Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Mukhang mahirap
Dugyot, nognog, maitim. I've been called that when I was a child (and up until now actually). Short of saying ang pangit ko!
The saddest part is that I tend to agree with them not because it's true but because I have nothing to show to refute their so-called 'claim' about my being 'mukhang mahirap'. Firstly, my complexion is dark and I have constant sores (and evidence of sores) in my arms. Normally, a mosquito bite in my arms becomes a sore and then becomes a pus after some time (I'm just kidding). A mosquito bite reddens my skin very easily and it leaves a permanent mark -- peklat ba!. When I was small, my mom said, I was covered with galis all over -- even in the head.
She said it's because my blood is unpure, unclean (honestly, I think because my blood is blue...dugong bughaw ba!).
I was well taken cared off. Even today, my mom wouldn't let me sleep without a mosquito net (kulambo). Nightly, I rub lotions in my arms (feet first actually!). I wish I could shun away from chicken meat but I can't because it's my favorite. Sadly, however, I can never tend a chicken coop because my skin is easily gets bitten by chicken ticks; I don't know why.
For us Pinoys, if you're not kutis porcelana, you're negra! And no matter how many black Ms U wins and even if the most powerful man on earth is Barack Obama, I still believe that for Filipinos, black is not in...never!. (Deep inside, although we, Filipinos, are secretly die-hards of Ate Guy, we would still vote for Ate Vi as the more beautiful).
That's why the Philippine market is constantly deluged with beauty products promising a 'whiter, clearer, fairer, more beautiful skin'...'in just 60 seconds' (ay Eye-Mo pala un!).
That's why Saudi has now the 'magic cream' and some other beauty products from the Philippines like Likas Papaya.
Are all Filipinos -- men, women and women-looking men -- really dying to be 'white'? Maybe not. But I think we're all so enamored with anything western that we, unknowingly, are all dying to look, sound and feel Western.
Why? Because for us, having a white skin is a rich thing. I remembered when I was small growing in Anao, Tarlac, everytime we see a white-skinned kid, we always say 'he's a Manilenyo' (he's from Manila). When I grew up in Manila, everytime we see a mestiza, we call her 'artistahin'. Parts of our everyday language are the words 'mukhang katulong' and 'mukhang pulubi'.
We are indeed chronic, pathetic profilers!.
I believe being dark-skinned is not 'mukhang mahirap'. It's actually a thing of beauty. I am not mukhang mahirap. My color is natural of a Filipino. And it is definitely not ugly. Because I had the same color of Lapu-Lapu, Rizal, Bonifacio -- un-'magic creamed' and un-papaya-ed.
Ayos pa rin ang natural na kapogihan, hindi na kailangan ang papaya soap or whitening cream.
[Naalala ko tuloy ang isang entry ko noon tungkol sa skin colors. Kapag may time po kayo sundan nalang ang link na ito: http://chook-mindersquill.blogspot.com/2008/10/skin-matters.html ]
Nabasa ko po. (At natunghayan ko na rin ang iyong portacabin haven with full amenities and food supplies! Nakakatuwang basahin).
Totoo RJ, it's ironic. Tayong may kulay kayumanggi ay gustong pumuti. Silang maputi ay gustong maging kayumanggi.
We are forever insatiable!
Ang tingin kasi ng karamihan sa maitim ay hirap sa trabajo o mahirap at ang maputi naman ay may kaya o mayaman. kaya karamihan ng tao gusto maging maputi. I think it has something to do with pride, ayaw nating tignan tayo na maliit o mababa. Taas noo kahit kanino, ika nga. We just have to remember that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".
ako dukha ako...
mukha lang akong mayaman kapag naka semi formal ako ahihihihi
shre lang poh..
wow! the royal blood has sensitive skin...
its a common thnking for us Filipinos that if we have white complexion, were beuatiful thats why ang mga fifol of the philippines eh pilit at talagang nagpupumilit na pumuti.. ksehodang amsirapa ng balat sa paggamit ng kung ano-anong whitening cream go lang ng go..
at kung baket din akse kung minsan eh hindi tayo makuntento sa kung anong binigay ni Papa Jesus saten..
Maybe Lapu-lapu or Bonifacio has the same color as our skin, but not Rizal. May lahing instik si Jose Mercado, kaya kulay dilaw sya!
As for pinoy's obsession for white skin; it's a remnant of our colonial mentality. Because as some comments suggested here, white skin and aquiline nose connotes belonging in the upper social strata. Just like our "masters" in the Spanish and American era.
Natawa ako dun, effective ba talaga ang likas papaya? Eh, magmula dumating ako dito ng Saudi, sa LIkas papaya lang ako nahiyang, yung ibang soap, nagkakapimples ako, yung iba naman nagdrdry ang skin, kaya 5 years na ako naglilikas papaya, in fact, si Mrs, Thoughtskoto, baka daw ako maubusan, bought 1 dozen of it para stocks ko. haha.
But how come for 5 years that I've been using it everyday, I am still brown/tan? It was never my intention to be whiter, it's just so I won't have pimples, at di magdry skin ko. Ayaw ko pumuti, baka mapagkamalan akong ding-ba ng mga arabo:)
For a guy, mas gwapo pa rin ang brown/tan, pag girl, okay lang na brown pero attracted easily ang mga guys sa white/fair skinned. Observe ko lang.
Nebz,
Bravo! Well said.
D ka nag-iisa. Mas malala pa nga ang naririnig ko dati eh... negrito...pwet ng kaldero...hehehe. At may sagot pa ako dati - maputi naman ang puso ko ah!
Nyhow, black is beautiful! Yan ang "in" ngaun...
Matanong ka nga - tutuo bang gumagamit ka pa ng kulambo? Hwag mong sabihin sa loob ka ng kulambo nag ba-blog! Hahaha! Anong hinahaplas mo na lotion - pabango ni Lola?
Malesh...i'm just enyoying the start of the weekend!
hi nebz!!!oi basta ang mahalaga maputi at busilak ang iyong puso!!!
here in saudi arabia for arab women having a fair complexion is also an issue for them they want to have nice skin color kaya mabenta sakin ang GLUTATHIONE salamat sa mga pinay who influenced arabas to use gluta