Beauty in the Indigenous Philippine Societies (original) (raw)
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16th -19 th Century Concept of Beauty in the Philippines: A Historical and Cultural Approach
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Filipino Women and the Idealization of White Beauty in Films, Magazines, and Online
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Throughout history, the definition of 'what is beautiful' seems to change in alignment with society's definite standard of beauty. Since then, it has been known that beauty is one of the things individuals seek because it is a power on its own. In the Philippine context, the colonial mentality has something to do with the beauty standard instilled in the minds of Filipinos. Colonial mentality is known as a form of internalized oppression, contributing to the strong perception of ethnic and cultural inferiority, which profoundly influences the Filipinos on their perception of 'What is beautiful'. Filipinos did not just become the subject of colonization but rather continued to live along with its adverse effects.
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Beauty is an interesting object to discuss. Beauty would always associate to women but beauty also part of human culture. Beauty discourse that created from power and industry have so many effects in human's life and society. This study aims to describe the history of beauty discourse that exists in Indonesia This study is conducted through Michel Foucault's archaeology method in order to disclose the various system and ideas, as well as to examine the origin and development on the beauty discourse in Indonesia. The results of this study are a description of the history of beauty discourse that exists and emerged in Indonesia. Those discourses of beauty are sorted into four periods: (1) the era of the Hindu-Buddhist kingdom, (2) pre-independence era, (3) postindependence era, and (4) reformation era. The discourse of beauty that emerged during the Hindu-Buddhist kingdom and pre-independence until postindependence was closely related to those who were in power. Meanwhile, the discourse of beauty that existed during the reformation period was more related to those who were dominant in the beauty industry. Currently the Korean beauty discourse is the dominant one. It emerged and developed along with the growth of Korean popular culture in Indonesia.
Abstract: Our country has witnessed a burst of enthusiasm for beauty pageantry, which is already present in the Filipino society for more than sixty years. An ordinary Filipino is already accustomed into witnessing women in heavy makeup, glamorous dresses and skimpy clothes strutting along the stage. Nowadays, beauty pageants are no longer limited to women; men as well as gays are also widely welcomed in the arena. In spite of the gains one can acquire from joining beauty contests, the social implication of the burgeoning cultural emphasis on physical beauty is actually disturbing. Beauty pageants have already exceeded their boundaries of providing enjoyment and are now able to penetrate our way of thinking and advance capitalistic principles which validates why people should give extra attention and be cautious of beauty pageants. This research aspires to contribute to the existing knowledge about beauty pageantry in the Filipino society and its long lasting effects. The whole research focused on the beauty pageants for women around ages 1528. It made use of qualitative methods such as content analysis of existing studies about beauty pageants and surveys among Filipino youth and young adults who have an experience in beauty pageants and those who are fascinated by it to see how pageants affect the individual’s emotions, value system and identity formation. The purpose of this study is to examine the ideals of feminine beauty created by beauty pageants and investigate the relationship between pageants and gender discourses, national identity and culture and consumerism; and also how it connect to issues and struggles which are present in individual's life outside the purview of the contest. It was able to investigate how pageant contestants were sexualized and objectified. Furthermore, it shall reveal how prevalent proWestern beauty ideology is to young Filipinos of the present generation. Keywords: Beauty, beauty pageants, beauty myths, culture, identity, discourse, ideology, feminism, objectification, sexualisation, Western, Western beauty, consumerism, media, capitalism, colonialism, ethnocentrism
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The concept of "beauty" is largely shaped by the success and promotion of cosmetic advertisements, which often target women seeking to enhance their physical attractiveness or conceal perceived imperfections. These advertisements heavily influence Filipinas' perceptions of their own beauty. This study aimed to explore how Filipinas perceive their beauty amidst the idealized standards perpetuated by cosmetic advertisements. Using a qualitative descriptive research design, the study involved 10 Filipino participants aged 18 to 24 from Metro Manila, selected through convenience sampling. Participants were interviewed using a validated semi-structured questionnaire, and thematic analysis was employed to interpret the data. Findings revealed that representations of light-skinned or mixedrace Filipinas in advertisements often exclude and distort the self-perception of Filipinas, leading them to undervalue their own beauty in comparison. Despite these influences, Filipinas demonstrated resilience in recognizing their attractiveness, influenced by historical, cultural, societal factors, and technological advancements. Cosmetic advertisements were found to play both positive and negative roles in shaping Filipinas' self-perception, with some participants significantly influenced by these ads while others remained unaffected or disaffected. This study underscores the complex interplay between media representations and individual perceptions of beauty among Filipinas, highlighting the need for a more inclusive and culturally sensitive approach in cosmetic advertising.
Erasing/Embracing the marks of aging: Alternative discourses around beauty among Filipina migrants
The subjects of migration and aging have both attracted scholarly attention from various disciplines, using a wide range of approaches and strategies. The intricacies of the nexus between migration and aging, however, are only now starting to be explored. This paper seeks to contribute towards an exploration of the intersection of aging and migration in the lives of Filipinas using feminist psychology and Sikolohiyang Pilipino (indigenous Filipino psychology, or SP) as methodological frameworks. This paper argues that a poststructuralist approach may be used productively in SP to provide empirical critiques of existing power structures that produce the inequalities we wish to address. Using pakikipagkuwentuhan (an indigenous semi-structured interview method) together with a poststructuralist approach to language, the study examines New-Zealand-based Filipina migrants' meaning-making on beauty and aging. Focusing primarily on the perceived or felt pressure to be beautiful as migrants, and on some of the ways those pressures are resisted, this paper interrogates these perceptions and meanings in the context of a neoliberal subjectivity that emphasizes individual responsibility and choice, of a sexist and ageist social order that diminishes the value of older women, and of a consumerist ethic that regards the body as an object for displaying success as well as a tool for obtaining it. Beauty was found to be an important signifier of success in migration and its maintenance felt as a social obligation; however, counter-discourses of aging embedded in cultural notions of matanda (the elderly), as well as the construction of " choice " as being constrained by the body, allow women space to argue for nonconformity with society's dictates to maintain a particular ideal of beauty.
Discourse on the shifting of local beauty: Concepts in an Easternization era
Masyarakat, Kebudayaan dan Politik
The desire to be beautiful among Indonesian women today is influenced by the construction of beauty from outside of the culture. The popular culture of parts of East Asia has entered Indonesia and the Eastern concept of beauty has brought in a different paradigm compared to the local beauty of the Indonesian people. This study is a descriptive qualitative study involving discourse analysis that examines the shift in the construction of beauty held by Indonesian women in the decades 1990-2000 and 2001-2010 through the cosmetic advertisements that appeared on television. Through this research, the shift in the concept of beauty and the discourse hidden behind the present construction of beauty will be revealed. The results found that in the early 1990s, Indonesian women were still oriented towards the reality of the condition that Indonesian women’s skin is tanned. This shifted to the concept of fair skin being preferred using traditional ethnic materials in Indonesia. From the 2000s ...