Representation of Beauty in Filipino Fashion Magazines

Joaquin Martin R. Baja

Grade 12 – Senior High School

Integrated Developmental School
Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology

Abstract
Beauty has been an indication to one’s social status in life. People strive to achieve it for
confidence and to boost one’s self-image. Filipinos in particular try to achieve that beauty by following
what beauty standards are present in society. The fact that these beauty standards favor foreign-like
features, one can say that it’s degrading one’s own self-image. We are Filipinos and we should accept
ourselves and take pride in it but because of factors like colonial mentality that run deep in us, we choose
not to. This research focuses on how beauty is represented in magazines and an analysis on how Fashion
Magazines in the Philippines shall be done to further elaborate on the point this research is trying to make.
The analysis will categorize the pictures of models in chosen magazines and determine the factors and/or
symbols used to show how beauty is represented.
Keywords: Representation, Beauty, Perception

1.0 Introduction:

What do commercials, beauty products, and magazines in the Philippines all have in
common? Celebrities. Celebrities whom we consider as the epitome of beauty and are regarded
in a high manner to the point that wanting to be them or having similar features is a standard in
order to become beautiful. Another thing to consider is that their portrayal of beauty is very
western as seen by how they strive to be whiter for example. It creates this cycle where these
models follow these beauty standards and those who consume the media’s portrayal of beauty
absorb what they put out and then it goes back to the models, repeating the cycle. This results in
Filipinos going the extra mile to conform to the beauty standards set by society in order to feel
better about themselves. This is somewhat the same as saying that looks are inferior to the
western type of beauty and if we see ourselves as inferior in something as little as this, then
we’re inferior to others. This research intends to shed a light on the representation of beauty in
magazines and how its portrayal affects how Filipino women see beauty. Indicating the fact that
none of this would matter, how then are we able to move on from this mentality in which we are
subject to?
 From entertainment to one’s way of living, Filipinos try so hard to become like those who
they think are superior. It’s probably a desperate attempt to escape the reality of poverty,
metaphorically and literally, in which the Philippines is currently under. This in itself is a sign
that Filipinos are unconsciously degrading and undermining their own nationality and culture.
It’s ironic to think that the pride they speak of is nothing more than just flowery words whose
only use is decoration. They say Filipinos are proud yet they say it English and not in Tagalog.
They watch foreign shows and say that the shows shown in the Philippines are just a cheap
knock-off. Even in the concept of beauty, Filipinos strive to be foreign-looking. They try to stay
white as long as possible and even use skin whitening products made in the US. They call
themselves Filipinos yet they don’t even like our own color. This isn’t only applicable to
individuals but parents too. Parents would even keep their children indoors as to make them
whiter or pinch their children’s noses to make it bigger. Now imagine what that would instill in
the child’s mind. It could stem the idea that to be beautiful or to be acknowledged by one’s
parents, you have to be white and only then can you be beautiful. Not only that but children still
don’t have a concrete idea on their identity so they imitate what they think would suit them.
Many magazines feature young models and who’s to say that these kids don’t follow what they
see? How long should Filipinos stay this way? How long have Filipinos unconsciously enslave
themselves to an oppressor who thrives in our minds? One must rise from this globally accepted
concept of beauty to truly say that their identity as a nation is that of their own and not somebody
else’s. One could also say that this is a way of being part of that group where pride and self-
confidence would stem from. People would feel better about themselves when they feel superior
to others in looks or in color. They may think that way but behind it all, they’re just insecure and
need to feel assured that they need not bother.

As you can see, we are plagued by how the media presents beauty and those who are
preyed upon by the media intake such representations giving birth to loyal followers of the
beauty standard they have set forth. By gathering data from fashion magazines accessible in
bookstores, this shall support the researchers’ claims of how these representations are toxic and
cancerous to the minds of the general populace. If successful, Filipinos shall be one step closer to
achieving the identity that they lost in pursuit of greed and superiority among their fellowmen.
Then we can finally hold our head up high and be proud to call ourselves, Pinoy.

1.1 Thesis Statement:

Fashion magazines help shape how Filipinos perceive and/or understand the concept of
beauty through how it is represented in these magazines.

1.2 Statement of the Problem:

This research focuses on how beauty is represented in fashion magazines. Its aims
are two-fold. The first one is to point out the researchers claims by examining fashion magazines
in the Philippines, shaping the current beauty standard present in society and the second one is to
elaborate these representations and how they shape the readers’ outlook on what it means to be
beautiful. The main point that this research paper is trying to problematize is that Filipinos,
follow these beauty standards present in fashion magazines for the sake of looks and/or
superiority. To further elaborate on the research at hand, the guide questions listed below shall be
answered throughout the research paper.

 What are the factors that these magazines use in considering what is beautiful?
 In what way do these magazines portray them?
  1.3 Conceptual Framework:

Female Readers

Beauty Magazines Representation

The image above represents the whole concept of this research or how it was conceived
in the mind of the researcher. It shows how the representation of beauty in certain magazines in
the Philippines affects how its readers perceive beauty. Now, we look into fashion magazines in
the Philippines featuring well-known individuals. The people shown in these magazines are
Filipinos whose physical features are considered to be beautiful. Filipinos get this idea that to be
beautiful you have to look like or have the features of the models present in the magazine. This
in return creates a beauty standard that favors the western-type of beauty. The preference of
white skin or being thin is an example of that beauty standard that has been etched in the minds
of the members of our society and is reflected back in these magazines. It’s a cycle where the
readers subject themselves to something that is subjective and show it in magazines reassuring
the assured that they are beautiful.

1.4 Scope and Limitations:

As stated before in this research paper, the main tool to be used is magazines, specifically
speaking, magazines in the Philippines where models are shown and are well-known in this
industry. This will not include magazines that do not feature any fashion-related pictures like
cooking magazines or magazines like Top Gear. The magazines are locally bought, meaning the
vicinity where the researcher is present. Anything that needs to be shipped or magazines
exclusive to specific locations are not part of this research.
1.5 Significance of the Study:

One may think that beauty isn’t that big of a deal when it comes to understanding the
underlying problems of a society but even something as abstract as this can be problematic.
Looking at the whole issue in another perspective, it can be concluded that beauty standards
undermine distinct Filipino traits, skin color being one of these traits. This extends not only to
the people’s concept of beauty but even in the taste in music, literature, and films, which is seen
as a manifestation of the Filipinos’ discontent and the mindset in which they think they are
inferior. As you can see, something as subjective as beauty has its fair share of problems that
have stemmed since colonial times. The fact that beauty standards in the Philippines are very
western is problematic on its own. Nevertheless, this doesn’t imply that indulging oneself with
western goods makes you western just like how living in the Philippines doesn’t make you
Filipino. However, Filipinos must not imitate western culture and must recognize their own. No
two countries are alike so what’s the point in trying to be something you’re not? It’s counter-
productive by all means.
Everyone is smart in their own way but to be beautiful, you don’t have to be or do
anything but be yourself. At the end of the day, confidence comes when you are beautiful and
smart. There’s no concrete meaning for beauty so blindly subjecting one’s self to that which is
subjective is impractical. This research may only talk about beauty and how it is presented in
fashion magazines but it is one step to spreading awareness and opens the eyes of the people who
are blind to the whole tribulation and strengthen the integrity of cultural identity.
 CHAPTER 2
Review on Related Literature

Examining the representations of beauty in fashion magazines in the Philippines is what

this research shall focus on and how these representations feed the beauty standards that lurk
within the minds of the readers. This in return twists their sense of beauty. For example, rather
than having and loving their own brown color, which is due to the fact that the country they live
in is an equatorial country, they would rather be white because women in magazines are also
white. It’s sad to see that most people are more concerned with a western beauty standard rather
than a beauty standard that fits Filipinos. Filipinos have prided themselves of their nationality,
the culture in which they grew up in, and the values they have learned in their lifetimes but
looking at the current generation, we have lost that pride and strive to change rather than
strengthening the country’s cultural integrity. Going back to the concept of beauty, this brings us
to the argument of the study that for Filipino women, beauty is equated to having features that
are similar to the models in fashion magazines which is caused by the beauty standard they feed
the readers. Merriam-Webster defines beauty as the quality or aggregate of qualities in a
person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasu rably exalts the mind or spirit.
Perhaps the most familiar definition of beauty is that it is subjective which is true.
Beauty isn’t a quality in the thing itself but within the mind of the person, that’s why
it’s considered subjective. In the Philippine context, beauty is equated to features that
most would consider un-Filipino look. Some factors as to how this came to be is
probably because of Colonial Mentality and the Media’s portrayal of beauty.

COLONIAL MENTALITY

There have been many definitions as to what this term means. According to Ashley
Decena, it is defined as the perception of ethnic and cultural inferiority and a form of internalized
racial oppression. Colonialism, as some would define, is a practice of domination which involves
the subjugation of one people to another, and generally involves the transfer of population to the
new territory dominating the resources, labor, and the markets of the colonial territory and may
also impose socio-cultural, religious, and linguistic structures on the conquered population
(Bullock & Trombley, 1999; Kohn, 2006).

David and Okazaki (2006), is the perception of ethnic and cultural inferiority, a form of
internalized oppression that is “a specific consequence of centuries of colonization under Spain
and the U.S. and it involves an automatic and uncritical rejection of anything Filipino and an
automatic and uncritical preference for anything American”. From another perspective, it’s the
mentality where the oppressed tries to become the oppressor to be part of its superiority or to
discriminate to not be discriminated, which is more like a bandwagon effect.

Ambag et. al. (2016) states, that colonial mentality refers to systemic feelings of
inferiority within some societies or people who have been subjected to colonialism, relative to
the mores or values of the foreign powers which had previously subjugated them. The concept
essentially refers to the acceptance, by the colonized, of the culture or doctrines of the colonizer
as intrinsically more worthy or superior. In the end, it is the feeling of inferiority within the
society that has been subjected to colonialism of foreign power. Colonial mentality also is related
to the values and actions of that foreign power.
 According to David and Okazaki (2006), its degree is not constrained to the support of
outside items but rather likewise includes the decision of dialect, idea of magnificence,
instructive framework, laws and approaches, and even political framework. According to
Rondilla (2009) the Filipino fascination for fair skin must be rooted in the country’s more than
three-hundred-year-oppression by the Spaniards, closely followed by the American occupation.
We cannot deny the fact that these long years of Spanish and American colonization have deeply
rooted and ingrained effects on our cultural practices, beliefs, and the like. This must mean that
even our sense of morality, our religion, and yes, even our standards of beauty might have been
greatly affected by the years under western rule.

EFFECTS OF COLONIAL MENTALITY

As we all know, this mentality has sprouted from when the Philippines was still in a
colonized state and although this has already come to pass, the effects of such acts are still
prevalent in our present society. There are two kinds of effects that are caused by colonial
mentality and these are cultural and social effects.

Cultural Effects
Culture refers to the traits and personalities of a certain race. Sir Ian would define it as a
story we tell ourselves about ourselves. The Filipinos are known for their helpfulness or what
they call bayanihan. It is the practice of helping a person when he is in need. An example is
when a car has a flat tire and the bystanders would help the driver fix his wheel. However, when
a fellow Filipino’s car breaks down in the middle of the road, instead of helping, they would
beep their horns and curse because of traffic but a different scene happens when a famous
foreign personality’s car breaks down. Bystanders would immediately help him because he’s
famous and in the concept of colonial mentality, people would refer to the foreigner as more
important.

Another example is during the time of the Philippine Republic. The political system of
the Philippines is mainly patterned after the US, with a bicameral legislature and a president
elected every four years, limited to one re-election. Clearly, it can be seen that even after the US
set the Filipinos free, they still followed their political system proving that they are still thinking
that if they pattern their political system to theirs, they might be able to succeed and progress too.
Though during that time, maybe the political system was applicable to the Philippines before but
overall, it would depend on what stimulus the people of the nation react to. Colonial mentality
not only affected the Filipinos mentally but also psychologically. An example of the
psychological effect of colonial mentality is the condition of internalized oppression, which is
very common. There is also a tendency and the desire to distance himself or herself to his or her
culture just to be able to become alike with the colonizer. Because of this, it is slowly killing the
so-called rich culture of the Filipinos.

Social Effect
It is evident how people prefer or show favoritism in foreigners. The way they socialize
with them, though some natives cannot speak their language very well, they still try. Why?
Because they have this thinking of having foreigner friends will make them better or more
superior than the other natives. Their purpose in showing care and affection to them is not for
hospitality but for them to be closer, thus, conclude into thinking that it will actually lift their
status in life.

Furthermore, because of colonial mentality, some Filipinos tease and discriminate their
fellow Filipinos who cannot speak English very well and regard that having a foreign blood or
race is more attractive than those who are full Filipinos. The way they interact with the common
people is different compared to how they talk with the latter. This is slowly killing the Filipino
ties that the Filipinos were once proud of.

Another case is that colonial mentality strikes the confidence of the Filipinos leading to
an inferiority complex. This is the reason why people in one country disregard their own culture
in exchange for the culture of the other country. Just like in the Philippines, whenever they are
compared to a foreigner, they most of the time feel inferior and lose their confidence. They think
that foreigners have always been better than themselves. The reason for this dates back to the
history of the Philippines where the natives were often discriminated for their physical
appearances like their skin color and English proficiency. Some were even treated as slaves and
prisoners and that’s one of the reasons why the thought of foreigners as superiors came in to the
Filipino minds. Some Filipinos continuously pinch their noses to make them less flat and look
more European. They also stay away from the sun or use skin whitening products to look whiter
and regard English proficiency and levels of Americanization as yardsticks of intelligence and
status.

Media’s Portrayal of Beauty

The media plays a major role in shaping how people see or understand what is
beautiful especially when it comes to imposing the definition of beauty. Most of the celebrities in
the Philippines, compared to non-celebrities, look foreign. For Krisitin Renault (2015), many of
the images in films, magazines, and the Internet have the same idealization of beauty: tall, thin,
blonde, high cheek boned faces, and white skin. Minority women are especially
underrepresented in the film and modeling industry, and should they appear in any ads, their
physical appearance adheres to the standards of white beauty. Renault argues that the media is
authorizing the spread of a globally accepted concept of beauty by showing these ads. This
eventually led to a stratification of skin color or colorism.

Colorism is linked to colonialism in this paper because of the idea that white skin is better
than brown skin (Hunter 2007; Hunter 2002; Thompson and Keith 2001; Renault 2015). Even
among African-americnas, social division is still evident. Blacks with lighter skin color
experience higher opportunity than that of dark-skinned people (Hochschild & Weaver 2007).

An example of this is that in the entertainment industry, one can generalize that Filipinos
(especially those with white ancestry) are given more attention than those who are not. They
become famous and well-known more easily. Clearly, the reason why the entertainment industry
is giving much interest to the actors and actresses is because they have more profit in them. They
find more profit in them because the Filipinos adore them and to the extent of even idolizing
them and becoming like them. Those actors and actresses become instant hits in our society
because of this type of mentality. It goes to show that Filipinas easily embrace this cultural norm,
as evident by the skin bleaching clinics in the Philippines (David 2013).

Irah Ty (2016) states that there are two types of beauty Filipinos fawn over as evidenced
by what is presented by the media: The Caucasian mestiza (Half caucasian with caucasian
features) or the Chinita mestiza (Half Chinese with the much adored “chinita” eyes). She also
states that Filipinos consider you beautiful if you have the following features:
 Fair Skin
 Long, straight, black hair
 Tall Nose
 Slant Eyes
 Sexy or fit
 Slender Eyebrows

Basically, as long as you look like a mestizo then you’re already beautiful without a
single shed of a doubt. If you’re going to look at the well-known models in the Philippines is that
they’re a mix of foreign and local blood. Take Pia Wurtzbach for example. She’s a mix between
a German and Filipino. It’s not a simple coincidence and this shows how the media manipulates
the beauty standards in the Philippines. An example of this would be the cliché movies wherein
the female protagonist is first depicted as ugly then here comes the beautifying ray and poof no
more dark skin, curly hair, crooked teeth, and unfashionable glasses.

Conclusion
It wouldn’t come as a surprise how these beauty standards were shaped due to
factors such as Media and Colonial Mentality. With all these ads featuring beautiful women,
it’s not a surprise to see other women trying to look like or to look even better than some. In a
society where social status equates to how many likes you get, beauty is everything. To achieve
this ideal type of beauty, you follow these standards. As media spreads this notion of beauty,
girls would follow it as it is the norm and are easily baited for they are self-conscious or insecure
about their looks. In order to be socially accepted, one has to look their best in order to rule out
the possibility of being ridiculed and alienated. Not to mention the pressure for girls to conform
to feminine beauty ideals. Some may say that adhering to these beauty standards and change
one’s physical appearance is just part of the changes present due to modernity and to be
progressive, one must adapt to it. Is changing one’s identity really an equal trade for the pursuit
of beauty? Filipinos will always be Filipinos no matter how much they use cosmetics and
whitening products to look like Caucasians or adhere to the globally accepted notion of beauty.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be beautiful but keep in mind that beauty is subjective
and in a sense, we’re all beautiful. We don’t have to follow any guides on beauty because
confidence will come after accepting who and what you are. At the end of the day, one can’t
totally pin down beauty for it is subjective so changing yourself to suit the needs of society is a
waste of time because you’re already beautiful.
 CHAPTER 3
Methodologies
For the research design, this research will use content analysis and a semiotic way to
gather the data. By interpreting and coding the textual material, magazines specifically, this
research shall gather the data needed to support its claims.

3.1 Unit of Analysis

As the title states, the unit of analysis of this research paper will focus on getting its data
on Fashion magazines in the Philippines. A few examples regarding the magazines to be used are
Metro, Total Girl, Candy, and Fashion Editorials.

3.2 Research Data and Gathering Procedure

The data gathering procedure will be from magazines through content and semiotic
analysis by analyzing, interpreting, and coding data derived from it. This shall be done by
gathering photos from the chosen Fashion Magazines and analyze what symbols can be derived
from it. It will also include physical features like the shape of the nose, face, and mouth, and
bodily features such as height, weight, and non-physical ones like what they’re wearing or what
is present in the photo besides the model. By lying the data out on a table of observation, further
discussions and an easier-to-grasp idea of the whole topic shall present itself.
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