Dear Filipino,
Are these penile implants -- called bolitas -- really effective (for ladies' sexual pleasure)?
Mang Dodong
Dear Mang,
You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar!
Gentleman because you deigned to ask me this question not to seek pleasure for yourself but "for ladies"! I mean, who else thinks like you nowadays? I was moved -- and am almost teary-eyed [wipes eyes; blows nose] -- because of the selflessness that inhere in your question.
Scholar because an attitude so inquisitive, such as you have exhibited in your question, finds contentment only in the exhaustive and solitary pursuit of all types of knowledge: be it logical, semantic, systemic or empirical.
Thus, I beg your indulgence in advance if, in the end, you find my attempt to answer your question feeble, lacking in both depth and data, and/or otherwise completely devoid of any epistemological significance.
But if you shall be disappointed, please don't blame me -- please don't castigate me -- please don't censure me -- for your expression of dissatisfaction is sure to devastate my self-esteem.
Instead, blame The PENIS Team.
PENIS here, of course, stands for "Penile Circumcision, Implants and Sexual Gadgets," and the team referred to was headed by De La Salle University's Professor Romeo B. Lee, PhD, and Dr. Lloyd Brendan Norella, MD, who conducted a study in 2002 on these esoteric topics of inquiry, a study which was supported by the Ford Foundation through Australian National University in order to promote reproductive health.
Through semi-structured interviews, the research team examined the "adoption, provision, and outcomes and effects" of these firm spherical foreign objects, commonly referred to in the Philippines as bolitas but actually known elsewhere as fang muk, bulletus, chagan balls, tancho balls, and penis marbles, which are implanted in the subcutaneous tissue of the shaft of the penis proximal to the glans.
The research participants revealed that these bolitas are either made of plastic (formed out of melted spoons, ballpens, toothbrushes, chopsticks, deodorant rollers, necklace beads and, yes, even rosary beads!); metal pellets or steel ball bearing; or mineral-type stones (ivory, jade, porcelain or fiber-glass). Most of the respondents, adroit and resourceful, made their own bolitas or got them for free from their illustrious friends in high places -- e.g., prisons.
Why did these men do it? According to the implant-providers interviewed, the predisposing factor to implant adoption was the insertees' altruistic desire to make their partners "happy" and "content." Other reasons given were: peer pressure and male adventurousness. Still another reason given was -- and this is just a conjecture on their part I think -- that these men were probably feeling inadequate and wanted to increase their organ's size.
This last reason is interesting because any Bicolana will tell you that siling labuyo is the spiciest of all chili peppers. In fact, the rule of thumb is: the smaller the pepper, the hotter it is!
Following the insertion procedure, over 40% of the insertee-respondents had penile-centered complications, ranging from biting, deep and throbbing pain, to inflammation, to pus. Some veins were apparently also punctured during the procedure, causing more than just mild itching, I'm sure.
But now comes the crux of your question: What about the women?
Of the 14 female respondents who had bolitas users as partners, 8 confirmed there was a "difference" during the act; 4 said there was "no difference"; and 2 were "uncommitted." However, 7 of the 14 -- an even 50% -- also had rashes, wounds, pus or inflammation in their vagina after the act.
I'm guessing -- and this is really just a guess -- those female respondents who experienced these complications did not find them "pleasurable," sexually or otherwise. But you can choose to look at that last statistic -- the 50% -- as that proverbial glass: either it is half-full or half-empty.
This makes me wonder: What would be the gentlemanly and scholarly questioner's choice?
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Showing posts with label Beauty and Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beauty and Health. Show all posts
Dec 31, 2010
Dec 23, 2010
When was male circumcision first practised in the Philippines?
Dear Filipino,
My question: When was circumcision of males first practised in the Philippines?
This question is asked in connection with news that a man in San Francisco is proposing a ban on circumcision.
Carlos Borromeo,
San Francisco
Dear Carlos,
When I talked to a good friend about your question, he suggested maybe it was first practised when, in 2008, then-Florida Gators' star quarterback, Tim Tebow, who now plays for the Denver Broncos in the National Football League, decided to go back to the Philippines (where he was born) for his spring break that year in order to play "quarter-hack" instead.
So take a bow, Tim Tebow! :-)
Kidding aside, of course, the answer to your question, Carlos, necessitated a bit more research. So I did.
One Filipino writer, Rommel G. Rebollido, in an article for Sun Star which was reposted by CIRP (which stands for Circumcision Information and Resource Pages), claims that "in the Philippines, where it has been a tradition for over a century now, there is nothing definite as to how and when it really began."
Fair enough, even though there's no mention of his sources. But then he adds, "common belief has it that the practice was introduced by western colonizers."
By "western colonizers" and his dating of the "tradition" as being "over a century now," was Rebollido referring to Americans who occupied the Philippines after the official end of the Philippine-American War in 1902 and who are believed to be the ones to have popularized the practice among Koreans?
Since Rebollido wrote his article in 2005 and Filipinos could not have adopted American traditions immediately right after the war to allow for traditions to be "over a century now," was he in fact referring to Spaniards as the "westerners" who "introduced" the practice?
Actually, whether Rebollido was referring to Americans or Spaniards is irrelevant because his claim has no historical foundation.
In other words, he and those who espouse this "common belief" are wrong. For in fact, according to the accounts of Antonio de Morga, a Spanish lawyer, high-ranking colonial official in the Philippines, and the historian who published the book Sucesos de las islas Filipinas (Events in the Philippine Isles) in 1609, which is considered the best and perhaps most important work on the early history of Spanish colonialism in the country:
Now, did you notice the word which I emboldened and italicised? Did you notice the asterisk?
Yes? Good -- because I want to add the following annotation:
"This custom has not fallen into disuse among the Filipinos, even among the Catholics."
Now, guess who made that annotation?
Well, who else but our very own national hero, Jose P. Rizal?
Yes, sir! Morga's work apparently impressed Rizal so much that the latter decided to annotate it and publish a new edition.
But why would Rizal add that phrase -- "even among the Catholics"?
My theory is this: Because Rizal knew that religious male circumcision is more closely followed by Muslims and is also universally observed by followers of Judaism, even though the practice is, for some mistaken reason, being generally associated nowadays with members of the country's predominant religion (i.e., Catholicism). In fact, I was surprised to learn that, historically, the Roman Catholic Church has actually denounced religious circumcision for its members in the Cantate Domino, which was written during the 11th Council of Florence in 1442.
In any case, I would be interested to find out if that San Fran man succeeds with the ban. So would Tim Tebow, I'm sure.
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
My question: When was circumcision of males first practised in the Philippines?
This question is asked in connection with news that a man in San Francisco is proposing a ban on circumcision.
Carlos Borromeo,
San Francisco
Dear Carlos,
When I talked to a good friend about your question, he suggested maybe it was first practised when, in 2008, then-Florida Gators' star quarterback, Tim Tebow, who now plays for the Denver Broncos in the National Football League, decided to go back to the Philippines (where he was born) for his spring break that year in order to play "quarter-hack" instead.
 |
| Imagine: The future of some Filipino boys actually depends on the quality of the 'workmanship' of this NFL dude. |
Kidding aside, of course, the answer to your question, Carlos, necessitated a bit more research. So I did.
One Filipino writer, Rommel G. Rebollido, in an article for Sun Star which was reposted by CIRP (which stands for Circumcision Information and Resource Pages), claims that "in the Philippines, where it has been a tradition for over a century now, there is nothing definite as to how and when it really began."
Fair enough, even though there's no mention of his sources. But then he adds, "common belief has it that the practice was introduced by western colonizers."
By "western colonizers" and his dating of the "tradition" as being "over a century now," was Rebollido referring to Americans who occupied the Philippines after the official end of the Philippine-American War in 1902 and who are believed to be the ones to have popularized the practice among Koreans?
Since Rebollido wrote his article in 2005 and Filipinos could not have adopted American traditions immediately right after the war to allow for traditions to be "over a century now," was he in fact referring to Spaniards as the "westerners" who "introduced" the practice?
Actually, whether Rebollido was referring to Americans or Spaniards is irrelevant because his claim has no historical foundation.
In other words, he and those who espouse this "common belief" are wrong. For in fact, according to the accounts of Antonio de Morga, a Spanish lawyer, high-ranking colonial official in the Philippines, and the historian who published the book Sucesos de las islas Filipinas (Events in the Philippine Isles) in 1609, which is considered the best and perhaps most important work on the early history of Spanish colonialism in the country:
A few years before the Spaniards subdued the island of Luzon, certain natives of the island of Borneo began to go thither to trade, especially to the settlement of Manila and Tondo; and the inhabitants of the one island intermarried with those of the other. These Borneans are Mahometans, and were already introducing their religion among the natives of Luzon, and were giving them instructions, ceremonies, and the form of observing their religion, by means of certain gazizes whom they brought with them. Already a considerable number, and those the chiefest men, were commencing, although by piecemeal, to become Moros, and were being circumcised* and taking the names of Moros. Had the Spaniards' coming been delayed longer, that religion would have spread throughout the island, and even through the others, and it would have been difficult to extirpate it.Morga was explicit -- was he not? -- that the practise of circumcision in the Philippines predates the Spaniards. He also implied quite clearly that it was introduced by Mohametans -- i.e., Muslims!
Now, did you notice the word which I emboldened and italicised? Did you notice the asterisk?
Yes? Good -- because I want to add the following annotation:
"This custom has not fallen into disuse among the Filipinos, even among the Catholics."
Now, guess who made that annotation?
Well, who else but our very own national hero, Jose P. Rizal?
Yes, sir! Morga's work apparently impressed Rizal so much that the latter decided to annotate it and publish a new edition.
But why would Rizal add that phrase -- "even among the Catholics"?
My theory is this: Because Rizal knew that religious male circumcision is more closely followed by Muslims and is also universally observed by followers of Judaism, even though the practice is, for some mistaken reason, being generally associated nowadays with members of the country's predominant religion (i.e., Catholicism). In fact, I was surprised to learn that, historically, the Roman Catholic Church has actually denounced religious circumcision for its members in the Cantate Domino, which was written during the 11th Council of Florence in 1442.
In any case, I would be interested to find out if that San Fran man succeeds with the ban. So would Tim Tebow, I'm sure.
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Dec 18, 2010
Who's hotter: Shalani Soledad or Liz Uy?
Dear Filipino,
I know P-Noy has moved on, but who would have made a better Philippine First Lady: Shalani Soledad or Liz Uy? Heck, let's be blunt about it: who is hotter? ;-)
Mr. GreenGH
Dear Mr. GreenGH,
You're a vile one, Mr. GreenGH -- you have termites in your smile! :-)
But in order to answer your question, I turned to experts.
According to Dr. Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist from London School of Economics, the aphorism that "beauty [or hotness to use your term] is in the eye of the beholder" has already been scientifically proven wrong. Kanazawa points out that there are in fact three main features that characterize beautiful faces:
(1) the geometric feature of bilateral symmetry -- i.e., the more symmetrical faces are more attractive;
(2) the mathematical feature of averageness -- i.e., faces with features closer to the population average are more attractive than those with extreme ones;
(3) and the biological concept of secondary sexual characteristics -- which, unlike the first two, differ for the sexes. In the case of women, features considered to be attractive are indicators of high levels of estrogen (e.g., large eyes, fuller lips, larger foreheads, and smaller chins).
Kanazawa further contends that beauty is in fact like height or weight: It is quantifiable and objective, and therefore culturally universal and innate -- i.e., "we are born with it" -- as shown by studies in the mid-1980s involving babies, and its recent version involving newborns less than one week old who've shown significantly greater preference for faces that adults judge to be attractive (see also Rubenstein et al.'s 1999 APA study, "Infant Preferences for Attractive Faces: A Cognitive Explanation).
Having access to three small children, The Filipino decided to conduct his own small homespun experiment.
The Experiment
The subjects are H, C and J. H is 3, C is 5 and J is 7 years old. H and J are males; C is female. They are of Filipino descent and close relatives.
To control for peer pressure, the subjects, over three rounds of voting, were individually and successively (from youngest to oldest) shown three sets of pictures of Shalani and Liz, as follows:
To control for the impact of smiles, for the first round of voting, the pictures shown on Figure 1 were chosen because the two ladies are both seen smiling.
To control for the impact of the color yellow dominant in Shalani's picture in the first round, the pictures in Figure 2 were then chosen for the second round because this time, it's Liz who's wearing yellow. For this round, the presentation of the ladies' pictures were also reversed to control for "order of presentation" bias. While, admittedly, there are some differences in focus and background which can affect choice, the pictures were deemed comparable enough because the two ladies this time are seen not smiling.
Note that the two sets of pictures seen on Figures 1 and 2 were placed side by side after the fact; the subjects were not shown the pictures this way but one at a time. However, for the last round of voting, The Filipino lucked out and found online what's shown on Figure 3, in which both ladies' pictures have been previously placed side by side by someone else. Figure 3 is also interesting because the ladies are both shown glamorously, fully made up, almost flawless, and to The Filipino at least, look totally different (as they have been Photoshopped to the max -- to everyone's detriment, one might add).
It is worth mentioning also that last night was the very first time the subjects were seeing the two ex-potential First Ladies because the subjects' parents do not subscribe to any Filipino TV cable channels or watch Filipino news on TV with them. This means that the subjects have no information or prior interaction or experience relating to the ladies' "personality", talent, work, voice or other appealing characteristic outside the pictures shown them, any single one of which can influence their choice.
The Results
For the first round of voting, all three subjects unanimously voted for Liz.
For the second round of voting, again, all three subjects unanimously voted for Liz.
For the third round of voting, however, the female subject, C, went with Shalani, but the male subjects stuck with Liz.
Summarizing the results, 8 of 9 votes cast by the subjects were for Liz and only 1 of 9 was for Shalani.
But why Liz?
The mother of one of the subjects posits a theory: The subjects chose Liz because their mothers bear a closer resemblance to her rounder face.
The Contradiction
In an online poll conducted by SinoMasMaganda.com, 70% of 1,642 votes were cast in favor of Shalani. What does this mean?
If Kanazawa is to be believed (his theories and studies are actually very controversial), the subjects' choice should have been more aligned with the online poll. They are not. Of course, one can argue, among others, that the experiment's subject pool is very limited while the online poll participants were influenced by other factors which have a bearing on one's definition of beauty or "hotness." But still!
Who does The Filipino like better?
Cue the drum roll...
Okay, okay, before I reveal my choice, one caveat.
First, I must admit that while Kanazawa may be on to something with his theory, "beauty" is still a mental or intellectual thing for most, including me. By mental, I mean that in cases where I have two almost comparably beautiful choices, I go for the smarter one or the one I think I can spend years and years talking to, even if this is strictly not about "hotness." (That's why I would have loved to see Jill Biden as the US First Lady -- she is very beautiful and has a PhD to boot -- even though I did not really support Joe.)
In the Liz v. Shalani debate, both are beautiful but I don't know who is smarter or more "interesting" as a person. If pure beauty is the test, maybe (just maybe) Shalani has the edge...
However...
I know I can't live with somebody like Shalani and I would have hated seeing her as Philippines' First Lady.
Why?
Because she actually agreed to be the TV co-host of a cockroach -- that's why!
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
I know P-Noy has moved on, but who would have made a better Philippine First Lady: Shalani Soledad or Liz Uy? Heck, let's be blunt about it: who is hotter? ;-)
Mr. GreenGH
Dear Mr. GreenGH,
You're a vile one, Mr. GreenGH -- you have termites in your smile! :-)
But in order to answer your question, I turned to experts.
According to Dr. Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist from London School of Economics, the aphorism that "beauty [or hotness to use your term] is in the eye of the beholder" has already been scientifically proven wrong. Kanazawa points out that there are in fact three main features that characterize beautiful faces:
(1) the geometric feature of bilateral symmetry -- i.e., the more symmetrical faces are more attractive;
(2) the mathematical feature of averageness -- i.e., faces with features closer to the population average are more attractive than those with extreme ones;
(3) and the biological concept of secondary sexual characteristics -- which, unlike the first two, differ for the sexes. In the case of women, features considered to be attractive are indicators of high levels of estrogen (e.g., large eyes, fuller lips, larger foreheads, and smaller chins).
Kanazawa further contends that beauty is in fact like height or weight: It is quantifiable and objective, and therefore culturally universal and innate -- i.e., "we are born with it" -- as shown by studies in the mid-1980s involving babies, and its recent version involving newborns less than one week old who've shown significantly greater preference for faces that adults judge to be attractive (see also Rubenstein et al.'s 1999 APA study, "Infant Preferences for Attractive Faces: A Cognitive Explanation).
Having access to three small children, The Filipino decided to conduct his own small homespun experiment.
The Experiment
The subjects are H, C and J. H is 3, C is 5 and J is 7 years old. H and J are males; C is female. They are of Filipino descent and close relatives.
To control for peer pressure, the subjects, over three rounds of voting, were individually and successively (from youngest to oldest) shown three sets of pictures of Shalani and Liz, as follows:
 |
| Figure 1 |
 |
| Figure 2 |
 |
| Figure 3 |
To control for the impact of smiles, for the first round of voting, the pictures shown on Figure 1 were chosen because the two ladies are both seen smiling.
To control for the impact of the color yellow dominant in Shalani's picture in the first round, the pictures in Figure 2 were then chosen for the second round because this time, it's Liz who's wearing yellow. For this round, the presentation of the ladies' pictures were also reversed to control for "order of presentation" bias. While, admittedly, there are some differences in focus and background which can affect choice, the pictures were deemed comparable enough because the two ladies this time are seen not smiling.
Note that the two sets of pictures seen on Figures 1 and 2 were placed side by side after the fact; the subjects were not shown the pictures this way but one at a time. However, for the last round of voting, The Filipino lucked out and found online what's shown on Figure 3, in which both ladies' pictures have been previously placed side by side by someone else. Figure 3 is also interesting because the ladies are both shown glamorously, fully made up, almost flawless, and to The Filipino at least, look totally different (as they have been Photoshopped to the max -- to everyone's detriment, one might add).
It is worth mentioning also that last night was the very first time the subjects were seeing the two ex-potential First Ladies because the subjects' parents do not subscribe to any Filipino TV cable channels or watch Filipino news on TV with them. This means that the subjects have no information or prior interaction or experience relating to the ladies' "personality", talent, work, voice or other appealing characteristic outside the pictures shown them, any single one of which can influence their choice.
The Results
For the first round of voting, all three subjects unanimously voted for Liz.
For the second round of voting, again, all three subjects unanimously voted for Liz.
For the third round of voting, however, the female subject, C, went with Shalani, but the male subjects stuck with Liz.
Summarizing the results, 8 of 9 votes cast by the subjects were for Liz and only 1 of 9 was for Shalani.
But why Liz?
The mother of one of the subjects posits a theory: The subjects chose Liz because their mothers bear a closer resemblance to her rounder face.
The Contradiction
In an online poll conducted by SinoMasMaganda.com, 70% of 1,642 votes were cast in favor of Shalani. What does this mean?
If Kanazawa is to be believed (his theories and studies are actually very controversial), the subjects' choice should have been more aligned with the online poll. They are not. Of course, one can argue, among others, that the experiment's subject pool is very limited while the online poll participants were influenced by other factors which have a bearing on one's definition of beauty or "hotness." But still!
Who does The Filipino like better?
Cue the drum roll...
Okay, okay, before I reveal my choice, one caveat.
First, I must admit that while Kanazawa may be on to something with his theory, "beauty" is still a mental or intellectual thing for most, including me. By mental, I mean that in cases where I have two almost comparably beautiful choices, I go for the smarter one or the one I think I can spend years and years talking to, even if this is strictly not about "hotness." (That's why I would have loved to see Jill Biden as the US First Lady -- she is very beautiful and has a PhD to boot -- even though I did not really support Joe.)
In the Liz v. Shalani debate, both are beautiful but I don't know who is smarter or more "interesting" as a person. If pure beauty is the test, maybe (just maybe) Shalani has the edge...
However...
I know I can't live with somebody like Shalani and I would have hated seeing her as Philippines' First Lady.
Why?
Because she actually agreed to be the TV co-host of a cockroach -- that's why!
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Nov 12, 2010
Why do Filipinas have dark armpits?
Dear Filipino,
Question: Why do Pinays [Filipino women] have dark underarms?
Donna
Dear Donna,
Do they really? Is this observation supportable by sufficient data? The Filipino finds the premise of your question extremely interesting and he'll probably be more observant in this department moving forward. ;-)
In any case, without regard to race, according to The Beauty Brains ("Real Scientists Answer Your Beauty Questions"), the top five causes of darkened armpits are:
1) Shaving - "If your hairs are slightly darker than your skin color, they can give the appearance that your skin has a dark stain when it`s really just sub-surface hair."
2) Buildup of dead skin cells "trapped in microscopic 'hills and valleys' on your skin."
3) Antiperspirant and deodorant usage - "In theory, some ingredients in these products (perhaps the fragrance) could be reacting with the skin to cause discoloration. Practically speaking this seems unlikely but many people do claim that when they stop using APDs, the darkness goes away."
4) Acanthosis nigricans - "This [medical] condition causes light-brown-to-black markings on the neck, under the arms, or in the groin. It can be related to insulin production or to a glandular disorder and it typically occurs in people who are overweight."
5) Hyper pigmentation - "This condition causes your skin to produce excess melanin pigment."
If The Filipino has to hazard a guess, of the five theories above, he will submit that despite the article saying it seems unlikely, Cause No. 3 as discussed is the real culprit to blame for the darker armpits of Pinays (assuming of course that the premise of your question is true). Why? Because of the high humidity levels in the Philippines, Filipinos, men or women but especially women, wouldn't be caught dead with wet, or worse, smelly armpits. So what do they do? Well, what would you do? Load up on antiperspirants and deodorants, of course!
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Question: Why do Pinays [Filipino women] have dark underarms?
Donna
Dear Donna,
Do they really? Is this observation supportable by sufficient data? The Filipino finds the premise of your question extremely interesting and he'll probably be more observant in this department moving forward. ;-)
In any case, without regard to race, according to The Beauty Brains ("Real Scientists Answer Your Beauty Questions"), the top five causes of darkened armpits are:
1) Shaving - "If your hairs are slightly darker than your skin color, they can give the appearance that your skin has a dark stain when it`s really just sub-surface hair."
2) Buildup of dead skin cells "trapped in microscopic 'hills and valleys' on your skin."
3) Antiperspirant and deodorant usage - "In theory, some ingredients in these products (perhaps the fragrance) could be reacting with the skin to cause discoloration. Practically speaking this seems unlikely but many people do claim that when they stop using APDs, the darkness goes away."
4) Acanthosis nigricans - "This [medical] condition causes light-brown-to-black markings on the neck, under the arms, or in the groin. It can be related to insulin production or to a glandular disorder and it typically occurs in people who are overweight."
5) Hyper pigmentation - "This condition causes your skin to produce excess melanin pigment."
If The Filipino has to hazard a guess, of the five theories above, he will submit that despite the article saying it seems unlikely, Cause No. 3 as discussed is the real culprit to blame for the darker armpits of Pinays (assuming of course that the premise of your question is true). Why? Because of the high humidity levels in the Philippines, Filipinos, men or women but especially women, wouldn't be caught dead with wet, or worse, smelly armpits. So what do they do? Well, what would you do? Load up on antiperspirants and deodorants, of course!
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Oct 21, 2010
Why are Filipinas beautiful but Filipinos ugly?
Dear Filipino,
I've been wondering: Why are Filipinas beautiful but Filipinos ugly?
Smitten
Dear Smitten:
Thank you for at least praising 50% of us. You could have done worse.
I don’t know what your standard of beauty is, but Filipinos (which term is used to refer to both Filipinos and Filipinas) are like mutts because we are the result of much inter-breeding over the course of centuries, unlike, say, the Japanese or Koreans, who are more homogeneous. Yes, the truth is, the modern-day Filipino people is a product of mass migrations of, and inter-marriages among, all types of people or races which started thousands of years ago and which have not let up even today.
Hence, on one end of the facial, cranial and skin color spectrum, you will meet Filipinos who look like Africans, because they’re descended from the Negritos who settled the islands some 30,000 years ago and who share much physical commonalities with African pygmies and the Australo-Melanesians; real Africans from Africa; or even African-American GIs who fell in love with the local women or may have unintentionally impregnated their entertainers when the US bases were still operational in the Philippines (so I guess partly you can “blame it on the Marines”).
On the other end of the spectrum are the light-skinned European-looking Filipinos, who, because of present-day Western-skewed standards, are commonly viewed, deservedly or otherwise, as the “more beautiful” of the lot. These Filipinos descended mainly from the Spaniards, who colonized the islands for over 300 years, and their progenies and extended clans in South America, because of what used to be a very active Manila-Acapulco galleon trade; hence, you can bump into Filipino mestizos and mullatoes of French, Portuguese and Mayan descent. As also implied in the previous paragraph, American GIs, this time of the white variety, and white American missionaries (no pun intended) are also partly to blame because the Philippines was once an American Commonwealth.
In between are the rest of the Filipinos: the “Asian-looking” ones. But even the term “Asian-looking” is too broad because you can have the South Asian look (dark) and the North Asian look (light or “yellowish”), owing to many entrepreneurial Indians and Chinese who have traded with the locals over the centuries and have decided to call the islands home, as well as the Japanese who also colonized the Philippines and the Koreans who recently have been finding our beaches and golf courses irresistible. Then, of course, you have the Indo-Malay-Polynesian look (brown), which is what the majority of Filipinos now sport because people of this stock were the ones who colonized the majority of the Southeast Asian archipelagic countries of Malaysia, Indonesia and, of course, the Philippines, during the region’s maritime era.
So you see, when you mix all sorts of colors from the blackest to the whitest, you’ll end up with all shades of brown, including the much sought-after "healthy tan" look. That’s why the Filipinos have a story, understandably popular among us browns, that when God was “baking” humans, his first batch was overcooked and from this batch came the dark-skinned races. So he tried to bake another batch, but not wanting to overdo it again, he pulled his second batch prematurely, thus resulting in the light-skinned races. Not happy with his results so far and not wanting to strike out, he tried again, this time guarding his oven more closely. Of course, more experienced this time, God had his Goldilocks moment because his third batch was “just right” – and from this batch descended the brown Filipinos. Not a bad legend to feel good and beautiful about one's self, isn't it?
Smitten, I’m sure the above doesn’t really fully answer your question, and I doubt you will really find an answer satisfactory to you. But I think if you’re smitten by beautiful Filipinas while at the same time finding their male counterparts ugly, you are probably just understandably jealous of the latter, who roam around these beauties more freely than you do. And because of that, man, I feel sorry for you!
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