#mestiso

Ooh..

Just blowing off steam after seeing...the internet.

It starts off good like "We should stop using only mestis@s in advertisements..." Then becomes something horrible like "Because we shouldn't use half-breeds. Kayumanggi na lang."

The other side starts good like "All Filipin@s are Filipin@, no matter what they're mix..." And then becomes something like, "We're all mixed."

The problem with the first is obvious. What's the matter with people, referring to others as half-breeds? As Trevor Noah would say, why can't it be "twice as nice?" The pseudo-enlightened who keep xenophobia alive in the community are alienating mixed Pin@ys who want to be connected to their heritage.

On the other hand, people who claim "we are all mixed" ignore the privilege that light skinned people have over dark skinned people. They also are ignoring the privilege that comes from being perceived as not mixed by fetishizing mestis@s. People who are obviously mixed have to deal with micro-aggressions and harassment that people perceived as "full-blooded" do not. 

And the argument "we are all mestis@" in the case of light skinned Pin@ys making the bulk of the entertainment industry does not explain why every other mix isn't equally portrayed as half-White.

Things to take from the argument:

1. The Filipin@ entertainment industry needs to let go of its obsession with whiteness. 

2. Stop bashing people for the ancestry they had no control of. The separation of Pin@ys based on blood quantum is colonial in origin. It's a "divide and conquer" tactic used by the Spanish. You aren't free of colonial mentality if you are a bigot against people of multi-cultural backgrounds.