A critique on the article “Detoxifying Filipino Toxic Trait: Colonial Mentality and Its Influence Towards
the Postmodern Era Filipino Perceptions of “What is Beautiful”.” by: Boclog, Jason C., and Dulnoan,
Meg M. of 12- Einstein
In a time of an uprising in mass discussions on social issues and an amplified political discourse
that seems to define our modern society, Filipinos are starting to see and even speak up on how problematic
and toxic the beauty standards in our country are. The persisting cultural norm has shaped the concept of
beauty as depicted by every type of media in the country since the millennium's turn. Advertising firms
promoting whitening solutions should use a model whose appearance is mandated by society, such as the
mestiza look and white skin. This was accompanied by an inflow of Koreans entering the nation (Dr. Torres,
R.E., 2014). In the article “Detoxifying Filipino Toxic Trait: Colonial Mentality and Its Influence Towards
the Postmodern Era Filipino Perceptions of ‘What is Beautiful’” that was posted on January 2022,
researchers Chadie Aquino and Jevy Timbangan (2022) studied the impact of colonialism on the Filipino
people’s mentality and standards of beauty. While this article made valid points about analyzing and
studying beauty in the Philippine context, it fell short of proving some of its claims about current beauty
standards and making recommendations about detoxifying the toxicity of those standards.
Aquino and Timbangan (2022) recounted the evolution of beauty standards throughout Philippine
history, starting from the Pre-colonial Period to the present and modern day. By doing this, they showed
how the beauty standards of the Filipinos gradually changed before, during, and after the colonization of
their country. The researchers also listed the factors related to the Filipino perception of beauty standards.
And these factors are called social status, novelty, and intelligence, which are all present and connected to
foreign nations. Near the article’s end, Aquino and Timbangan (2022) recommended three ways to slowly
detoxify the said Filipino toxic traits and mentality. They recommended in their articles that Filipinos
should take pride in what they have through exploration of Filipino culture and tradition, understanding
Philippine history, and venturing into Philippine natural resources and voting for better governance. In
addition, this paper explores today’s effects of the beauty standards established because of the colonial
mentality.
The research discussed the history of beauty standards in the Philippines and how they changed
throughout history. The researchers were correct in mentioning how the Filipinos changed their attitude
when it came to having tattoos, from considering it a tradition to considering it a bad thing. However, they
failed to provide information on how tattoos are starting to be seen better nowadays. Aquino and Timbangan
(2022) have mentioned that tattoos are seen as some kind of "uncleanliness" and a symbol of evil that people
tend to avoid since tattoos are now often associated with being an ex-convict, thug, gangster, etc. when they
wrote the concept of "what is beautiful" for Filipinos throughout time. Having said that, on June 4, 2019,
Yana Bautista posted an article stating that "getting a tattoo USED to be frowned upon," and "locals HAD
the negative notion that only criminals or drug addicts have tattoos." She thanked the progressive liberation
evident in the country—or the millennials—because now, tattoos are considered an art form and a way to
express oneself.
It is also discussed in the research how American colonization once again changed the standards of
beauty in the country, and the one standard that was greatly emphasized was having white and fair skin.
This caused Filipinos to feel a sense of inferiority. In their article, Aquino and Timbangan (2022) also
referred to body dissatisfaction and the increase in demand for whitening products. However, they failed to
mention how Morena beauty is now being encouraged to help Filipinos accept their natural skin color. In
December 2021, Tatler released an article speaking about the growing awareness for people to love the skin
they’re in. "Beauty has become more diversified than ever. In 2019, a handful of major beauty queens were
dark-skinned women—Miss Jamaica for Miss World, Miss South Africa for Miss Universe, and AfricanAmerican Cheslie Kryst for Miss USA. In the Philippines, women are also becoming more and more
empowered to celebrate their natural skin tone. (Tatler, 2021).
The article focused on studying the effects of the colonial mentality of Filipinos in terms of
perceiving their beauty standards. The researchers delved deep into the topic and provided great
information. They delivered their point and message effectively. Aquino and Timbangan (2022) shared a
study that could open the eyes of Filipinos—something that could help them understand and accept their
own beauty and take pride in having it. However, it seems that this article failed to cover the current
knowledge on Filipinos’ perception on this subject that has, albeit gradually, changed only recently. This
is important because it would show us insights into the progress of the beauty standard and the effect of
colonial mentality in the country that has since changed over time. Therefore, there needs to be an updated
information in future researches on colonial mentality and its effect on Filipino beauty standards where it
should shed more light on its present state, in particular.