Adiella Szelou A.

Domingo
GERPHIS Y08
The Impact of Colonialism in the Philippines

The Philippines is a country that’s suffered many times at the hands of colonizers
– Spain, America, Japan – and eventually, it took a toll on our culture and posed a lot of
social problems we’re currently facing today. Up until the conclusion of the
Spanish-American War in 1898, the Spanish had inhabited the Philippines for more
than 300 years. Spain lost, and as a result, they were forced to cede control of the
Philippine islands to America, who acted in that capacity for the following fifty years.
The Spaniards and Americans ensured that the Filipino people internalized one clear
message throughout these centuries of colonial rule: White people are the standard.
Whatever white people do, it is the ideal.

Filipinos were compelled to adopt the ideologies and values of their colonizers at
the expense of their own dignity because they were seen as the “uneducated” and
“untamed” who needed to be subdued and civilized. "Colonial mentality" refers to the
inferiority complex that Filipinos experienced as a result of evaluating themselves
against the oppressive white standards of their colonizers. The colonial mentality has
permeated the Filipino subconscious and continues to have an impact on how we
perceive ourselves and those around us; it has been passed down from generation to
generation.

One of the most prominent impacts of colonialism in the Philippines is

influencing our standard of beauty. For example, dark skin is typically associated with
being poor or “ugliness”, whereas light skin is associated with beauty and the privilege of
staying indoors enjoyed by the wealthy in the Philippines, usually commented by many
as “kutis-yayaminin”. This prejudice against those with naturally tanned skin is a
manifestation of "colorism," a sort of internalized racism that favors people with lighter
skin over those with darker skin. Filipinos attempt to keep their complexion pale in an
effort to prevent appearing to be from "the underclass." Stem cell therapy lotions, oral
whitening formula capsules, and human placenta whitening vials are all promoted with
the claim of "flawless beauty and complexion," making skin whitening goods "one of the
top grossing products in the Philippines."

Furthermore, in line with this example, another implication of the effects of

colonialism in the Philippines is when we are told that white partners are more
“desirable”. Hence, some even use the terms “mag aasawa na lang ako ng Afam (white
foreigner in the Philippines)”. The problem is that, in most cultures, white spouses are
preferred above members of one's own cultural group or even other people of color. The
message—that getting married white immediately equates to a successful marriage—is
the problem.

Hence, this leads to our major problem and is sort of the “umbrella” problem for
every Filipino – in which we become the “invisible minority”, because of the different
nations colonizing us in the past, we’re a nation with fragmented cultures. We’re
confused about what actually makes up a Filipino’s ‘identity’; hence, we become
invisible to others because we’re often blending ourselves in a crowd. In a world where
many nationalities embrace their identities by asserting their rich cultural backgrounds,
we, Filipinos, are struggling on where to start. This is the grave effect of colonialism on
us; because of colonialism, we’re having difficulty assessing who we exactly are and what
we stand for as a nation.