#KwentongMorena — colorism

POV: You’re a Kayumanggi Experiencing Colorism in the Philippines

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POV: You’re a Kayumanggi Experiencing Colorism in the Philippines

“Sus, normal na lang ‘yan. Hindi ka pa ba nasanay?” 🔊 Colorism has been highly considered as a normal situation in the country — the derogatory remarks we hear, the unfair representation we see, the whitening soaps we scrub on our skins, and the discrimination we experience. According to Laforteza (2022), our colonial history, particularly on how the American, Japanese, and Spanish colonizers deeply reshaped our identity, should be traced to understand the deeply-rooted colorism. It is just a natural, everyday encounter but for us, it is not just that. It is our own skin and culture that are at...

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#Sunkissed: Sunlight as Our Skin’s Natural Pal

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#Sunkissed: Sunlight as Our Skin’s Natural Pal

Here comes Mx. Sun! Have you ever heard of the word sun-kissed? Aside from the fact that it is rooted from the sun itself, it is indeed interesting that there is more to the narrative. With all the advancements around us, we also derive new slang definitions from the existing ones.  According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it has two primary definitions: being abundant with sun and the beautiful exposure of skin to sunlight. Meanwhile, did you know that the sun is the most colossal matter in our solar system, as articulated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration?  Relevant to...

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‘Kayumanggi’ as The Centrality of Filipino Representation

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‘Kayumanggi’ as The Centrality of Filipino Representation

It might not seem like it now, but if you go down in history, indigenous or pre-colonial people of the Philippines valued their dark skin as spiritual and celebrated it through sacred ceremonies and rituals. This is also mentioned in a recent blog post by Maika Llaneza in Sojourners that claimed it was through the sun that they get spiritual energy from… Sunkissed, if you may.  Kidding aside, it feels ridiculous thinking about the Filipino representation of yesteryear when only fair-skins were on the big screen. Until now, the Filipino media is dominated by those of lighter complexion which is...

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