Filipino DJ's Journal 4/11 - Leigh Bagood

The reading touches on the idea of “racial ambiguity” experienced by Filipino youth, something I relate to having grown up in the southeast of the U.S. where my self-identification as Asian led many to assume I was Chinese rather than Filipino. However, this was even more of a reason for me to make clear to others that, along with identifying as Asian, I identified as Filipino; and it was important for me to let people know what that meant. This is why I question how DJs such as Q-Bert view shedding the ethnic race discourse in their music as an effective way of confronting Filipinos’ invisibility in the U.S. Although it is a matter of meritocracy and self-narration, to be recognized by their talent and efforts rather than their racial identity, doing so minimizes current and historical issues of the marginalization of minorities in the U.S. Color blindness doesn’t solve racial discrimination, only temporarily conceals it. In addition, the authors mention of DJs who look to “Filipino” as a cultural term, makes me wonder how they identify with Filipino culture in the motherland—if they form an identity from what they consider a separate,  newly formed “Filipino-American” culture or if they have any connection to their roots when they talk about culture. Is it even possible to establish a “Filipino-American” culture upon Filipino culture when the Philippines is composed of a wide array of different cultures and dialects?