It's 2025—Why Are We Still Shaming Women For Having Dark Underarms?

On September 21, 2025, thousands of demonstrators gathered for the Trillion Peso March. Placards were raised, chants echoed the streets, and fists were shot into the air—Filipinos were (rightfully!) demanding transparency and accountability from the government.

One particular video from the rally made the rounds on social media. It showed a young woman, her fist raised high, shouting with all her might. It should have gone viral for the right reasons: her courage, her conviction, her unapologetic presence in the fight against corruption. But the Internet being the Internet, the spotlight shifted somewhere else entirely: her underarms.

"Dumidilim na ate ibaba mo na lang 😅 😢 😊," one comment read.

"Walang pinagkaiba utak mo sa kili-kili mo ateng😂," another netizen commented.

And just like that, a fierce moment of defiance was downgraded to yet another cheap joke at a woman's expense.

Let's get one thing straight: dark underarms are not—and should never be—a scandal. They're normal. Most Filipinos naturally produce more melanin, and when you add everyday factors like shaving, plucking, deodorants, tight clothes, humidity, hormones, and even certain health conditions, you end up with discoloration. Yet time and time again, women's skin is put under a microscope, with strangers on the Internet acting as the self-appointed judges of what counts as "clean" or "acceptable."

And a quick reminder: We should normalize accepting skin in every shade. Whether your underarms are light, dark, or somewhere in between, they don't define your worth—or your right to take up space. If you choose to brighten them, that's your call. If you don't, then that's your choice, too. Your body, your rules!

This fixation on lighter skin didn't just come out of nowhere. It's been a beauty standard that was passed down through centuries of colonization. Back then, the closer you looked to Spaniards, Americans, or East Asians, the more "desirable" you were deemed. That belief didn't just vanish when we gained our independence—it seeped into our culture, advertising, and even "well-meaning" comments at family reunions. It's even worse as we judge people we don't even know online.

And here we are in 2025, still living under its shadow. A young woman can raise her voice at a rally, demanding justice, yet the takeaway for some people is… the color of her underarms.

The worst part of this whole incident isn't just the mockery, either—it's the distraction. What should've been a rally that was meant to shine a light on corruption got reduced to online debates about a woman's skin tone. Instead of amplifying a woman's voice demanding change, the Internet chose to nitpick the shade of her underarms.

That's how oppressive beauty standards work: They pull focus away from what matters. Every time we obsess over someone's appearance instead of their message,

At the end of the day, this isn't just about one woman or one viral clip. It's about what we, as a society, decide to carry forward. Do we keep passing down the same tired beauty standards that tell women their worth is only skin-deep? Or do we teach the next generation that courage and conviction matter more than complexion?

Because when we laugh at someone's underarms, we're not just mocking her. We're telling young girls watching that their bodies will always be up for public debate. But when we celebrate her voice, her bravery, her fight, we show them that women belong in every space they choose to be in.