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Insecurity in the identity of Filipinos

The Filipino identity insecurity refers to the preference and the desire to associate with western values. This internalized feeling is due to the significant influence of Spain and the United States in Philippine culture during colonial times. The strong influence has led to an immediate rejection of Filipino values due to the feeling of inferiority in comparison to western ideals. This characteristic also refers to the lack of confidence and support of a Filipino in his/her ethnic identity, culture, and interests.

Roots of Identity Insecurity of Filipinos

A. Spanish Colonization

Spain Colonized the Philippines from 1565 to 1898, in that span of time Philippine traditions were drastically changed. From our native beliefs of worshipping different Gods, the Spaniards converted us into Christianity and now the Philippines is the only christian nation in Asia (Miller. n.d.)

B. American Colonization

America annexed the Philippine Nation in the treaty of Versailles and the country was under American territory until the Jones Act in 1916 or more specifically up until the Americans deemed Filipinos fit to govern themselves. Americans introduced education to the Filipinos using the English language which was deemed as a universal language (Doochin, 2019). This led to Filipinos associating those who could speak the English language fluently with a higher social status because of education and using the native language of the land is not as respected as English.

C.Japanese Colonization

Japanese Occupation in the Philippines occurred in 1941 - 1945 during the 2nd world war. Japanese teachings were not supported by the Filipino people because they preferred the offerings of the Americans. However nowadays Filipinos would say that Japanese rice is a better quality rice than from what is locally produced in the country

Examples of Identity Insecurity of Filipinos

A. Lack of support for local products, artists, etc.

In the Philippines, pursuing art is something that is given a negative connotation. A lot of people give up on pursuing art and have put a premium on financial stability (Abinuman, 2017). Questions such as, “What will you do with your art?”, “Will it really feed you and put a roof over your head?” are often thrown to people who pursue the arts. Thus, art is often seen as something that can only be a habit, a past time, and not something advantageous on a long-term basis. Thus, art has been looked down on, especially local art.

This has created a problem for Filipino art because while we have artists such as Fernando Amorsolo and Juan Luna who will always be remembered and become familiar names in Philippine art and history, they are by far the only ones known while other local artists are often shunned. The recent local artists are shunned because their work are often opinionated to be unoriginal, not meeting a certain standard, or not as good as their Western counterparts (Abinuman, 2017). The dissatisfaction towards the craft of local artists is limited to a certain template - cannot be more, should be as interesting, and not worth the time if they don’t meet the said standards. So with this limitation towards the artists’, they aren’t able to express their original or unconventional ideas since that’s not what people are used to. The local artists’ freedom to express their art forces them to just create “art” that sells.

Majority of the local artists are also fairly new thus still navigating their way across the field of the online or the real world, and usually they follow or do whatever their heart desires. But these are the people who often go unrecognized, because of the diversity - the artists that range of color, of life, of perspectives, of art in every corner.

The problem is further exacerbated by the lack of support, specifically by the government. Gabriel (2016) states how there is a lack of support from big institutions and the government. Funding for art projects such as art exhibitions are difficult to scout for when expenses such as operational costs are needed on almost a day-to-day basis (Chikiamco, 2010). Furthermore, without stable funding, this creates a barrier and stoppage for local artists to give and express their outputs as their basic needs to fund the output can barely be met. Chikiamco (2010) further states, “The international recognition of a country’s artists can really sometimes be (only) as substantial as the budget it provides for it.”

The local artists not only have to survive with a lack of recognition, and lack of funding and support, they also have to contend with yet another seismic shift, this time into the expanding world of digital media where only the fittest may survive (Arceo-Dumlao, 2014). Abinuman (2017) states that the effects of colonial mentality and the unappreciation of local art are correlated factors but even if education on the effects of colonial mentality has been continued and done again and again, it’s still not enough to create appreciation of our own local art. The proliferation of foreign art such as foreign music and the arrival of more foreign artists on local shores have been posing stiff competition with Filipino artists (Arceo-Dumlao, 2014). Without the local support, the art industry would not be able to develop further and revenues will not be able to be generated that will allow Filipino artists to invest in the talents deeper.

B. Confusion of Identity

The Philippines is one of the most diverse communities you can live in. There are a lot of people from different other countries or maybe even Filipinos that look like they are from other countries. Even in the pre-colonial, when basing off the Boxer Codex, varieties of Filipinos can be seen.

In a study conducted by Yacat (2005), results showed a great deviation in the participants’ definitions of what a Filipino is. There are discrepancies on the foci of the definitions depending on the group the respondent belongs to. With this, no single Filipino can truly say what it really means to be a Filipino.

Establishment of Identity

The lack of consensus on the Filipino identity has become a challenge for fostering nationalist sentiments among its people. This has been identified by several columnists, scholars, and officials as the root cause of many social problems, including identity insecurity (Mulder, 2013).

The Filipino Identity is a mix of several pre-colonial cultures that have gradually been influenced by colonizers and foreign traders over the past centuries. Establishing a collective identity for the Filipino people assumes the challenge of determining what might be thought of as authentic qualities of the Filipino. In common nativist rhetoric, the true Filipino identity has been strongly associated with the untouched cultures of indigenous Filipinos (Daguimol, 2010). This notion is the subject of debate for many nationalists and academics who argue that foreign culture acquired by the Filipinos have ceased to become foreign once fully assimilated into local culture (Alas, 2020).

References

Abinuman, A. (2017, July 22). Why is Filipino art under-appreciated? Candy Magazine. https://www.candymag.com/lifestyle/what-s-wrong-with-filipino-art-and-why-is-it-under-appreciated-a1580-20170722

Alas, P. (2020, February 7). On The Term “pre-Hispanic Philippines.” EL FILIPINISMO. https://pepealas.wordpress.com/2020/02/07/on-the-term-pre-hispanic-philippines/

Arceo-Dumlao, T. (2014, March 19). Filipino musicians, artists demand support from gov’t, people. INQUIRER.net. https://business.inquirer.net/166464/filipino-musicians-artists-demand-support-from-govt-people

Chikiamco, C. (2010, May 24). The struggle for Philippine art - then and now. Philstar Global. https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/2010/05/24/577469/struggle-philippine-art-then-and-now

Daguimol, C. D. (2010). Establishing a Filipino Identity using the Philosophy of Michel Foucault. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/48633984.pdf

Doochin, D. (2019). “English as an International Universal Language”. Babbel Magazine Retrieved from: https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/international-languages

Gabriel, D. (2016, December 18). Artists continue to look for government support. Business Mirror. https://businessmirror.com.ph/2016/12/18/artists-continue-to-look-for-government-support/

Lasco, G. (2021, January 15). The use and misuse of ‘colonial mentality’. INQUIRER.net. https://opinion.inquirer.net/137014/the-use-and-misuse-of-colonial-mentality

Miller, J. (n.d.). “Religion in the Philippines”. Retrieved from: https://asiasociety.org/education/religion-philippines#:~:text=The%20Philippines%20proudly%20boasts%20to,well%20over%20100%20Protestant%20denominations.

Mulder, N. (2013). Filipino Identity: The Haunting Question | Mulder | Journal Of Current Southeast Asian Affairs. https://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jsaa/article/view/640/638.html

Yacat, J. (2005). Making Sense of Being and Becoming Filipinos: An Indigenous Psychology Perspective. https://pssc.org.ph/wp-content/pssc-archives/Philippine%20Journal%20of%20Psychology/2005/04_Making%20Sense%20of%20Being%20and%20Becoming%20Filipinos_%20An%20Indigenous%20Psychology%20Perspective.pdf.