those of mestizas. Besides being deemed as “more beautiful” white people also have many advantages because of the system, while people who have brown or black skin receive disadvantages. Back in middle school I remember being put in a lower level English class, simply because they did not expect me to do well in it. However, I worked hard and proved myself so much that my teacher came up to me one day and said “Have you ever thought about being in the higher level English class?” Aside from this situation there was also another time that sticks out to me where someone was diminishing my academic abilities because of where I came from and my skin …show more content…
I remember my junior of high school I was told by school counselors that I should take statistics instead of calculus for my senior year because despite the A I received in both pre-calculus I and II, they thought I would find calculus more difficult. Thus, they strongly recommended I should take statistics. When they told me this, I was mad. I know some of my peers who were white and well off was also struggling so why did they not get strongly recommended to take statistics too. I remember telling other classmate who was also enraged at the situation. She encouraged me to take calculus despite the