Pinay Pride - A Filipina's Beauty

What, you ask, makes a Filipino woman beautiful?
Well, here's a "Modern Pinay" answer:

"What is deemed beautiful has been a source of philosophical debate since pre-Socratic periods. Ever since humans discovered the pleasures from objects or situations that are perceived to be valuable and meaningful, he has had a glimpse of beauty.

So, what is this beauty and how does it affect the Filipina? The composer and critic Robert Schumann tries to answer the former with a term he coined Aesthetics. Aesthetics is a philosophical discipline that attempts to understand the nature of beauty. According to Schumann there are two kinds of beauty: natural and poetic beauty. In this framework, where does the Filipina fare? Is her beauty natural or is it poetic?


According to Schumann, both kinds of beauty can be found in music as in other art forms. The difference is that the former can be found in the contemplation of nature, in the technical structure of objects as the latter is in man’s creative intervention into nature. Natural beauty stops, at sensual delight, where poetic beauty begins. This being said, the natural beauty of the Filipina is in the bone structure of her face, the symmetry of her features, the proportion of her body, the prominence of her cheekbones, the youthful features, her slight built, her natural tan. All these traits contribute to her physical attractiveness, making her loved by cameras and sought by men.

But recent medical technology can imitate what was not present at birth. Anyone who can afford can go to a plastic surgeon for cheek implants and Botox injections. Anyone with the right money can get a liposuction and a fake tan. If these are the things that make Filipinas beautiful then she is no different from everyone else who can afford to pay to have them. It is in the character of the Filipina and her interaction with the world that makes her poetically beautiful. The Filipina is naturally adaptable and resourceful.

She survives any given climate or economic condition. Travel and you shall find, in every corner of the globe is a Filipina. Her sense of humour and her sunny personality slows down her ageing. She is not a Filipina if she does not smile in ten-minute intervals at most. She has the natural instinct to take care of those who need it. This is apparent in every medical institution across the world where a Filipina does not leave her ward without the arrival of her substitute. Her strong moral fibre and superior judgement makes of an exceptional leader. Her innate charm and quiet reserve enables her to take charge without stepping on men?s fragile egos.

She is every Filipino’s mother whom he runs to for support and advice. Her love for life and her laughter is infectious. She makes the atrocities of life bearable for those who surround her. The very existence of a Filipina in itself is poetry. It is textured by strange contradictions: a contrast between tenderness and strength, influence and subtlety, cruelty and virtue. It is this intrinsic trait that proves her beautiful beyond physical attraction. It is the kind that remains in human consciousness. It is the kind of beauty that makes legends, inspires songs. It is the kind of beauty that is remembered. It is the kind of beauty that can never be achieved by any cosmetic procedure. It is the kind of beauty that survives aging and even death.

Those who are merely preoccupied with the superficiality of physical attractiveness may be short-changed by their own narrow points of view, but regardless of the extent of anyone’s vocabulary or the depth of his definition of beauty, all can reach an agreement that the Filipina is indeed beautiful."

Oh yeah. :)