Filipinas were once stereotyped as maids or domestic helpers, then eventually were tagged as mail-order-brides and overseas nurse/nurse aides. And now, when you search using online engines like Google and Yahoo! (don’t even try searching for images, ugh!), another ugly stereotype comes out- as dates for hire.
Filipinas are more than that and we all know it. We are a proud race of mixed cultures and diverse societies. To be honest, I don’t want my children, especially my daughter to be ostracised for an image that’s set up by a measly online business. That is just so wrong! This ugly exemplification must stop and it can. We can all be part of the movement in reshaping the Filipina image. Its not going to be instant and it will take a lot of effort to do it. I’ve already edited my ‘About’ page to help out and I’m still thinking of an idea for a post I could include in the crusade. And hopefully this post can convince some to help out too!
There are already some campaigns we can join in and some are actually conducting contests and offering prizes for helping out. Here are some other sites you can check out about the campaign (clicking to each will open a new window):
- FilipinaImages.com (the portal set up for this campaign alone)
- RadiantView.com (Lorna Dietz)
- Sexy Mom (Dine Racoma)
- AboutMyRecovery.com (Noemi Dado)
- DigitalFilipino.com (Janette Toral)
The campaign was initialized by Search Engine Optimization Expert (SEO), Marc Macalua; The Filipina and Yan ang Pinay, Fabulous Filipina Presence and lastly, SEO advice from Rhiza, an SEO Expert in the Philippines.
This is my official entry to the Filipina Writing Project and Yan ang Filipina campaign. Come join us too!
——————
In order to boost Filipina Campaign online, the website that have such information should highlighted. If anyone planning to bring site among the top websites on major search engines then search engine optimization is a must option nowadays. In the past there use to be many advertising agencies that were mainly relying on print media to promote any product or services, but sine the internet revolution began, website marketing has taken the place of other modes of advertising & marketing. In order to select most effective internet marketing one need to experiment after implication, to analyze which of these is best. Nowadays internet marketing program is one of the best options when selling products online.
on Aug 21st, 2007 at 4:31 am
Hi, Aiza: Thank you for your candid assessment of this SEO campaign. At this time, at FilipinaImages.com, we cannot offer prizes or monetary incentives because this is a community service advocacy undertaking — and the anticipated end result is not profit BUT social change in cyberspace. It’s a belief system — and for many, it’s a very personal choice. We’re open to ideas and collaborative input. Thus, taking back the keyword, “Filipina,” deserves a site all its own.
There is a gray area between a “commercial advocacy project” and a “social change project” — and someone like me who straddles this world very delicately and sensitively in the US chooses not to mix these two paradigms so that it is absolutely clear that there are no for-profit self-interests involved in this cause.
The organizations I belong to have specific advocacies (such as the National Federation of Filipino American Associations or NaFFAA, Filipina Women’s Network or FWN, Young Filipino Professional Association or YFP, the Philippine American Press Club, USA, and the multi-ethnic coalition in San Jose, CA) and I am blessed to be learning from dedicated grassroots community leaders and implementing various community outreach campaigns in the past five years.
This is strictly my opinion (and my words do not reflect the organizations that I’m a member of since I am naming them for identification purposes only). There are others who might not agree with me. That’s all right. In my world, the development of “Filipino Consciousness in America” is something we work hard at.
Let’s stay in touch. You can check out the magazine I represent, Filipinas Magazine or http://www.FilipinasMag.com, so you can experience our triumphs, achievements, issues, and tribulations up close and personal.
I am a Filipina. And I am Proud.
(Loosely borrowed from one of my mentors, Loida Nicolas Lewis, who declared at the 3rd Global Filipino Networking Convention in Cebu: “I am Filipino. And I am proud.”)
Lorna
on Oct 1st, 2007 at 8:12 pm
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Oct 9th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
About your article Filipina Campaign… i think you shouldnt be embarrassed about Filipinas who work as nurses and nurse aids here in the United states. I am a nurse myself and i am actually earning more than the average americans who are employed in this country. Nursing is a job that anybody SHOULD BE PROUD OF. It is a job that requires a lot love and intellect to be able to be a very good nurse. “Nurses save lives”– and i am proud to be one.
Also our country does not have enough jobs available for our college graduates. And if you do have a job it still doesn’t suffice the needs of an average family. We should still be reminded that the Philippines is a 3rd world country. Don’t get me wrong but i am a proud filipino but we need to help ourselves and our country….
Aiza: Hey Abie, nice of you to drop by.
I?m not embarrassed. In fact, its the other way around since my mom is a nurse there in the US. I?m mighty proud of her.
Stereotyping means that a lot of people think/believe that most if not, all Filipinas are nurses. Actually, when I was there for a visit, one asked me if I was a nurse. I said no, she said she thought since i?m a Filipina, I must be a nurse.
on Oct 16th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Hello Aiza. Thank you for supporting the Filipina Writing Project. I also encourage you to create an audio version of your entry and we can include it in our Filipina Writing Project Podcast at http://filipina.podbean.com
Thank you!
on Oct 23rd, 2007 at 1:07 pm
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Nov 4th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Nov 5th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Nov 11th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Nov 18th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Nov 19th, 2007 at 5:36 am
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Nov 20th, 2007 at 9:33 am
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Nov 22nd, 2007 at 10:41 am
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Nov 22nd, 2007 at 10:45 am
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Nov 27th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Nov 28th, 2007 at 9:19 am
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Nov 29th, 2007 at 2:50 am
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Nov 29th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
[...] The Filipina Campaign [ME!!] [...]
on Dec 1st, 2007 at 9:01 am
[...] The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Mar 22nd, 2008 at 11:46 am
Hi. You’re invited to attend the 14 hour internet marketing hands on workshop at the Mall of Asia on March 28-29,2008.
Details at http://internetmarketingphilippines.blogspot.com.
-Marie for Jomar Hilario
on Aug 27th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
[...] Wrote my most popular post yet, The Filipina Campaign [...]
on Aug 27th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
[...] Wrote my most popular post yet, The Filipina Campaign [...]