Toxic Beauty Standards: Colorism and Skin Lightening in the Philippines
I remember as a child seeing bright orange blocks of papaya soap. Lined up in my Filipino family’s small store, they were accompanied by a banner held high on the wall of a model advertising its miracle benefits. She was radiant with dark hair, a gentle smile, and, most importantly— light skin. The miracle the soap was supposed to bring…? A brighter, lighter skin tone. With age, I became more and more confused when I started considering why anyone would want a paler skin tone. This confusion stemmed partially from the fact that I grew up in American culture. I had seen on television, in magazines, and in commercials that tan skin was ‘healthy’ skin. More importantly, though, the most beautiful woman in my eyes, my mother, had a sun-kissed complexion deeper than mine that I thought was the epitome of beauty. Yet, she complained about it, admitting to my younger self several times that she wished she had my lighter skin tone.
Now, as an adult, I understand deeper the real roots of her wishes to look like me: the colonization of the Philippines and colorism. The Philippines is a country that has been colonized multiple times, first by the Spanish (1565 - 1898), then the United States (1898 - 1946), and the Japanese (1942 - 1945). In an article titled The skin-whitening regime: how colourism in Filipino media has led to discrimination and shame, Jen Laforteza, a writer for the Justice For All Human Rights Journal, describes briefly how these events lead to the preference for lighter skin we see today in Filipino culture:
During the Spanish colonial period, a racial hierarchy was introduced to Filipino society, which unsurprisingly placed white Spaniards at the top, and native Austronesian Filipinos and indigenous Filipinos at the bottom.
For the very few natives who were granted elite social standing via their permission to access education and status in life, many adopted their colonisers’ culture. Americans continued this practice when they took over the country – the only Filipinos who were allowed any social status under their colonial rule were the ones who had already been Westernised. This planted the seed in the Filipino psyche that to do well in life, one must resemble their colonisers as much as they can.
From this history bloomed the seeds of colorism, defined as “prejudice or discrimination especially within a racial or ethnic group favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin”. Lighter skin represented being closer to the people in power, and this phenomenon continues today. Actresses, models, and influencers with lighter skin in the Philippines flood the media conserving the idea that their skin tone is more beautiful. Not only is the representation of darker-skinned Filipinos lacking, a silent form of perpetuating beauty standards, but outright colorism exists in the media through these elites' brand deals with the makers of skin-lightening products.
Hoards of commercials, like the one below, and advertisements for skin-lightening products exist in the Philippines, pedaled by brands like SkinWhite, Ponds, and more. Not only do lotions and skin care products exist, but also skin bleaching treatments occur in medical settings like glutathione IV drips. For example, Vicki Belo, a cosmetic dermatologist and the founder of Belo Medical Group in the Philippines, offers the “Cinderella Drip”, described in Elle Canada as a “popular skin-lightening IV treatment containing glutathione and ascorbic acid.”
However, the safety of skin-lightening products and procedures should be questioned. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning in 2018 that injectable skin-lightening and skin-bleaching products may be unsafe due to the lack of knowledge of the ingredients in the products, as well as who made them, as they are not regulated or approved by the FDA. Additionally, in an article by the American Academy of Dermatology Association, work by board-certified dermatologist Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD is cited to have included warnings of “skin rashes, steroid-induced acne and subsequent scarring, as well as thinning skin and skin ulcers (open round sores)” that have been linked to skin bleaching products purchased online. Furthermore, he says, “The bottom line is that skin bleaching products that consumers are purchasing online and overseas may not be safe. In some cases, ingredients aren’t listed on the package, which should be a big warning sign to stay away. Although rare, there have been reports of mercury and arsenic in skin bleaching products.”
Colorism is an especially tough battle to fight considering both how it brings money to the beauty industry, and how it is ingrained in so many people as a result of a long history of colonization, racism, and classism. As I wrote this article, I discussed the subject with my mom and she said something that I appreciated: she doesn’t think about her skin tone anymore. Maybe this change came with age, or maybe it came with a change in the culture we see around us. More specifically, I have noticed in the United States there is a greater awareness of the issue of colorism than before, as well as a push for greater diversity in the media. Hopefully, this change is a positive swing towards a more inclusive future, one where beauty standards and the industry of their perpetuation no longer hold so much importance in our lives. Until then, we must all do the work of looking inside ourselves, understanding where our beliefs in what is beautiful come from, unlearning the damage done by history, and letting into our lives a culture of respect and positivity around all forms of beauty.
