The Filipino Way

Western society as a whole has been pegged as having low morals and holding on to no traditional values. Many outsiders from other areas in the world believe in this idea. America has been known as the land of the free. To many minorities, in particular people native to the Philippines or of Filipino heritage, white American women uphold this belief of freedom through their sexuality. The Filipino culture is very conservative compared to present day American culture when it comes to being sexually active.

According to Yen Le Espiritu, in her work, “Americans Have a Different Attitude,” female morality allows racialized immigrants to assert cultural superiority over the dominant group. Minorities see the dominant group, white Americans, as the oppressor and need ways to overcome this oppression psychologically. Holding a higher moral and value set allows minorities to feel superior to mainstream white America, the same system that has made them feel inferior in nearly all aspects of life. Espiritu, herself a Filipino, describes Filipino immigrants as claiming moral distinctiveness for their community because Filipino women are expected to remain virgins until they are married, ideally to a Filipino man. They view white American women as sexual deviants, corrupt and individualistic people. The media, portraying mostly white actors and actresses’ lewd behavior, compounds their beliefs. Clearly, not all white American women are sexually promiscuous and not all Filipino women are chaste, but the beliefs held by Filipino minorities has been a source of pride and self-respect for their ethnic group. Like many minorities, Filipinos see America as a land of economic opportunity, but denounce it socially and morally.

There is an increasing social divide between native Filipino parents and their American born offspring based on the Filipino idea of sexuality. The native Filipino parents want to instill in their children the moral values they have grown up following. In a society that favors the rich and famous, the beautiful and sexually appealing, the values of Filipinos and the lack of values of Western society clash. Filipino parents do not raise their sons and daughters with the same rules and expectations. Boys are typically allowed to stay out later and are not questioned about where they go. On the other hand, girls are oftentimes not allowed to go on dates or anywhere there may be boys. This imbalance has created resentment towards Filipino parents from teenage girls. The parents are finding they cannot control their American-born children and, as a result, the traditional values of American-born Filipinos are slowly eroding. Filipino parents attempt to counter-act this attitude by making their children feel guilty if they become too ‘American.’ Espiritu argues all immigrant parents, not just Filipino, attempt to control their children in this matter.

The idea that white American women are overly sexually active is an idea held by many minority groups. The mindset Filipino women have about their sexuality and how they are able to maintain cultural superiority over the dominant group is a very attractive idea for minorities because their sexuality is one of the few things the dominant society cannot take away. I personally believe the media has negatively influenced this mindset minorities have in regards to the white American woman’s sexuality. The media represents mostly celebrities who behave in deviant ways and certain individuals may look at these examples and extrapolate to the white American woman population as a whole.