As a child who immigrated to America then continued to move from city to city in California, I was exposed to a multitude of environments. These environments opened attitudes about racism and oppression that did not spark any significance to me until I had the education to analyze them. From my first moments in the Philippines to assimilation to American culture, I noticed a pattern pertaining to beauty. The Philippines is a tropical country near the equator exposed to the scorching sun. The heat is evident through some of our skin tones: varying from a golden brown to dark ebony. However, living here for a few years made me notice that the darkness that my people received from the sun wasn’t appreciated. It seemed the less pigmentation in
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When I was a baby, I wasn’t worried about if I was light enough or if I had the tallest nose. I was waddling around probably being interested by a shiny spoon. It wasn’t until I first started to interact with close people in my life that I learned this standard was a thing. It was my mom who put an emphasis on light skin and teased my uncle for his darker skin as my first socialization. Then, it was institutions such as media and businesses pushing this attitude. Instead of letting this cycle continue and feeling unsatisfied with myself I educated myself on why I and others might see the standard of beauty so highly. Whether it’s the emulation of my islands colonizers back in the mid 16th century or the fear of resembling laborers under the sun in present day, filipinos favored looking like the white man. I took a stand and accepted that I might not have the tallest nose and palest skin, However that does not make me less of a person. Therefore, my cycle of socialization was broken (Bell, Love, and Roberts). I will not do as my mother and pass this expectation onto my children. Hopefully, I can teach them to accept themselves and others like I
When I was a baby, I wasn’t worried about if I was light enough or if I had the tallest nose. I was waddling around probably being interested by a shiny spoon. It wasn’t until I first started to interact with close people in my life that I learned this standard was a thing. It was my mom who put an emphasis on light skin and teased my uncle for his darker skin as my first socialization. Then, it was institutions such as media and businesses pushing this attitude. Instead of letting this cycle continue and feeling unsatisfied with myself I educated myself on why I and others might see the standard of beauty so highly. Whether it’s the emulation of my islands colonizers back in the mid 16th century or the fear of resembling laborers under the sun in present day, filipinos favored looking like the white man. I took a stand and accepted that I might not have the tallest nose and palest skin, However that does not make me less of a person. Therefore, my cycle of socialization was broken (Bell, Love, and Roberts). I will not do as my mother and pass this expectation onto my children. Hopefully, I can teach them to accept themselves and others like I