On Thursday, August 22, 2024, voice talent and content creator Inka Magnaye shared on social media her thoughts on why some Filipinos find it hard to accept their Filipino features.
Her social media post was a response to an anonymous comment that criticized her appearance, calling her "ugly" and even comparing her to her "tisay" mother, Lindy Pellicer, the voice behind Philippine Airlines’ in-flight announcements in the '90s.
Read: Inka Magnaye recalls empowering story about self-love and overcoming negative self-talk
Inka recounted the hurtful message she received in her Facebook post: "An anonymous guy yesterday told me how ugly I was, how terrifying I was to look at with my big eyes and my nose, and my big teeth and gums.
"He asked me if I actually found myself beautiful and wondered why I looked like this because my mom was so beautiful."
Upon receiving the comment, Inka reflected on the seeming disappointment of some Filipinos with their own features, pointing out that her eyes, nose, and smile come from her mom, with a touch of her father's heritage.
She wrote, "Times like that make it so clear to me how many Pinoys hate Filipino features.
"If you look at my eyes and my nose and my smile, I got them all from my mom, na process lang sa dugong barako ng tatay ko."
Inka further wrote, revealing how such dismissive remarks had been a source of insecurity in her youth, "I receive similar comments on the regular, unfortunately, and in creative varieties.
"I can’t say I don’t get affected; they’re voicing out insecurities I’ve battled with all my life as the morena daughter of a Tisay mother.
"'Sayang hindi ka nag-mana sa mommy mo!' (First of all, who in their right mind says that to a kid HAHA).
"But nowadays, it affects me only because I can hardly believe people can be so intentionally abrasive (and cowardly at the same time).
"I feel for the Filipino face. Even after so long, colonialism’s effects run deep. But that will change one day (I hope)."
To wrap up her post, Inka addressed her basher's question about her self-perception.
With confidence, Inka wrote, "To answer his question, yes I find myself quite beautiful."
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