Brown Skin, White Minds: Filipino -/ American Postcolonial Psychology

by E.J.R. David (Editor), Martin F. Manalansan IV (Contributor)

Filipino Americans have a long and rich history with and within the United States, and they are currently the second largest Asian group in the country. However, very little is known about how their historical and contemporary relationship with America may shape their psychological experiences. The most insidious psychological consequence of their historical and contemporary experiences is colonial mentality or internalized oppression. Some common manifestations of this phenomenon are described below: 
*Skin-whitening products are used often by Filipinos in the Philippines to make their skins lighter. Skin whitening clinics and businesses are popular in the Philippines as well. The "beautiful" people such as actors and other celebrities endorse these skin-whitening procedures. Children are told to stay away from the sun so they do not get "too dark." Many Filipinos also regard anything "imported" to be more special than anything "local" or made in the Philippines. *In the United States, many Filipino Americans make fun of "fresh-off-the-boats" (FOBs) or those who speak English with Filipino accents. Many Filipino Americans try to dilute their "Filipino-ness" by saying that they are mixed with some other races. Also, many Filipino Americans regard Filipinos in the Philippines, and pretty much everything about the Philippines, to be of "lower class" and those of the "third world." The historical and contemporary reasons for why Filipino -/ Americans display these attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors - often referred to as colonial mentality - are explored in Brown Skin, White Minds. This book is a peer-reviewed publication that integrates knowledge from multiple scholarly and scientific disciplines to identify the past and current catalysts for such self-denigrating attitudes and behaviors. It takes the reader from indigenous Tao culture, Spanish and American colonialism, colonial mentality or internalized oppression along with its implications on Kapwa, identity, and mental health, to decolonization in the clinical, community, and research settings. This book is intended for the entire community - teachers, researchers, students, and service providers interested in or who are working with Filipinos and Filipino Americans, or those who are interested in the psychological consequences of colonialism and oppression. This book may serve as a tool for remembering the past and as a tool for awakening to address the present.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Race, History, Asian Literature, Theory, Politics

362 pages, Paperback

First published February 20, 2013

Reviews

[Hillary Paulino · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so important to me as a Filipino.

Growing up and hearing comments about how dark your skin has gotten or tips on how to straighten your nose really distorts your self image. I can't scrub away the melanin in my skin and I can't straighten up my nose just by using a clothes peg. I'm not fair haired, fair skinned or tall. I wasn't born that way. Filipinos aren't born pale, or tall or with straight European noses. We don't have blue eyes or green - we have brown.

Yet Filipinos grow up in a society that shuns the dark skinned and advertises whitening soaps all day every day to everyone and anyone who would listen. They grow up in a society that praises the Filipino children who are half white. The kind of society with a rapidly eroding language that is deeply infused with English. How can a society so ashamed of everything it is ever stand tall?

This book reached into the depths of my heart and began to undo the deeply instilled colonial mentality that was binding it. Learning to unlearn everything I have learned is no easy task and I am still struggling but I want to keep going. This book is the first of its kind - the first to address the deeply ingrained colonial mentality of Filipinos.

One day, I want to hear Filipinos say things like "Wow, look how pretty she is. Filipino tagala yan." Not something like "Wow she's so pretty. She definitely has a lot of Spanish ancestry." This book is an important step in undoing the problem. But we have such a long way to go.

I am and will always be, so, so grateful that this book was written.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although highly recommended for research on Filipino peoples, I ignored this book for a long time because my interests are on precolonial Philippine society, and not postcolonial. However, I decided to pick up this book because I thought that although my project is on precolonial peoples, my audience is not. It's important for me to know what issues are relevant in today's postcolonial society, so that I can at least be sensitive about it in my project.

This book gave me a lot of reassurance that my experience is not by any means a singularity. Apparently they're very prevalent. I think this is where the book shines: it shows psychological studies on colonial mentality and also paves a way on how to deal with it. I especially liked the chapter where the empirical studies were shown. Unfortunately there was a chapter or two on theoretical postulation that I think would have benefited greatly from some empirical data; as it is, those chapters had a lot of "may cause" or "might influence" wordings that don't have a lot of data to back the theories. This book also frequently reads like a school paper, which might be understandable, seeing that the author is a scholar. But the wordings tend to be repetitive and paragraphs seem to say the same things over and over. I think the author was overly cautious that something might be taken out of context.

I also learned a great deal from the little of sikolohiyang Pilipino mentioned in this book. I think I would look for resources on that next.

[Michael Constantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty interesting. The author occasionally makes comparisons to the colonial mentality/internalized oppression felt by Filipinos-/ Americans and African and Native Americans. I'd be interested in hearing that conversation expanded to Indian-/American communities.

[Soleil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciated this book for drawing clear lines between colonial mentality and the many mental health problems that Filipinos and Filipino Americans are likely to experience. I love that it offers practical methods to battle colonial mentality.

The only thing that I was mildly dissatisfied with was that the Japanese colonial period wasn't mentioned at all in the book. But all in all, I think this is essential reading for Filipinos and Filipino Americans, especially Parts 2 and 3.

[Michael Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. David does an amazing job in illustrating the indigenous psychology movement's efforts to integrate in traditional psychology. His succinct history of the Philippines, causes of colonial mentality, the aftermath, and what academia is doing and can do shows what individuals can do in every day work to address colonial mentality. The epilogues by several academics are also of value.

[Ariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brought to light a how much of my thinking and culture comes from colonialism. How much of everything comes from colonial mentality. It helped me through my journey of rediscovering my Filipino culture.

There were parts that I did take with a grain of salt. I also feel that this book could have been stronger if it had more intersectionality.

I was also inspired to look more into pre-colonial Philippines. Essentially, this book taught me how much I don’t know and how much I need to learn.

[is there blood? · Rating 3 out of 5]

chronicles the blood spilled in the past and how it continues to permeate much of our mindsets on an individual as well as global scale.

[Bryan Dosono · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read that de-centers Western perspectives in the field of psychology. Dr. David takes us through his personal journey of political awakening and critically analyzes the effects of historical colonialism and contemporary oppression among and within the Filipino diaspora.

[Mariella · Rating 4 out of 5]

To wrap up the year with this is perfect. It's all part of my MEsearch which is a term I just learned about at the end of it. I think alot of what drives me about my quest towards info liberation is my own self and family and our role in American society where we are and continue to be invisible. I didn't know decolonization is happening in psychology as well with this exploring of indigenous psychology.
Hitting intersectionality with being born here and speaking English primarily has not eliminated aspects of my personality that have to do with colonial mentality, the main focus of this book. It does get heavy in psychology but brings it all back in the end. But a person who advocates and is in therapy the context with how the history of being second class citizens and how half my family remains colonial subjects and how cognitive behavioural therapy is still rooted in western style approaches that focus on just self is really eye opening. My parents were born dirt poor on a island that they were forced to leave to survive to come to this country so their children have a better life but the trauma still resides in them and passes on to us. The commonalities between Filipinos and Puerto Ricans are numerous and will be exploring further. But t are the number 2 most populous Asian group and nobody talks about them. They are called the Latinos of Asia for a reason. Highly recommend for level 2 MEsearchers.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re Filipino or Filipino American read this. It’ll remove chains from your mind you didn’t know were there.

And if you think your parents’, lolos’, and lolas’ understanding of the concepts outlined in this book are “enough”, trust me you need to rethink that perspective. Your grandparents and parents most likely have strong colonial mentality, they were unaware of, that they then passed onto you.

This book provides an alternative, important view to the prevailing education on Filipino colonization (or lack thereof).

I’m indebted to E.J.R. David for writing a thoughtful, clear book on this subject that cuts through the false paintings of dominant text books. His book has inspired me to continue my Filipino education, explore the concept of Kapwa more in depth (read the book to learn what it is or at least look it up on google), and seek more opportunity to connect with my Filipino community.

[Rica Casper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a gem in terms of driving home the psychological effects of Colonial Mentality and Internalized Oppression. However it was a tad repetitive and focused on the context of Filipino values in an absolutist manner. I appreciate the author alluding to how psychological therapy should be rendered in an individualized manner however I was disappointed in that there were no specifics and finer points on victimization, transgenerational indoctrination and the effects of CM on familial dysfunction. I particularly found the chapter on Kapwa interesting, and the implication seems to be that collectivism should take precedence. It makes me wonder if this, in an absolute context, somehow actually defeats the purpose and promotes another type of internal oppression, though I say this at the risk of being labeled as ‘colonialized.’

[Frrobins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not for the lay person and spends a significant amount of time on research methods. There was some good stuff on Filipino culture, the history of discrimination, how colonial mentality develops and how to be a sensitive counselor. It was sort of a sample of things to explore in depth, though, and especially during the last half of the book focused heavily of methodology, so much that I was relieved to be finished with it.

I did learn some good information and it is a starting point for further research, but unless you are a doctorate level psychologist I would recommend a book geared more towards laypeople.

[Tinkerbell Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a heartfelt read as a fellow Filipino. To learn about the history of colonialism and understand how my colonial mindset has been conditioned into me, and millions of others through the white supremacists' messaging and indoctrination was a truly a challenging experience to navigate. I've battle with a colonial mindset and inferiority complex all my life, reading this book allowed me to face my inner shame relative to developing a harmful and toxic mindset and I learned to take accountability for the toxic White supremacist ideologies I have mindfully adopted and decided to love my brown skin and culture. Hell, I'm proud to be Filipina. A truly brilliant read.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brown Skin, White Minds was an eye opener. I’ve had Filipino friends for 8 years now, some very close friends, and I wish I would have read this book sooner. It has a lot of insight into the culture and cultural inner struggles of Filipinos and Filipino Americans. While it was not an easy read (it’s basically a specialized psychology textbook), hence the 4 rating, the book gave me a new and deeper appreciation for some of my best friends. I recommend it for any person in relationship with a person of Filipino descent.

[Maej · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow....

It was difficult to put this book down. EJR David’s life work is inspiring, empowering, and transformational for filipinx people and filipinx in diaspora. I hope to bring EJR’s research to life through my work as a Filipino-Australian psychologist. I also hope to bring David’s vision for indigenous and community psychology with me in my future work in the field. Here’s to the journey of returning to kapwa and to sharing this with future generations.

[Janette Ozoa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content - 4.5; writing style - 3. This is a preference thing: I find traditionally written academic books dry, so this was slightly inaccessible to a lay person. As far as the content goes, I think it's a good start. It feels like the book was primarily dedicated to defining the problem and giving readers resources to identify colonial mentality within themselves and their environment. Resources for applicable solutions would be a good next read.

[Morningbr3ath · Rating 5 out of 5]

So well-written. The Filipinx diaspora is so strong and overwhelming. Authors and scholars such as David help pave a path for generations to start ‘decolonizing’ the Filipinx identity. It’s time to learn our roots and unlearn/ibagsak na yung colonial mentality and American imperialism that was bestowed upon the archipelago.

[Aina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The commentaries added another star. But the book itself mostly feels like a thesis that wasn’t properly edited. The initial chapters were way more interesting and engaging as a Filipino in the Philippines— though using tagalog words as official terminologies felt so off to me especially during the “tao” segment - it literally just means person.

[David Rice · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is basically a high school level research paper. The author wanted to make a specific point and then sought proof of that point. When the proof didn’t exist the author either twisted a fact or just pulled something out the air. Maybe it got better later but I couldn’t get past the inaccuracies.

[Eddie Matthew Pagtakhan]

fascinating study on the relations filipinos and filipino-americans have to colonialism and how these interact with the perceptions filipinos have of their culture in the present day. dr. david’s writing is concise and easy to read, his explanations of colonial mentality are straightforward and understandable. this is a good book for anyone wanting to read about postcolonialism and psychology

[Joyce del Rosario · Rating 4 out of 5]

David approaches the issues of Filipino/American psychology from a historical, sociological and of course psychological viewpoint. It's a great catalyst for any academic discipline concerning Filipino Americans to consider.

[Jamie Villalon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has given me significant context and a framework to understand experiences in my upbringing. It's an insightful read that articulated prejudices I've held in the past and still currently hold. Can be quite academic but what did I expect.

[Alexandra Baradi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started as a 5 but as I kept going i couldn’t stay focused on reading. It has a lot of information which is great, for whatever reason I just lost interest as every chapter seemed to just be data explained. I wanted more history from this.

[Babyheadache · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book! It opened my eyes to the detrimental effects of colonialism all around the world. It also learned a connectedness with other colonized people.

[Ali Angco · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review on Storygraph

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

When he proposed decolonization process/psychoed groups through CBT I stood up and applauded. Justice for CBT!!!!

[Luisa Dones · Rating 5 out of 5]

as a child of Filipino immigrants existing in Western society, this was both an affirmation and an invitation to reclaim and radicalize— in the name of our ancestors and for future generations.

[Paul A · Rating 4 out of 5]

David presents a well-laid out set of arguments, discussing pre-colonial Philippine history, diagnosing and detecting colonial mentality, and decolonizing Filipino -/ American mindsets. He also talks about some of the advances that have been made in indigenous psychology as a counter to Western/American psychology that currently dominates the field. Each chapter is started with an overview of the contents and is ended with a recap of the main arguments, making the book easy to follow despite the copious amount of details included during the description of the various experiments. Overall, a great reference on postcolonial psychology and colonial mentality.

[Hanna Chipman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted to love this book. So many thoughtful and carefully research perspectives. But I was prepared for it to read like a research paper. It made it dense and a bit clunky, despite the subject matter being so important to learn.