Brown Skin, White Masks: The Bleaching Epidemic of South East Asia.

In the Philippines, Thailand, India, and some other parts of Asia, having white skin gives one an unspeakable advantage. The folks who bleached their brown-skin to look somewhat Caucasian are usually favored by many and are desired by some. Although most southeast Asians are born with nut-brown, somewhat darker complexions, as close to black, their society has molded them not to be noble about it. After all, their lives are fashioned by the criteria set by colonial culture, indeed disturbing.

During my trips to The Philippines and Thailand, white skin or fairer skin was associated with beauty. At the Catholic church in Manila, just driving past it, one will notice that Middle Eastern Jesus has been molded White-European. Colonized minds make them believe it. And it doesn’t stay there but runs deeper to the images of Sto, Niño, and Mama Mary that they have come to worship every Sunday that looked like Spanish Colonizers. These realities were somewhat disturbing, and after seeing the world through their eyes, the hate-for-self had moved me to a conclusion, saying to myself, “wow, these folks out here are really into their fantasies.”