White Privilege and the Gallery Experience in Manila

This week I choose to look at McIntosh’s paper (1988) on White Privilege in relation to my trip to the National Museum in Manila. In her paper she made a list of individual ways in which she, day to day, in the US experienced White Privilege, the unearned advantages one has by simply being White. I will focus on one list entry, “I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to experiences of my race” (McIntosh, 1988, p.100).

I argue that the art displayed in the gallery, as well as the forms and subjects “encouraged” by the colonizing powers historically active in the Philippines, speak to the experience of the colonizers more than the Filipino people themselves. I will examine, based on a modest background in art and design history, some pieces and explain how the figurative language and imagery, as well as mediums and narrative, cater to someone of my positionality, and reflect an experience of White Privilege on my part as a viewer. While these works can still speak to or move a Filipino, they were simply created with a Western Art sensibility in mind.

The First is a piece called Spoliarium painted by the artist Pinta Ni Juan Luna in 1884. It shows the dead body of a gladiator of ancient Rome being drug to a cremation fire. The people portrayed in the painting are what we would call White. The composition is familiar and comfortable for a consumer of Western Art. The subject matter, the death of a gladiator, gives a reference to the lineage of Greco-Roman culture as the “foundation” of classical Western art.

The second piece is called is called El Asesinato del Gobernador Bustamante and was painted by Félix Resurrección Hidalgo (n.d. given). This work centers on a White man as our tragic well-meaning victim. It tells a story of a Governor General of the Philippines who wanted the best for the Filipinos and was put to death for it. It has all the trappings of a “White Man’s Burden” morality tale. Once again the composition and medium speaks to White Western eyes.

The final piece I examine, called The Leyte Landing, was painted in 1948 by Romeo V. Tabuena. It shows heroic, embattled, American troops storming the beaches in defense of the Filipino people. Stylistically it is more modern but the narrative of the heroic white savior remains. He is the bringer of freedom and the righter of wrongs with Stars and Stripes in tow.

So what we have here are artworks that speak to a Western sensibility even thought they were painted by Filipinos. They reinforce narratives that Westerners, specifically Americans, feel comfortable with. They are exhibited in a forum that Westerners deem “appropriate” for fine art. They meet the Western standards for art in form and function. I feel they speak to “truths” the Western Art World and the American Identity hold as part of a collective unconscious sentiment.

To contrast and compare this experience, taking a cue from McIntire, I am going to summarize the rest of the readings and lectures and list an experience or instance of privilege I or a member of my race, gender, or class experienced in relating to them. In “The Philippine-American War, Friendship and Forgetting” (Ileto, 1998) there is a discussion of this war and an examination of a style of behavior that was termed by the Americans “Amigo Warfare,” wherein certain Filipino people were forced into a complex social navigation between there occupiers and the insurgents of their own country (Ileto, 1998). I feel that the soldiers of my country had a form of Economic Privilege in that their wives, children, and communities were being cared for back home while the Filipinos had to engage in warfare while at the same time caring for their wives, children, and communities. In “To the person sitting in darkness” Twain (1901/2002) examines the violations of the Filipino people during the same war, compares the US to other colonial empires of the day, and argues against American imperialism (Twain 1901/2002). In writing this article Twain was experiencing White-Male Privilege by being able to make the comments he did without his views being ascribed to him being a member of the White race or a male. In “Invasion of the Philippines” (Zinn, 2008) looked at the American invasion of the Philippines, hit upon several key events, drew parallels to George Bush and the war in Iraq, and tied in Twain (Zinn, 2008). This comic is written and drawn in a western non-manga style familiar to me which I can follow with ease and as well all the characters with solo word bubbles are men. Here I experience both Gender and American Privilege when I interact with this work.

In her lecture, Marshal Law, Quimpo (2016) examined the Philippines during the time of Marcos, the Marcos Dynasty’s connections to the current President Duterte, and the modern misinformation, propaganda, and white-washing related to Marco’s legacy. In contrast to some other people I have Class Privilege in that I have access to university libraries, the internet, and an education which allows me to navigate through conflicting accounts in order to try to find the truth about subjects and topics I may question such as these. In there presentation, Indigenous People, Mangahas and Perez (2016) looked at the experiences and struggles the Indigenous People of Philippines have had in relation to the securing of land and territorial rights. If my family were to engage in such a struggle we would have not only deeds but political, bureaucratic, and legal representation that are an Economic Privilege which the Indigenous People discussed have little or none of. In, Urban Informal Settlements, Gonzales (2106) discussed the challenges faced by the people of Manila’s informal settlement, Baseco, which include but are not limited to disease, sexual exploitation, employment, and governmental representation. I have White, Class, Economic, and in some cases Gender Privilege in that that most of the issues they face daily I do not have to encounter.

Returning to and summarizing my experience at the National Museum, I was half a world away from home and had familiar narratives and experiences served to me on my terms. This is an experience of White Privilege. Even if I may not agree with the narratives or enjoy the aesthetics I am free to make these choices at my convenience and leisure. Here I pose the question, if art can be an agent for change, what historical and societal factors inhibit the Art World’s ability to be more inclusive in the way it communicates with people of varying backgrounds, nationalities, and cultures?

References

Ileto, R.C. (1998). The Philippine-American War, Friendship and Forgetting. In Shaw, A.V. & Francia, L.H. Vestiges of war. (pp. 3-21). New York: New York Press.

Gonzales, C. (2016). Urban Informal Settlements. Presentation, University of the Philippines.

Mangahas, M., & Perez, P. (2016). Indigenous People. Presentation, University of the Philippines.

McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women's studies (Working paper (Wellesley College. Center for Research on Women); no. 189). Wellesley, MA: Wellesley College, Center for Research on Women. Banks, James A. (1993). The Canon Debate, Knowledge Construction, and Multicultural Education. Educational Researcher, 22(5), 4-14.

Quimpo, S. (2016). Marshal Law. Presentation, University of the Philippines.

Twain, M. (2002). To the person sitting in darkness. In Shaw, A.V. & Francia, L.H. Vestiges of war. (pp. 57-68). New York: New York Press.

Zinn, H. (2008). Invasion of the Philippines. In A people’s history of American empire. (pp.53-72) NY: Metropolitan Books.

As I walk into the US Embassy

Nicole Harris

University of Washington

As I walk into the US Embassy in Manila, there is a large poster in the room from the Regional English Language Office that echo’s our readings and a common core theme: English language and American culture being for the benefit and progression of the Filipino people. Our contact person here at the embassy is Michael S. Klecheski, Deputy Chief of Mission. I inquire the purpose and objective of the department’s mission and what is alarming is the similar insistence that this is for the “goodwill of the Filipinos” and a gift granted by the United States of America.

As we encounter in Vicente Rafael’s White Love (2000), “benevolent assimilation” was portrayed as the Americans giving a precious gift given to the Filipino people by colonizing and civilizing them so they can one day govern themselves (p. 21).  In his article, The Philippine-American War: Friendship and Forgetting, Reynaldo C. Ileto also alludes to this as he writes about colonization somehow becoming an act of redemption, generosity and kindness from the United States (p. 18)

In our discussion at the embassy, Mr. Klecheski makes reference of the Tagolog language being “the other language,” which implied that is was non-standard or secondary to the English language. He also spoke about one of the programs at the embassy, where teachers are given further education on how to teach English most effectively to Filipino students. He regarded this as one of the embassy’s best programs. The language that our embassy contact is using is parallel to the pedagogy that is taught as American culture.

Reiterating Rafael’s White Love (2000), “insurgents” were seen as objects, as wild animals and in fact a zoologist, Dean Worcester, was in charge of collecting data of these people that were killed for resisting American occupation (p. 19). This group of Filipino’s were and are being unreasonable. This program, abbreviated RELO seemed to be a program that was actually in place to help the relations between the US and the Philippines. It was extremely difficult to sit and listen to our contact say these things, particularly with a smile on his face and a justification of having the best interest in mind especially with him having a Filipina wife. He made mention that most of the country is poor and there are “a lot of drug addicts” and this is a problem.

Our contact at the embassy and the language he used to convey the mission of the embassy continued to reflect the rhetoric of benevolent assimilation, in spite of his repeated attempts to assuage us that the mindset of Americans and our presence in the Philippines had evolved past that. What he was doing was in fact an extension, a modern version of this very concept. According to Rafael (2000), “colonization is about civilizing love and the love of civilization, it must be absolutely distinct from the disruptive criminality of conquest.” I’m still struggling to determine how this program is helping the Filipino people (p. 21).

Our weekly readings and trip to the embassy really opened a critical eye to the purpose of this type of program and questions who is benefitting from this. This is not a reciprocal relationship. We must question our stance and presence here in the Philippines, question what the real purpose is and the effect that it is having on the Filipino people. The effects of the English language are apparent as well as an adoption and admiration for the American culture, but I have yet to see or be told how this is benefitting the Filipino people. English is the language being taught in schools and American capitalism is being pushed on the country. As Tita Peachie said so well, “we are a third world country with a first class taste.” When someone does something out of their “goodwill” or kindness, they do it without expecting anything in return. It is apparent to me that we as the United States of America have clearly benefitted off the Filipino’s, not the other way around.

References

Rafael, V. (2000). White Love and Other Events In Filipino History. Durham, NC: Duke

            University Press.

Ileto, R. (2002). Vestiges of War: The Philippine-American War and the Aftermath of an

Imperial Dream 1899-1999. New York: NYU Press.           

            

Colonial Picturesque in the Philippines

Before arriving to the Philippines, I learned about the discourses of the tropical region specifically in Southeast Asia. I studied how early Western explorers and colonizers would consistently describe the tropics as an earthly paradise that is green, beautiful and bountiful when they first arrived. They had a fascination with both the flora and fauna and essentially described it as a Garden of Eden without knowing much about the land.  In “Colonial Domesticity,” Rafael (2000) describes the colonial picturesque which women specifically would “conceive of the landscape as a picture to be seen rather than the setting of unequal social relations characterizers” (p.60) When I traveled Banaue, Batad and La Union, I saw the landscape through the lens of a traveler and noticed that I unknowingly had similar experiences of viewing the landscape as the early colonial women.

Rice Terraces in Batad

In Batad, I had the opportunity to ride on top of a jeepney to get a better view of the thousands of year old rice terraces. At the time, I was in absolute awe to see the landscape and the beauty of the terraces because it was nothing like I have ever seen. Throughout the trip, I snapped a lot of photos that showed the architecture of the terraces as well as shots that I believed were stunning images of Batad. Once I read Rafael’s “Colonial Domesticity,” I wished I had read it before I went to the sites. Rafael (2000) describes the colonial picturesque as a way of erasing the marks of native labor. The rice terraces exist as a panorama for the traveler’s gaze, dissociated from the workings of native intentions” (p. 61).  At the time, I did not think about the labor going into the rice terraces and solely of the aesthetics. As I went through my photos of my trip, I noticed that in Banaue, I took pictures of the mountains and food. In La Union, I took pictures mostly of the beach. Colonial picturesque is more than the action of taking a picture. If someone asked me how was Batad, I would probably would have described the landscape rather than the labor put into it. Although my intentions were not to erase the native labor or disregard the social relations, I was simply seeing the Philippines for its aesthetics.

As I learn more and experience more in the Philippines, I want gain perspectives with less of a traveler’s gaze.

Bridge in Banaue

Question: How can colonial picturesque contribute to the racial hierarchy of the colonized and colonizer?

Also, how has women in the colonies contributed to racial hierarchy?

References

Rafael, V. (2000). Colonial domesticity: Engendering race at the edge of empire, 1899-1912. In White love and other events in Filipino history. (pp. 52-76). Durham, NC: Duke University.

Nationalist Dramas and A Rally in Manila

As I finished up my first reading for our study abroad trip to the Philippines I was particularly compelled by the way in which nationalist dramas had the capacity to transcend racial and gender binaries. Those binaries were being forced upon Filipinos by Americans who, in the early 1900’s, were intent on surveying the population as a means to effectively establish control. The dramas were produced by urban artists, many of whom had participated in the revolution against Spain. It is also significant to note that the dramas were performed in Tagalog. A piece that I found moving closed the first chapter of Professor Vicente’s book White Love, he quotes a passage from the play Luhang Tagalog by Tolentino.

“Weeping without ceasing for your children,

And weeping always for your sorrows.

I have taken care to write this piece

So that my tears should flow

Together with the tears from your eyes.

To you I offer this: it is so very fragile

Because it is from me;

Still accept this

For I have nothing more valuable to give. (Riggs, 352)” (Rafael, 2000).

This piece and more broadly, nationalist dramas, were radical for their time because they re-affirmed by restating the values of a pre-colonial way of living. I believe that this particular passage from Luhang Tagalog is actually still a radical notion in the sense that it challenges the infamous western sensibility of the individual. By calling out, or naming a specific site of oppression there is an opportunity for people to empathize, perhaps through solidarity, and to transcend the propensity for western binary social constructions. It seems to me that art has a profound capacity to bring people together. In the example of the nationalist dramas written, produced and performed by Filipino people, the plays afforded the opportunity for empowerment. They did this by illustrating alternative ways of interacting with their literal and figurative place during a time when those traditional sites were being attacked.  I feel uncomfortable using the word “alternative” in that capacity though because the alternative way of life that they were sharing was the original way of life that existed before colonization took place. Nevertheless, I think the important point to note is that Filipino people were offering and sharing solutions to other Filipino people.

Earlier today I attended a rally during the State of the Nation Announcement given by the new president, Rodrigo Duterte, in Manila with my study abroad group. Talking to some of the people at the rally we learned that the event had largely been a site for solidarity to take place. Though we showed up late to the rally, there were still many many groups convening. Human rights advocates and working class groups all mingled together with, some of them carried signs that demanded a national minimum wage of 750 pesos (about $15 USD)/day be implemented.

The large turnout at the rally seemed similar to the nationalist dramas that I had just read about last week. Both are sites for groups of people to call out the pervasive and exclusive nature of western and dominant culture. From there, like nationalist dramas did in the early 1900’s, rallies can address and ultimately interrupt cycles of oppression.

Rally attendees listening to Duterte’s State of the Nation Address

Police presence at the rally

Picket signs at the rally












Rafael, V. (2000). White Love: Census and melodrama in the U.S. colonization of the Philippines. In White love and other events in Filipino history. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Reflection on Baguio

Baguio is known as the summer capital of the Philippines. Its milder climate air has historically made it an attractive place for vacation and leisure for the elite class. A history of colonial exploitation has all but segregated the population in especially class terms. The attractions of the capital, living areas especially, are reserved for the elite class of people who can afford it – this group is nearly across the board not the locals. The locals are pushed out as developments continue to make their way into the city and their role as an economic driving force becomes limited and tightly defined within their own boundaries.

Through its historical developments as the summer capital and personal experience, what I propose to discuss is how we can analyze how this class distinction has unfolded. Specifically, what we will look at are at least a few of the factors that have led to the economic disparity – early developments, war, and redesign. I will not detail each factor in great length, but speak generally of these things as a framework to discuss the way in which the Baguio demographics are outlined – making use especially of Alcantara’s Baguio Between Two Wars: The Creation and Destruction of a Summer Capital. I argue that as a result of growing capitalist interest how consumerism has built a city wide attraction for tourism and vacationers at the expense of the local culture.

Baguio is a popular place for the consumption of ‘local tastes’. When we were in Baguio, the anticipated stop was the flea market where one could buy/barter for local tastes. Wood carved luxuries, locally focused pasalubongs (souvenirs), and home grown foods were main features of the flea market consumption. The takeaway here is that these are for the most part produced and disseminated by the locals. The flea market is a prominent part of the economic drive of the city as a tourist spot, but how do locals find themselves in this position? What is the cause of locals having to sell their culture as a brand of tourism?

During American occupation, Baguio was not only attractive for newly placed institutions but also served as a military expedition. “Applying a city plan designed by the renowned architect Daniel H. Burnham, the government delineated sites for parks, public buildings, government cottages, structures for religious institutions, and residential areas. On a fine tract of land reserved for a military post began the construction of temporary barracks and cottages for the commanding general and officers” (Alcantra 2002). Early developments even purposefully drove out the locals as crossing through the gates was a rather marginalized commodity (2002).

War then continued to disparage the city as Japanese occupation and then impending wars with America found themselves in Baguio (2002). Thus, the city became a ruin, but what was not destroyed was the preexisting social constraints. Once the Philippines and Baguio was reclaimed from the US forces, Baguio lost its status as a summer capital but the economic barriers still persisted. Thus, it still continues to serve its purpose as a place for the elites to come and go while the locals who have been ousted from their local area find themselves in a position where they must sell their culture.

The taste stays the same at the expense of the locals. At this point, the local culture can only exist as a part of the consumerist culture. As long as it continues to be this kind of burgeoning capitalist enterprise, the only use of the locals is as part of a driving force of the economy.

References

Alcantra, E.R. (2002) Bagiuo between two wars: The creation and destruction of a summer capital. In Shaw, A.V. & Francia, L.H. Vestiges of war. (pp. 207-223). New York: New York Press.

That one dude at the embassy was an asshole

Aedan Roberts

Week 1

            I had a feeling that something sinister was going on when I found myself under the gaze of Howard Taft and Douglas MacArthur, forever immortalized in the air-conditioned halls of the U.S. embassy. I knew that some sort of dark history was being grossly overlooked. My semi-righteous instincts made me want to say something, but my ignorance left me without a vocabulary to even frame a simple question. This was Monday, after all– four days after I arrogantly arrived in this country, as devoid of context as I was of skin pigment. I had no idea how dark that history really was. I didn’t know that Taft was the secretary of war when “American troops swept over entire populations, exterminated tens of thousands of noncombatants and wiped out hundreds more by pestilence in concentration camps” (Alcantara, 2002 p. 211.) I didn’t know that General McArthur ensured that Manila was one of the most heavily bombed cities during World War II (Third, at some point in the van, 2016.) If I’d known the murder and suffering that my country was proudly flaunting I would have yacked all over the hall of Governor-Generals.

UP itself is a testament to benevolent assimilation

            But in the eyes of the U.S. government, as much in 1901 as now, these figures represent a history worth flaunting. The American political consciousness works because it imposes itself as an inherent, universal good– every act the U.S. government commits is always rationalized as morally flawless, and, according to Vincente Rafael, the colonization of the Philippines was no exception. “Given the putative absence of a Filipino nation, the U.S. presence in the archipelago could not be construed as usurping another people’s sovereignty. Intervention was understood, in official accounts, as an altruistic act motivated by America[n] concern for the natives’ welfare on the part of the United States” (Rafael, 2000 p. 20.) Rafael uses President McKinnley’s term “benevolent assimilation” to describe this deluded self-perception of conquest and imperial rule. “The allegory of benevolent assimilation effaces the violence of conquest by construing colonial rule as the most precious gift that ‘the most civilized people’ can render to those still caught in a state of barbarous disorder.” (Rafael, 2000 p. 21) Essentially, the American government justified it’s rule by claiming that the people of the Philippines were so backwards and ignorant that they needed to be dominated by a superior power until they were civilized to the point of self-sufficiency. Like the relationship between a father and son, the archipelago was helpless on it’s own and needed the firm guidance of an authority figure to protect it from itself. If any violence occurred, it was likened to the disciplining of a child for bad behavior.

This ridiculously condescending attitude seems to be just as imbedded in U.S.- Philippine relations today. The second in command at the U.S. embassy could not have made that more clear when he said, with all of us clenching our teeth, that the ongoing practice of active American cultural propaganda was an expression of “Goodwill.” For just over a hundred years, the U.S. has been able to actively exploit billions of people in the Philippines and around the world, infinitely plunder natural resources with it’s poisonous economic model that is never satisfied by definition, and ultimately murder anyone who gets in the way– intentionally or not. And for just over a hundred years, the U.S. has been able to remain convinced that it’s only intention is, and has always been, goodwill.

We saw at the Political rally on Monday that U.S. "Goodwill" is not going unchallenged

How does the concept of benevolent assimilation apply to U.S. foreign policy in other nations over the last century? Over the last decade?
How exactly does this American Exceptionalism work? Why is it so powerful? What makes it so effective, so convincing?

Alcantra, E.R. (2002) Baguio between two wars: The creation and destruction of a summer capital. In Shaw, A. V. & Francia, L.H. Vestiges of war. (pp. 207-223). New York: New York Press.

Rafael, V. (2000). White Love: Census and melodrama in the U.S. colonization of the Philippines. In White love and other events in Filipino history. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

The Spanish and American influences on Filipino culture

Stephen Acabado provided great insight about the pericolonialism archaeology of highland agricultural systems in Ifugao, Philippines. Acabado reveals the idea that material symbols, language, as well as other artificial differences, are results of colonialism and history, instead of variances in geographic and ecological adaptation (Acabado, 2016). Due to the Spanish conquest in the northern Philippines, there was an influx of indigenous people moving into the mountain ranges in order to steer clear of and resist direct colonization (Acabado, 2016; pg 1). The rice terraces in the mountain ranges can be understood as responses to the social and political pressures that arose due to the arrival of the Spanish in the northern Philippines highlands (Acabado, 2016).

When looking at the effects of direct conquest, America’s colonization of Baguio, a city located in the Benguet Mountains, is a prime example of firsthand colonization. In Baguio Between Two Wars, Erlyn Alcantara proposes the chief reason for conquest in this region is due to the propinquity to the Benguet gold mine (Alcantara, 2000). Additionally, the climate of the Baguio is another driving factor for the American conquest because the mountains are substantially cooler compared to the lowlands (Alcantara, 2000; pg 210). As previously stated, Americans conquered Baguio due to the gold and mineral resources in Benguet that was vastly unexplored (Alcantara, 2000; pg 207). The Igorot miners were shocked to discover the machinery Americans used to extract large quantities of gold. Something that really stood out to me was the fact that business plans are not indigenous. To put into perspective, “The Igorots, after all, mined only enough to trade for their immediate needs, did not accumulate any surplus, and kept the gold more securely in the earth than in their homes” (Alcantara, 2000; pg 214). Although colonial hill stations provided Americans a sense of connection and feelings of familiarity and comfort, it equally brought the opposite effect to the indigenous population.

Before arriving in the Philippines, I was extremely worried that communication with locals would be a major challenge because I do not speak Tagalog.  However, I am shocked to discover that this has not been a problem for me, even when traveling outside of Manila to Banaue, Baguio, and San Juan. The Americans had a tremendous influence on the language being spoken as well as taught in schools. English is so common here that even a leading department agent for the U.S. Embassy stated that Tagalog is a second language to Filipino people while English is their native language. This is an example of how even from a Westerns perspective, English is a dominant language and everyone should know English because of the opportunities and benefits that come with it. He also mentioned that America sought to teach Filipinos how to read and speak English merely for the goodwill of the people. This is extremely problematic because in reality, America is stripping Filipino people of their language and culture and replacing it with Western methods and ideals. All while Americans believe that they are doing a good deed by giving Filipinos a gift.  

During the time I have been in the Philippines, I have witnessed both Spanish and American influences that even to this day still exist. The Spanish and Americans had several motivations to colonize the Philippines, such as foreign trade, land ownership, natural resources, and sovereignty. The American and Spanish influence on Filipino culture is seen in churches, beauty products such as skin bleaching and hair lightening and straightening, entertainment, fast food restaurants, shopping malls, and media/advertising. For instance, when I went to the drugstore, I noticed that there was skin lightening lotion and face lightening foundation makeup for sale.  The Spanish and Americans introduced the idea of skin hierarchies in the Philippines. This idea indicates that labor and race go hand in hand. Dark skin is related to lower class citizens who had to work outside, whereas light skin is affiliated with upper class citizens often because they are Mestizos or they are wealthy enough to work indoors away from the scorching sun.

Question: How do Filipinos feel about their education system and the Weste
rn influences that are pushed among their culture? Do they believe that America was oppressing their people or do they perceive it as a goodwill and gift of enlightenment for the people?

 References: 

Acabado, S. (2016). The Archaeology of Pericolonialism: Responses of the         “Unconquered” to Spanish Conquest and Colonialism in Ifugao, Philippines.             International Journal Of Historical Archaeology.

Alcantara, E. (2000). Baguio Between Two Wars: The Creation and Destruction of a     Summer Capital.

The Role of Whiteness in the Philippines

In Vincente Rafael’s White Love and Other Events in Filipino History, he explored writings by women from the United States in order to examine the role of white women in the benevolent assimilation of the Philippines. Based on these readings, he concludes that “through the avid gaze of the natives, white women find their bodies mirrored back to them, returning as uncanny and therefore undomesticated figures available for public and promiscuous solicitation” (Rafael, 2000, p. 65). Since arriving to the Philippines as a white woman, I have had the same experiences that these women wrote about in the early 1900s. As I walked down the streets in Makati, men felt comfortable calling out to me and commenting on my appearance. In one case, a group of men stopped playing basketball to call out to me, “Hey, Barbie! Come here, Barbie!”

In our class discussion, we focused on how white women as well as mestizas are treated in the Philippines. I was asked if my experiences in the Philippines were similar to what I would experience in the United States. Even though catcalling does exist in the United States, I have rarely experienced it during a casual walk down the street. Where I feel I can go unnoticed in the United States, I feel like I cannot do the same in the Philippines. It makes me hyperaware of who I am and what I look like. I feel that I am objectified by how I look on the outside; I am scrutinized in everything I do in a way I am not used to back home.

Perhaps this shift comes from the idea that, in the Philippines, whiteness is “predicated on rather than freed from difference” (Rafael, 2000, p. 65). In America, many people of European descent have disassociated themselves with their past history and instead taken on the role of being white rather than be German, Spanish, Italian, etc. I personally have little knowledge of my family descent and history which has perhaps been forgotten so to further fit in with the American standard of white. In the United States, people of a multitude of backgrounds merge together to fit in. In that way, whiteness in the United States is free of difference and relies on the idea of fitting in to a certain standard. However, if you do not fit that standard, you face being ostracized and treated as inferior. On the other hand, in the Philippines, whiteness is no longer defined as devoid of difference and is instead based on being different.

Another excerpt from Rafael’s (2000) book states that “colonial domesticity in the tropics heralded the conjugation of whiteness with femininity as a sign of public entitlement as well as a source of private ambivalence” (p. 53). I have experience remnants of his statement in my past week in the Philippines. I feel privileged—not based on my actions or intentions but based on how I look. This can be represented by one of my first experiences in the Philippines when I checked into the New World Manila Bay Hotel and was rushed to the front of the line, past the other guests who were patiently waiting before me. I felt uncomfortable yet helpless in the situation because this treatment seemed like standard procedure to the workers yet is very foreign to me.

In the end, I start to wonder if the constant attention or hyperawareness of one’s actions is how it may be to be non-white in the United States. How can the experience of being a white woman in the Philippines be related to or contrasted by the experience of being non-white in the United States?

References

Rafael, V. (2000). Colonial domesticity: Engendering race at the edge of empire, 1899-1912. In White love and other events in Filipino history. (pp. 52-76). Durham, NC: Duke University Press.