My Trip To The Philippines, Part 2: The Power of Colorism And Colonial Mentality

Our brownish-red skin, angled eyes, and Spanish surnames often upset people; depending on a day, season, or context, people might understand us as Asian, Latinx, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, multiracial, or infrequently Black. Some Filipino Americans are so racially obscure that strangers will have to stop and ask us what we are. Others knowledge a accumulation of microaggressions formed on whatever competition people classify us to be. Sometimes, we are told (directly or indirectly) that we aren’t unequivocally Asian; that a skin is too dark; or that we are among a lowest of a Asian totem pole. Because these messages are mostly communicated by East Asian Americans (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, or Korean Americans), many Filipino Americans news feeling some-more affinity with Pacific Islanders, Latinx, and Black Americans, and some build coalitions with South Asians to broadcast that Brown Asians exist.

Article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/my-trip-to-the-philippines-part-2-the-power-of-colorism_us_597a9f76e4b06b305561cf62?section=us_travel