Why do most Filipinos want WHITE SKIN? Arent we proud to be BROWN?

[mystella]

Why do (most) Filipinos want to achieve white skin, eh kayumanggi naman talaga ang lahi natin? Why aren't we (in general) proud to be brown? Why are glutathiones, papaya soaps and whitening lotions so popular in the Phils?

What's "wrong" with being brown? Or is it just the influence of commercials and artistas?

Honestly, parang tayo lang yata ang kayumanggi / dark-skinned na gusto pumuti? I haven't heard of an Indian or a Sri Lankan  using religiously using papaya soaps for whitening purposes.

Hmmm....inputs mga sisses...

[ducky]

sis, hindi mo ba maranasan na makakita ng batang natutukso dati sa grade school as "ita", "baluga", and so many discriminating comments dahil maitim siya? i studied sa chinese school, and parating na-pick on yung mga ganun kase easy target sila. pag bata (ewan ko if this was influence sa tv, parents, environment) na may ganung perception na pag maitim, pangit. (think of bale, diba lagi siyang naasar sa show kaya yung mga bata tuloy, ayaw na sa maitim) kaya you can't blame other people na gustuhin na magkaroon ng whiter complexion.

i observed that majority of Filipino men are attracted to fair-skinned women (e.g. Cristine Reyes or Kristine Hermosa), so since madaming humahanga sa skin ng mga artistant to, may demand sa masa na mag produce ng mga whitening products.

In addition to that, since nauso ang mga chinovela, koreanovela at ano pang mga asian drama dito sa Pilipinas, yung skin nila are so white and smooth, kaya ayan, praning mga pinoy to look like them.

[i_am_sweet]

Colonial mentality perhaps?  Please bear with me because my explanation is somewhat deep.  Historically speaking, those who were well-off, those who were in power, those who had better access to socio-economic-political privileges were of different color from the brown race.  The Spanish controlled the islands for more than 300 years and were wealthy; the Chinese turned to become business magnates; and then the Americans - all of whom had taken advantage of us Pinoys. Maybe Pinoys have associated white with a better life, that if they become the same color as the conquerors they would have a better life.  I'm just wondering, what if we didn't have any contacts with the Caucasians and the Chinese, would Pinoys still regard white as beautiful?

Anyways, a simpler explanation would be that a white skinned lady will definitely be highlighting herself if majority of the ladies around her have a darker skin.  Siguro it's their way of moving ahead of the competition so to speak by getting noticed first.

But if you're going to ask me I'm not really particular with skin color, I'm more particular with the face.  Basta maganda, que morena que mestiza, they're just the same.  Magwo-worry pa nga ako kung super sensitive sya sa kaputian nya na di ko sya mahatak to enjoy the outdoors like going to the beach.

[mystella]

Colonial mentality perhaps?  Please bear with me because my explanation is somewhat deep.  Historically speaking, those who were well-off, those who were in power, those who had better access to socio-economic-political privileges were of different color from the brown race.  The Spanish controlled the islands for more than 300 years and were wealthy; the Chinese turned to become business magnates; and then the Americans - all of whom had taken advantage of us Pinoys. Maybe Pinoys have associated white with a better life, that if they become the same color as the conquerors they would have a better life.  I'm just wondering, what if we didn't have any contacts with the Caucasians and the Chinese, would Pinoys still regard white as beautiful?

Anyways, a simpler explanation would be that a white skinned lady will definitely be highlighting herself if majority of the ladies around her have a darker skin.  Siguro it's their way of moving ahead of the competition so to speak by getting noticed first.

But if you're going to ask me I'm not really particular with skin color, I'm more particular with the face.  Basta maganda, que morena que mestiza, they're just the same.  Magwo-worry pa nga ako kung super sensitive sya sa kaputian nya na di ko sya mahatak to enjoy the outdoors like going to the beach.

naalala ko tuloy, si chesca garcia sobrang sensitive about getting dark, ayaw maarawan.

anyway, thanks sa input. yes, your explanation is deep but makes a lot of sense. ako din, napa-isip, oo nga no? kung never nating nakahalubilo ang mga americans, spaniards and chinese in the past, would we still consider white skin to be beautiful or at least a sign of better life?

may isa pa akong na-realize. pag nasa cold country ako na merong winter (at MAPUPUTI mga tao), i associate it also with a better life, subconsciously. ewan ko ba. pero pag naiinitan ako (at na-fi-feel kong UMIITIM ako), automatically naaalala ko yung hirap ng buhay sa pinas, how hard it is to commute, yung air pollution na nasasagap ko sa tuwing pumapasok ako sa work noon, yung pawis kahit kakaligo ko lang. 
pero pag nasa ibang bansa ako at malamig ang klima, i feel more comfortable ako in terms of standard of living, kahit ordinaryong tao lang ako sa ibang bansa, dahil walang air pollution, walang traffic. subconsciously.

wait lang, am i making any sense here? hehe.

[babyjapnurse01]

^ i agree. tama yan sis, merong impression na pag maputi -- mayaman, makinis, mabango, malinis, asensado ang buhay...

pero bakit ang mga mapuputi naman, lahat ginagawa to get a tan? di naman siguro sa gusto nila magmukhang madumi, pero baka dahil gusto lang nila itry kasi yun ang wala sila? hehe!

[mystella]

the white people, they want to be tan kasi sexy para sa kanila yun.

my personal theory (hehe!) is, maraming latina / puerto ricans / mexicans sa US. they have chocolate brown color and the americans are exposed to these kinds of people in their homeland.
in addition, ang mga latinas, sexy sila, curvy at voluptuous. for them, that's their definition of hot. so subconsciously, they associate tan / exotic brown skin color to being sexy, hot and attractive.

[babyjapnurse01]

^ true. kahit ako mismo nasesexyhan sa mga tan ang kulay (tomboy mode? hehe).


pero isa pang bagay na napansin ko sa Pinoy, pag summer at uso ang tan, abah, unahan din naman sa beach magpa-tan, tapos pag uso nanaman maputi, super laklak nanaman ng gluta, madaming nakikiuso lang din dahil nga siguro may impression na pag maputi, eh nakakaangat sa buhay...

[justbeingme]

Siguro kasi part ng human nature to want and desire something you don't have.  Kung ano yung wala ka yun ang gustung-gusto mo.

Dati sinabi ko dun sa isang American friend ko na sa pinas white skin is pretty na-shock sya kasi sa mga kano maganda sa kanila yung tan sila.

[MissJanelle]

i've noticed there's a difference between filipinos who grew up in the philippines and those who grew up in north america. philippine-born and bred pinoys aspire to have whiter skin while their american counterparts tan to enhance their "kayumanggihan"

i agree, colonial mentality plays a very big role, imagine 300+ years of being dominated by the spaniards, japanese and americans - of course you would associate the good life with being white-skinned. also, the media is bombarding everyone that whiter is better so that's what's being imprinted subconsciously on people's minds... who wouldn't want to be the pretty, smiling whiter girl on tv rather than the darker, sadder before-version of her...

in america on the other hand, being tan is somewhat more favorable to being "pale". heck, even black people tan. americans generally associate a tan with being healthy, attractive and being able to afford a nice vacation somewhere sunny (like the beaches in the carribean where you can lay all day in your bikini and sip margaritas, hehe) so yeah, it's quite the opposite,  tan=afffluence for white people and [textspeak!]-ams. oh yeah and you also look slimmer if you have a tan, obviously because all the victoria's secret models are tan

[i_am_sweet]

^ i agree. tama yan sis, merong impression na pag maputi -- mayaman, makinis, mabango, malinis, asensado ang buhay...

pero bakit ang mga mapuputi naman, lahat ginagawa to get a tan? di naman siguro sa gusto nila magmukhang madumi, pero baka dahil gusto lang nila itry kasi yun ang wala sila? hehe!

Tanning is something the white-colored race can't easily have kasi namumula muna sila before they turn brown.  Getting a tan is a two-pronged approach - first, for one to have a tan you have to travel, and you have to have lots of money to do so; second, tan is difficult to attain, thus not everyone can have it.  So, having a tan indicates that you can travel, and that you have attained something that not all can have, like a scarce resource. These elevate your social status a notch higher.  Lalim no?   Yan naman ang psyche nila.

Basta mahal ko siya, mahal ko na ang lahat sa kanya, whether her skin is brown or white.   Kukulubot din yan balang araw, what matters is that I'd be there beside her when it happens.

[aquacharly]

Residual colonial mentality.
Natapos na ang panahon ni Lola, natapos na the 5 or 10(?)year-period mandated that only Pinay looking models appear in ads and commercials... eto, we reveret back to the past mentality.  hay buhay.

And yes, with the emergence of the Chinoys as the people with money and all... from the conyo kids, we now want to look Chinoy Chinoy Mano Po;  plus, "the Koreans have landed!".  LOL

These girls on gluthathione or what... they do not look naturally white, but pasty white.  Outside Asia, the tanned look is desirable.  Actually, they are not confused there that clean/hygienic skin = only fair skin. 

Hay naku, embrace what you are.  Ngayon pang lumawak na sa buong mundo ang definition of what is beautiful saka dito tayo nagpapa kahon nang paliit ng paliit???

[mystella]

i've noticed there's a difference between filipinos who grew up in the philippines and those who grew up in north america. philippine-born and bred pinoys aspire to have whiter skin while their american counterparts tan to enhance their "kayumanggihan"

i agree, colonial mentality plays a very big role, imagine 300+ years of being dominated by the spaniards, japanese and americans - of course you would associate the good life with being white-skinned. also, the media is bombarding everyone that whiter is better so that's what's being imprinted subconsciously on people's minds... who wouldn't want to be the pretty, smiling whiter girl on tv rather than the darker, sadder before-version of her...

in america on the other hand, being tan is somewhat more favorable to being "pale". heck, even black people tan. americans generally associate a tan with being healthy, attractive and being able to afford a nice vacation somewhere sunny (like the beaches in the carribean where you can lay all day in your bikini and sip margaritas, hehe) so yeah, it's quite the opposite,  tan=afffluence for white people and [textspeak!]-ams. oh yeah and you also look slimmer if you have a tan, obviously because all the victoria's secret models are tan

oo nga no? wala pa akong nakikitang victoria secret model na maputi. lahat tan. and guess what, i even admire tyra banks' skin color! she's so natural!

[sa_sang]

maybe not all naman wants to have whie skin.  It could be just as simple as having a clear skin free from any blemishes.

matatawa na lang ako that most filipinos don't appreciate that having a dark skin is actually a benefit. 

[qt_ben17]

asians in general prefer whiter skin. it's even worse in thailand nga daw. there, they will do everything to whiten their skin. even to the extent of taking chemotherapy drugs.  for thais, you are considered  a farmer if you don't have white skin. 

sa india, diba dun galing ang fair and lovely creams. may isang commercial sila, there's this one lady na because of her dark skin nat-turn down siya sa mga job interviews.  pero ng gumamit siya ng product naging mas maayos ang buhay niya. so fair skin  is equated to success?

sadly ganyang ka-distorted ang ating perception. and it only gets worse as years go by. ngayon, ang mapuputi ay hindi na kano, kundi asians.

[bella123]

Maybe it's because of influence sabi nga rin s isang kanta,....beauty magazine promote low selfsteem,particularly yung mga ads about whitening products na ang gusto i convey ay pag maputi ka maganda ka.

[jamie_0117]

^^I remember my friend, patay na patay to have fair skin, sinabi ko yan. Sabi ba naman, eh bakit ba, eh ang gluta daw is a medicine, therefore, it's good for your health! Wow! Ang talino hahaha. Parang yung logic mas magaling pa ang pinsan kong 5 years old na pilosopo!

Anyway, if panget ang morena, panget din si Angel Aquino & Tweetie de Leon?

[mrs.S.]

I think hindi lang ang mga pinay gusto maging puti...siguro its part of being human... Caucasians wants to be tan and brown...
Beauty is not based on skin color...

[mooncake and leaves]

i think no matter how much we want to be PC about it, as Filipinos, most of us want to be whiter, fairer. because as mentioned, mukhang angat sa buhay, mukhang docile, mga artista na hindi marunong umarte, mapuputi. colonial mentality. whatevs. lahat lahat na. it's just one of those things like preferring bigger breasts, smaller waists, leaner legs, etc. every culture defines for itself what their idea of beauty is.

hindi naman lahat ng maputi, maganda. in the same way that hindi porket people find you unattractive, aatungal ka bigla na huhu, morena kasi ako. beauty is beauty at lalabas at lalabas yan if it's really there or if you can enhance your assets. siguro attractive lang sa una ang maputi pero kung mukha namang dinaanan ng pison ang mukha eh who cares kung nalunod yan sa gluta.

[nightwing]

i think its because filipinos are so used to the brown color that they want to change their color or imitate foreign skin colors

[luisacart]

i've no idea. but lahat naman ng tao sa mundo they always want something they don't have. ako nga, straight na straight ang buhok ko and i've always wanted to have wavy/curly hair. maybe mas rampant lang sa pilipinas because of the media influence. lahat ng sikat na artista, puro mestiza. that kind of thing.