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The Filipino American Identity

The Filipino American Identity . Lorna Pham, M.A., Psy.D Lorna.pham@gmail.com (714) 287-2642 P.O Box 5180 Orange, CA 92863. Stereotypes. “All Filipinos/Filipina are nurses or are in the navy” Short and dark Not “Asian” enough or does not represent the “model minority.”

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The Filipino American Identity

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  1. The Filipino American Identity Lorna Pham, M.A., Psy.D Lorna.pham@gmail.com (714) 287-2642 P.O Box 5180 Orange, CA 92863

  2. Stereotypes • “All Filipinos/Filipina are nurses or are in the navy” • Short and dark • Not “Asian” enough or does not represent the “model minority.” • Being inferior, uncultured, or criminals (Okamura, 1998). • Backwards, uneducated • Tend to marry outside of their race

  3. What makes Filipino unique • 70% English speakers compared to 60% other Asian American counterparts. • 80% Catholics (due to Spanish influence) • Diverse mixture of cultures ( Spanish, American, Chinese, Malaysian). • Only country in Asia to identify with Spain, and being “Hispanic,” rather than Asian (Trevino, 1987). • Family oriented, strong sense of family obligation and responsibility. • Warm, friendly, hospitable.

  4. Filipino Americans • Filipino Americans represent the second largest Asian American group in the United States (US Census Bureaus, 2010). • 3.4 million Filipino Americans living in the United States. • More than half are living in West Coast and Hawaii • The only Asian American that has been placed into several ethnic categories (Asian American, Pacific Islander, Hispanics, or Filipino). • San Diego, CA= 336,091 Asian population, 146,618 Filipino Americans (44%).

  5. Filipino American cont. • Filipino American adolescents have the highest rate of reported depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation (President’s Advisory Commission on AAPI, 2001). • Low suicide rate may be due to strong influence of the Catholic church (Edman et al., 1998). • Lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of depression than other ethnic groups (Ramaut, 2005).

  6. History of the Philippines • Over four centuries of Spanish colonization (1565-1821). • Almost fifty years of U.S. colonization • Other colonization: Aboriginal ethnic roots, Malay, Muslim, East Asian, Pacific Islanders, Chinese, and Indonesia • More than one hundred dialects, Tagalog is the official language and English is the second language.

  7. Effects of Colonization • Conversion to Catholicism. • Men needed to be the provider of the family, while women were expected to morally uphold the Catholic virtues and take care of their children. • Replacement of indigenous names to Hispanic or American names (Strobel, 2001). • Established the use of English as the second language. • Introduced public education and promoted Westernized standard of living as the ideal way to succeed in socio-economic level and presumably more “civilized.”

  8. Effects of Colonization cont. • Memmi (1965), Fanon (1965) and Freire (1970), concur that one of the most profound effects of colonization is the perception that one’s ethnicity is inferior to the colonizer, which oftentimes lead to an internalized feeling of shame, resentment, and embarrassment, about one’s cultural identification and heritage. • David and Ozaki (2006): denigration of one’s sense of self, denigration of Filipino culture and body, disparagement against those that are less acculturated, and tolerance and acquiescence of oppression toward one’s ethnic group.

  9. Identity development • Placed in different categories in the United States (Pacific Islander, Asian, Filipino, and Hispanic). • Ethnic categorization may have impacted Filipino American identity (Nadal & Sue, 2009). • More acculturated and are more likely to marry someone outside of their ethnic group. • Do not adhere to the “pure race” mentality (Spickard, 1997; Nadal, 2009). • 21.8% of Filipino Americans are of mixed race (U.S. Census). • Filipino parents discouraged their children from speaking their native language and to speak only English.

  10. Identity development cont. • Common to deny their ethnicity as Filipino, or claim that they are mixed. • “IMSCF Syndrome” I am Spanish-Chinese-Filipino (Nadal 2009). • Filipino Americans often describe feeling of not belonging to any of the ethnic group. • Lighter skinned Filipino is highly valued in the Filipino communities and mainstream media. • Filipino Americans more likely to be assumed as a criminal or intellectually inferior than Chinese Americans.

  11. Identity development cont. • U.S born Filipino Americans (2nd generation) struggle for a sense of identity. • First generation had a higher ethnic identity scores, according to the MEIM (Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure).

  12. Pilipino American Identity Development Model • Kevin Nadal developed the model in 2004. • Six progressive stages that take into account the complexity of Filipino American ethnic development. • Understand acculturation levels. 1. Ethnic awareness. 2. Assimilation to dominant culture. 3. Social political awakening 4. Panethnic Asian American consciousness 5. Ethnocentric realization 6. Incorporation.

  13. Pilipino American Identity Model cont. • Ethnic Awareness- occurs in early childhood, individual understand he/she is Filipino (innate) • Assimilation to Dominant Culture- Realizes he/she is different from dominant cultural norms. • Social Political Awakening-He/she becomes actively aware of racial and cultural differences from the dominant group. • Panethnic Asian American Consciousness- Filipino adopts the Asian American identity. • Ethnocentric Realization-Filipino American rejects Asian American identity and may be accepting of Filipino ethnocentric identity. • Introspection-Filipino American learned to accept one’s role as and Asian American while maintaining a strong sense of ethnic identity.

  14. A study on 1.5 Generation Filipino Americans Identity • Definition of 1.5: A foreign born Asian Americans that have immigrated to the United States during adolescence. • Bicultural, bilingual, have the ability to cross ethnic and generational boundaries. • Filipino immigrants who came to the U.S. post-1965 and brought their children in hopes of better education and better living standards. • Can create psychological stress.

  15. 1.5 Generation cont. • Participants were bilingual and were able to integrate both Filipino and American culture. • Continued to explore their Filipino culture: preserving their native language, having Filipino food, watching Filipino movies, having Filipino friends, cohesiveness of their family. • Colonialism was not directly acknowledged, but were aware of the impact that religion and education has had on their culture. • Acceptance of being bi-cultural and bi-lingual in today’s society.

  16. References • Edman, J.L., Andrade, N.N., Glipa, J., Danko, G.P., Yates, A., Johnson, R.C., Mc Dermont (1998). Depressive symptoms among Filipino American adolescents. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health 4(1), 45-54. • Nadal, K.L. (2004). Filipino American identity development model. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development 32(1), 44-61. • Nadal, K.L (2009). Filipino American Psychology: A Handbook of theory, research, and clinical practice. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse Publishing. • Okumura, J.Y, (1998). Imagining the Filipino American diasporas: Transnational relations, identities, and communities. New York: Garland Publishing. • Spickard, P. (1997). What must I be? Asian Americans and the questions of multiethnicity identity. Amerasia Journal 23(1), 43-60. • The Asian Population:2010. Washington DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-11.pdf

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