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

[chicafabulosa]

I think it is because of the effect ng media. syempre mga guys napansin halos lahat ng artista natin na girls ang puputi. so I think media ang malaking influence sa mga Pinays why they wanted to be fair.

[Margaritabythebeach]

I think it's in our Psychological Culture. We were colonized by the Hispanics who looked down on the color of our skin. So having a fair skin was viewed as a sign of affluence. People with fair skin were viewed as rich. They did not have to tend under the sun like farmers and peddlers do. I still have that consciousness in me. I grew up dark and was almost always teased endlessly. I grew up insecured because of my color.   

[rae]

^ true, yang teasing na yan, it dates back since pagpunta dito ng mga spaniards. Pati siguro yung mga chinese na nagtrade dito dati.

Kasi kahit sa family namin, natutukso yung mas maitim. Sa immediate family hindi. Pero sa mga pinsan, kawawa yung mga pinaka-maitim.

Nadadala yung insecurity na yun outside e.

I guess ganun karamihan ng families. Not all. Pero marami.

Nung gradeschool, I care. Pero nung tumanda na ako, I spend time with people who dont care about it.

[brownpinay]

@rae, korak, actually ako ang pinaka maitim sa aming magkakapatid at magpipinsan at even sa HS barkadas ko...durign my growing up years lakas ng inferiority complex ko.

Pero nung tumanda na ako nag college at nagwork hindi na din.  Kaya sa blog - Brown Pinay kasi nga I have learn to love my color..

Pero pansin ko din nung nag edad medyo naglighten na din ang complexion ko, nabanat na skin ko siguro kasi tumaba na ako hehe

[rae]

^ Haha, I also had friends who are into sports and outdoor activities. So, mas focused kami on having fun, being happy, and staying fit. Kaya lalong wala na akong pakialam kung from NC30 e naging NC37 ang shade ko sa mac.

[aplonie]

i guess what you dont have is your weakness.
look at japanese people - they want big eyes which we can see sa mga comics and cartoons from there-- you would notice na malalaki lahat ang mata ng mga japanese cartoon characters.--that is because they have small eyes - same thing wit chinese
with western people naman they want a tan skin.
ang mga pinoy na tan ang skin, gusto naman maging western ang kulay..--kaya kumikitnag kabuhayan ang mga producers ng skin whitening products sa pinas.. LMAO...
as for me-- wa ako care.. kesehodang di pantay kulay ko..

[Chantal89]

Some women do tend to like what they don't have. Pero honestly, maganda din naman talaga tignan when the skin is lighter.

[rae]

Sa akin naman, regardless kung anong color, ang magandang tingnan yung even-toned skin, not too visible pores, and yung skin na neither oily or dry.

Kasi kahit maputi, kapag hindi mukhang neat, hindi din maganda. Meron naman na mga morena na mukhang makinis, pantay yung color all-over at hindi nangungulintab.

[Chantal89]

Let's just say that all things held constant, women would still want to be maputi.  Given ofcourse that the skin is makinis.  I have nothing against sun kissed skin.  Some women I know in my line of work have tanned skin pero pretty, kasi symmetrical ang features.

[rae]

I can't speak for others, maybe I'm one of those women who wouldn't want to be maputi. I seem to look better when I'm darker, yung features ko din kasi, parang di bagay na maging maputi.

[tomatostellar]

i think ganon talaga,, we want whiter skin, then caucasians want magpa-tan; ako my features are medyo pang chinese, so i like lighter skin on me, pero pag summer, keri lang magpa itim ng onti,, but of course gusto ko ingatan skin, sun's UV rays is not healthy pag over exposed

[TysLolakins]

because it has never changed what the ideal or standard of beauty is sa Pinas:  maputi, matangos ang ilong, small ang mouth and round ang eyes.   
brown skin has been associated with those working under the hot sun and white skin is what the landowner's family have, so it's an indication of the social status.
you would think that in the 21st century, all those nonsense would have been eradicated.  pero not in Pinas, i can't believe the extent Pinays go thru just to have white skin.  kesehodang saksakan nila ang sarili nila ng gluta, for me that's desperation already.
anyway i have brown skin.  growing up in the Phils, i had my share of being called 'baluga'  and that made me feel inferior to those with lighter skin.  pero that changed when we emigrated here in the states when i was 18.  di ba dito nga noon 'black is beautiful' daw, he he he.
anyway, my hubster who's also Filipino doesn't care much for light skin.

[ayami]

hmn, ako lately lang naging super proud sa balat ko. Last year I went to South Korea. diba they're known for porcelana skin haha. nashock ako na naiinggit sila sa itim ko. hehe wala lang. bigla naisip ko, oks na rin pala kulay ko (dati nagiisip pa ko na mag IV gluta and all that). hubby ko maputi e. insecure ako sa kanya. ngayon, positive na tingin ko sa pagkamorena ko. confidence booster talaga yung words ng mga Koreana sakin hahaha

[Yvonne23]

Pag maputi kase para saken pag nagshorts kaya ayang tignan.. pag maitim na medu off na uhuhu..maitim din ako eheh

[ayami]

^ haha tama, ako sa tuhod ko namomroblema dati hehe nasasagwaan nga sarili kong nanay pag nagshoshorts ako! XD nakakawala ng confidence

[lornadahl]

Just joined this thread. I agree, it's because of colonial mentality.

Just like some of you, I spent my childhood and teenage years being told that white is right. It doesn't help either that my mother and grandmother take pride in their complexion and whatever better treatments they enjoy for such.

I'm grateful to realize the beauty of being sun-kissed. Though I wish my skin color would be even. Just like Mercedes Cabral's.

[oyster]

Yup colonial mentality. Pag part ng culture, Siguro mahirap talagang alisin. Mga ilang taon pa Siguro and dapat lumipas para mawala na yung thinking na mas okay kung maputi ka.

I remember when I was younger, lagi ako tinatawag na black beauty. In fairness, 'beauty' di ba? But still, parang nakakaasar pa din kasi bakit Kelangan with emphasis sa color? Yung dating sa akin noon, merong Mali, kasi maitim. Bakit I always hear people say, 'maganda Kahit maitim' but I have never heard someone say, 'maganda kahit maputi?'.. So sa ganyang statement pa Lang, kita na yung twisted mentality na white equals beautiful agad.

[grace.kelly]

Actually marami rin lahing mahilig sa maputi, hind lang tayo. Nangunguna lang tayo sa pila haha. First, I think hindi lang dahil sa colonial mentality, as a human, hindi tayo makuntento. Karamihan sa mga puti gusto naman maging brown. Ganun talaga, di makuntento. Pangalawa, media. Iilan lang naman ang artistang kayumanggi, 70% ibang breed, ang hirap di ba. Mostly ng nagpapaputi ay mga babae, wala pa akong nakikilalang lalake na gusting magpaputi. Why? Kasi ang mga lalake ay picky rin, karamihan sa kanila gusto maputi. trust me, that's how most of them think, ekpiryensado? hehe. E syempre gusto mo may magkagusto sayo di ba. So epekto rin ng society talaga. At ang lagay pa kapag maputi ka kahit di kagandahan e maganda ka na, okay lang na kayumanggi ka kapag as in maganda ka parang supermodel, kung hindi naman panget ka. Sorry, but that is the reality of the republic of the Philippines hehe.. And now we are forced to think that brown is ugly.

[molybdenumstudios]

Thanks for this topic. Actually, I used to have NO problems about me brown skin until me first serious crush at school said that he is attracted to fair-skinned girls.

Dun ako nagkaroon ng insecurities sa sarili ko. But to ask me, color-blind ako sa skin color ng tao dati. Like, pag maputi ka, maputi ka talaga. You know, the extremes mentality.

And me mom is fair-skinned, but she said that she does not like it because it is prone to freckles, blah, blah

But actually, hindi lang naman nag-iisa ang Pilipinas. Usually, Asians really are obsessed with whiteness, and I really don't get the hype why white is popular. Hmmm... maybe because it looks more clean? Not all the time!

The Japanese would do anything to maintain their fairness (bihaku) and same with the Chinese. For the Thais, it's the worst since in most Thai movies, yeah, Thai girls are really beautiful but they still wanna be white.

And there's this one half-British girl who was very popular not because of her fair skin but because of her Caucasian features -- as in popular talaga siya but usually people criticize her that she would look "ugly" with her "kalahi" raw, but I think she's not ugly naman -- kumbaga, she is also good on the inside rin.