Am I Really Filipino?: The Unintended Consequences of Filipino Language and Culture Courses in Hawai'i

Abstract

The colonial mentality, a perception of Filipino cultural inferiority, results in many Filipinos distancing themselves from their Filipino heritage. In Hawai‘i, the colonial history of the Philippines is reinforced by the history of Hawai‘i’s plantation era and the creation of a “local” identity, which marginalizes the Filipino community and strengthens the colonial mentality. A content analysis of 105 essays written by Filipino students enrolled in college-level Filipino language and culture classes in Hawai‘i was conducted to critically examine whether and how educational curriculum is used to challenge the colonial mentality. Data analysis shows students often entered classrooms with a colonial mentality that they learned through familial socialization and experiences of ethnic discrimination outside of the family. Although these language and culture courses helped students to reconnect with their Filipino heritage, many students developed a positive and essentialist construction of a Filipino identity, which reduced the individual’s agency in constructing an identity and facilitated processes of othering.

Filipinos Love Serving Others: Negotiating a Filipino Identity in Hawai’i

“…When this occurs, individuals’ attempts to create positive constructions of their newly adopted identity can reinforce dominant racial ideologies and structures. It is important not to downplay that since individuals are encouraged to distance themselves from any association with Filipino (Eisen et al 2015; Labrador 2015; Okada 2007; Okamura 2008), publicly claiming a Filipino identity in Hawai’i is an act of resistance. However, as shown previously, when individuals are pushed into a Filipino identity without the support to construct it in a decolonizing way, they must draw on dominant racial ideologies to create a seemingly positive view of being Filipino.…”

“…It is vital that these educational spaces enable students to reflect on Filipino identity rather than merely replace a negative narrative with a positive one (Halagao, Tintiangco-Cubales, and Cordova 2009). Daniel B. Eisen et al (2015) show that although positive conceptualizations of Filipino culture can combat an individual’s shame in being Filipino if the conceptualizations are rooted in essentialist depictions, they can continue to divide communities and prevent critical explorations of Filipino identity. Thus, decolonizing the mind must include processes of naming, reflecting on, and consciously acting to combat internalized racism and the stigmatization of Filipinos (Strobel 2001).…”

“…Although Filipino experiences across the United States are diverse, a tenuous relationship with a Filipino identity is not uncommon (Agbayani-Stewert and Revilla 1995; David and Okazaki 2006a; Eisen, Takasaki, and Tagayuna 2015; Ferrera 2016; Labrador 2015; Ocampo 2016; Revilla 1997; Strobel 2001; Tiamzon 2013; Tuason et al 2006). Contrary to the popular belief that individuals merely claim the racial or ethnic group that they are born into, Filipinos in the United States are often situated in racialized social systems that denigrate Filipino culture and identity and encourage one to disassociate from being Filipino.…”

Healing justice: Engaging an ethic of care in the academy and within our communities.

“…Many second-generation Filipinx Americans expressed a longing to know more about their heritage and culture and what it means to be "more Filipino." Many of them shared their stories of being racialized and "Othered" (Eisen et al, 2015). Their experiences resonated with my own.…”

Engaging Filipinx Americans in Higher Education to Foster Student Success

“…Ethnic and Racial Identity. Filipinx Americans encounter great difficulty in asserting their own conceptions of their ethnic identity, a fourth challenge, as well as having it accepted by other groups (Eisen, Takasaki & Tagayuna, 2015;Ocampo, 2016;Okamura, 2008). Filipinx students may consider themselves as racially distinct and inappropriately linked with the term Asian American (David, 2006a;2006b;Ocampo, 2016).…”