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Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Twitter Users Upset Over Mixed Race Fashion Campaign

Social media users in the Philippines are up in arms over a new ad campaign by Bayo, a fashion retail brand for women. Dubbed “What’s your mix?”, it features five mixed-race models in an attempt to portray beauty in racial diversity.

An accompanying manifesto explains the concept of the campaign. “This is just all about mixing and matching,” says the manifesto, which is no longer available on the brand’s Facebook page. “Nationalities, moods, personalities and of course your fashion pieces. Call it biased, but the mixing and matching of different nationalities with Filipino blood is almost a sure formula for someone beautiful and world class.”

Both the photos and the manifesto were met with strong reactions from Twitter and Facebook users, who criticized Bayo for placing a premium on mixed-race models.

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“Call it biased, but the mixing and matching of different nationalities with Filipino blood is almost a sure formula for someone beautiful and world class. We always have a fight chance to make it in the world arena of almost all aspects…Having Filipino lineage is definitely something to be proud of…This campaign is also just about having fun creating your own look in accordance to your mood or present state of mind.”

…and centuries later, Filipino pride has become scarce and the inferiority-complex that came as a product of colonization has been substituted by a constructed mentality that by blurring the line between beauty and race, we can compensate for what we lack in. Beauty is no longer as it should be: independent of race; being just Filipino is no longer adequate enough.

I would like to stress that I am not here to place a “time-out” on race-mixed persons as I have family, relatives, and friends who are but I do not like the fact that Bayo romanticized this negative idea of hierarchic race = social class at the expense of our pride to be Filipino. Thanks, but no thanks. There are many things that Filipinos should be proud of and being mixed shouldn’t be highlighted, continuously in the media, as one of them. In addition, I am fully aware that the outcome of many upset Filipinos over this advertisement is a result of the elite and media conglomerates that strive to ensure that there remains a distinct difference between the class of Filipinos - between the indigenous-looking Filipinos (low-class, unsuccessful, and often in poverty) and the lighter-mestizo-looking Filipino (higher-class, successful, and often with a lot of money), NOT the mixed-persons themselves. We do not have a hand in where or who we are born into but the extremes in class are something chosen to be perpetuated through these ignorant and inconsiderate ads.

On another note, Bayo was blatant about their view on “style” so do I commend their honest view of Filipinos or call them stupid, arrogant, and ignorant for going through with the marketing idea and assuming that it is appropriate?

Gulay - oh my gulay.