A few months ago, I was approached by the folx at JoySauce, a new Asian American media company to discuss colorism on Bella’s Table. I was honored to be part of this new outlet. Admittedly, this was one episode where I felt a bit unprepared. Perhaps I was just under the weather. The semester’s stresses caught up to me and I felt a little off my game. Luckily, Bella was super understanding and I really appreciated our conversation. I’m hoping that one day I’ll be able to publish on their website. (Note: This post was backdated.)
Maraming Salamat, Joanne L. Rondilla, Ph.D. San Mateo, CA
I had a fantastic time catching up with an old friend about my research. The episode, “Don’t Stay Out in the Sun: Understanding Filipinx Colorism,” was initially recorded as a lecture for Liberating Education. Dr. Robyn Rodriguez has known my family for most of her life. She and my cousin grew up together. When we both ended up at UC Santa Barbara, I got to know her better and have seen her through different parts of her life. Having lost loved ones, the pandemic has been difficult for both us. Catching up on this episode and later meeting up in Sacramento was healing for me. I hope you enjoy this episode (Note: This entry was backdated)
Maraming Salamat, Joanne L. Rondilla, Ph.D. San Mateo, CA
CNN Philippines and San Miguel Beer sponsored this conversation about beauty standards in the Philippines. I was excited to be part of this dynamic panel of folx from the Philippines. (Note: This entry was backdated to reflect the actual publication date of the video above.)
Maraming Salamat, Joanne L. Rondilla, Ph.D. San Mateo, CA
A gracious thank you to Vicky Feng and her team at Bloomberg News for putting together this news video, The Darker Side of Skin Lightening. At the beginning of the semester, I met Steve Pitre on campus and he shot the interview in my office. It was pretty exciting! (Note: Because there was no interviewer, answering a list of questions while talking into a camera was a little weird for me. Kudos to Steve because he was super patient with me and my inability to focus my eye line on one place. I’m also sure the editing team had to work overtime to fix this!)
Recently, I had a blast spending part of my Sunday with Jade Fox and G Supreme of The Coconut Connection podcast. I have known G for a few years now, and meeting Jade for the first time was truly an honor. We talked about my research on colorism, understanding current race relations, and what are some strategies we can employ to start these difficult conversations with our families and friends. I’m on two different episodes. The links below connect you to Spotify. However, you can catch The Coconut Connection podcast on other platforms here.
While listening to Part I, The Huz had a few questions that he kindly requested I clarify. Here it goes… In our conversation, G and I talk about a film called Mano Po. The original film was released in 2002, but there are eight films in the series. In the episode, I described it as the Filipino version of Rocky. Upon more reflection, it’s really more like The Godfather (without the mob stuff) in that Mano Po focuses on family legacies. Specifically, the film centers on a Chinese-Filipino family. Yes, it was this film that forced me to think about the role of the Chinese community in the Philippines, and how their presence informs colorism within the FIlipinx community. In our conversation, I used the term Chinoy/Chinay (also referred to as Tsinoy/Tsinay). This simply refers to someone who is mixed Chinese-Filipino.
These were the only two points that The Huz had questions about. If there are any questions or points of clarification needed for either episode, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can leave a comment or email me directly at: joanne.rondilla@sjsu.edu.
Maraming Salamat, Joanne L. Rondilla, Ph.D. San Mateo, CA
Confession: I’m terrible at maintaining this site. Again, this story is about seven months late. As they say, better late than never. Back in October, I had a great conversation with journalist Kelly Ng about a play called White Pearl by Anchuli Felicia King. Until that conversation, I had not heard of the play (and I still don’t have my hands on this lovely thing). Ng’s original story of White Pearl was picked up by another journalist, N. Jamiyla Chisholm and featured on Colorlines. I’d love to hear from anyone who has seen this play (or has access to it). It sounds amazing!
This post is about two months too late. Apologies to the lovely Christine Bumatay, who wrote a very thoughtful and personal story about her experiences with using skin lightening products. You can read about it here. In addition, you should check out Christine’s piece about tourism, environmental waste, and its impact on local communities in the Philippines. Excellent work, Christine!
This has been the summer of pure blessings! (Sorry. I know that sounds so cliche.) I was recently contacted by Audrey Noble, a contributing writer for Vogue Magazine. She stated that she was writing a story on colorism in Asia and asked for an interview. After a short exchange, I agreed to answer some questions via email… and then time swept under me and I ended up voice recording my responses. Sigh. I’m a terrible respondent. Along with the voice recording, I sent the TFAL episode I was on, as well as a few written responses. Confession: I was super nervous about this piece because Vogue is a pretty big outlet and this is a pretty hefty story. In addition, I’m currently listening to Eliane Welteroth’s More than Enough, which amplified my feelings about Vogue! Anyhoo… I want to extend a HUGE thank you to Audrey Noble for her patience and hard work. You wrote a great piece and I hope this ignites more curiosities about the topic.
Maraming Salamat, Joanne L. Rondilla, Ph.D. South San Francisco, CA
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hanging out (virtually) with the incredible team at This Filipino American Life Podcast. I’ve been listening to the podcast on and off for about a year now. Joe Bernardo, one of the hosts, is a friend from college. I knew him as a youngin’ when we were at UC Santa Barbara together. That he is involved with this podcast makes perfect sense. Joe has always been invested in and curious about the various textures of Filipino/American life.
I was so happy to be part of this episode because it allowed me to discuss further, some of the issues that weren’t covered in the Refinery29 story. Since it aired, I have received a tremendous amount of love and support from people who felt connected to the topic. For that, I am very grateful. Again, many thanks to Joe, Elaine, Ryan, and Mike of This Filipino American Life Podcast for the lovely conversation and share.
Maraming Salamat, Joanne L. Rondilla, Ph.D. San Mateo, CA
A few months ago, I was invited to be interviewed by Refinery29, a multi-media news outlet that focuses on stories that concern young women. They run a series called Shady, and were producing an episode on skin lightening products in the Philippines. I was really impressed by the team’s ability to visit and conduct interviews overseas. Their enthusiasm and curiosity was clear throughout the process. While the issue of skin tone hierarchy and discrimination is a vast one, I’m always happy with any interest surrounding it.
The interview process was a little lengthy because the team was juggling budget and location issues. After a little back and forth, we managed to meet in Southern California, where I was interviewed for about two hours. This, on top of the pre-vetting in the very beginning, I spent just under three hours total with the team. I mention this because I have received a number of comments about the feature. Please note that interviewees do not have say over the final story. Also, the feature is meant to function as a simple taste into the larger issue. If anything, this experience really inspired me to go forward the research because there is a lot to say and the Refinery29 story just scratched the surface.
The video is below, and you can find the corresponding story here. Enjoy!
Maraming Salamat, Joanne L. Rondilla, Ph.D. South San Francisco, CA
skin memoirs 