Just a few days ago, a skin whitening ad sparked outrage for being insensitive and misrepresenting morena Filipinas, depicting them as at a disadvantage for their darker skin. Unfair 'di ba?
One celeb whose statement struck a chord among netizens was Bianca Gonzalez, who spoke about how proud she is of her skin color and how the conversation shouldn't be about which color is better, but rather about how being darker is beautiful and nothing to be ashamed about.
Earlier, BBC Outside Source reached out to Bianca to get her thoughts on the Philippines' culture of skin whitening, as well as her observations on how mass media and advertising may have contributed to this fascination with fairer skin.
Here are a few excerpts from the interview:
"There would be ads that sort of compare a darker-skinned woman to a lighter-skinned woman, and most of the time, they sort of portray the darker-skinned woman to be a bit more insecure, a bit more shy, and the fairer-skinned woman a bit more confident, always happier, so there's a bit of that before and after type portrayal. If you had an ad like that or not like that, whitening products would still be big in the Philippines because of this idea we've had in society here that if your skin color is lighter, you are prettier than someone with light skin," Bianca told BBC.
She also shared how mestizas in movies, on TV and in publications might have also helped glamorize fairer skin, not to mention the Philippines' history of being colonized by Spain and America.
BBC also asked Bianca to comment on how she feels about people who lighten their skin, and she shares how it really is a matter of personal choice and how it also works both ways, as she has darker-skinned friends who lighten their skin and at the same time fairer-skinned friends who use tanning oils and tanning lotions.
"If it would make her more confident, if it would make her feel better about herself to have lighter skin, then that's entirely her choice and I'm fine with that," Bianca said.
Listen to the full interview here, which starts at the 32:00 mark.