“From Ebony to Ivory,” “10% Lighter, 100% More Sosyal,” “7 Days from Dark to White,” and more taglines continue to echo on the billboards of Metro Manila. These billboards promote whitening products aimed at changing the user’s natural skin color to a lighter and more "suitable" tone, appealing to the latest beauty standards.
Whilst initially harmless, a deeper look at these billboards shows a hidden intention of promoting colorism. As defined by Merriam-Webster, colorism is “prejudice or discrimination, especially within a racial or ethnic group favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin.” These slogans are the epitome of colorism, notably in the Philippines, which is home to an overflowing myriad of citizens preferring light-skinned physiques over dark-skinned ones. Continuing to create these types of advertisements will inevitably encourage discrimination and racism that’s rooted in colonialism, mental health issues, and physical harm. These are issues that have affected Filipinos ever since the colonial period. These billboards continue to advocate a narrative where darker-skinned Filipinos are seen as dirty, ugly, and undesirable.
Are we taking a step back into the past?
Colorism was first embedded into Philippine society during the colonial period, where a hierarchy was established based on one's race. Being full-blooded Spaniards born in Spain, the Peninsulares were on top, as they typically had the lightest skin compared to Indios or Negros at the bottom, who had the darkest skin color. Fast forward to today, this hierarchy remains but under a new name. A study by the Virginia Commonwealth University outlined stereotypes on how Native Filipinos or lower-income Filipinos are typically darker-toned whilst lighter-toned Filipinos are middle-class and richer. This stereotype fuels colorism where lower-class Filipinos are associated and tied to the idea of being dark, dirty, and undesirable.
The whitening industry has not only grown but boomed in popularity not just in the Philippines, but in developing countries in Asia and Africa as well. Media allows it to grow further. Advertisements with aforementioned taglines like “Maputi lang ang pinapaupo sa bus?” target marginalized audiences using a problem-solution ad, in which they indicate that being darker-skinned causes the hardships Filipinos face, and how their product can solve it by simply whitening their skin. This is evident not only in advertisements but also in shows and movies. In the movie “Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy,” a character jokingly named ‘Snow White’ is portrayed as an Aeta or a Native Filipino. The character serves no purpose except as the butt of the joke, normalizing the act of making fun of Native Filipinos. Combined, it creates a perfect storm for Filipinos to start rethinking their natural skin and how they were made to look. People who go to extreme lengths to whiten their skin often bypass FDA regulations as they proceed to harmfully bleach their skin. Most end up buying products that contain toxic chemicals like mercury just to fit in.
This problematic thinking drives colorism further and creates discrimination within the same race, creating a wildfire and convincing the majority of a harmful idea in which a country could thrive off of discrimination against its own countrymen. A country that normalizes the hatred of its natural skin color will inevitably promote the degradation of mental health and the loss of its own cultural heritage.
While the narrative continues to develop, it is clear how damaging these habits can be, especially to Filipinos that do not fit the latest skin expectations. We must do all we can to show our support and stop the cycle from repeating again. We must learn to accept the way we are and not change the way we look just because that's how others look. Learning to help those feeling the brunt of this issue can be as simple as complimenting their skin or showing they are appreciated regardless of their appearance. While this issue cannot be solved instantly, as cliché as it is, a simple act of kindness can go a long way.