Understanding the Difference: Filipinos and Pacific Islanders
The Definition of Pacific Islanders are people of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic and racial term, it is used to describe the original people, inhabitants, and diasporas of any of the three major subregions of Oceania. These subregions are Micronesia, Polynesia, and Melanesia. The definition of Pacific Islanders is an umbrella term that came from colonizers which commonly functions as a catch-all, to refer to any indigenous peoples of Oceania. By grouping all political and culturally distinct peoples into one ethnic and racial category. In which the definition of Pacific Islanders is widely misperceived by others who may perceive the meaning as people who stay on an island in the Pacific Ocean. For example, Filipinos have been mistaking the meaning of Pacific Islanders and claiming themselves as Pacific Islanders, culturally adapting to our customs as if it’s their own. But why are Filipinos not considered Pacific Islanders?
To emphasize why Filipinos are not considered Pacific Islanders, argued in a Reddit post, the author, Supmynesian recognizes that Filipinos are not to be categorized as Pacific Islanders. The author expresses admiration for Filipinos and their culture but disagrees with their claim of being Pacific Islanders. Supmynesian has seen many Filipino Americans claiming to be Pacific Islanders, but he disagrees as he believes that they are distinct from the scientific perspective. They argue that geographically, the “Philippines does not fall under any of the 3 oceanic regions and is much closer much closer to mainland Asia in the South China Sea right between Taiwan and Indonesia.” (@Supmynesian). He also argues from the biological perspective that they are genetically distinct from each other as “we branched off into our ethnic groups” and “Our DNA is not the same.” (@Supmynesian). Though the author appreciates the beauty and uniqueness of Filipino culture, he asks that Filipinos not claim Pacific Islander culture as theirs. While the author rightly argues that Filipinos are not Pacific Islanders as we are biologically different and geologically do not fall under the 3 sub-major regions, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Melanesia, they do not discuss the different cultural values that Pacific Islanders have from Filipinos such as communal values and artistic expressions that differs our cultural identity and pride.
Other the other hand, there are similarities between Pacific Islanders and Filipinos who can also be considered Pacific Islanders. Filipinos and Pacific Islanders share the same ancestors which can be a reason they have the same similar skin tone. The Philippines are also islands in the Pacific Ocean similar to the Pacific Islanders. As Filipino Americans looking for the most superficial things like the color of their skin and geography when finding a group they can identify with, superficially, Pacific Islanders are a match. They are brown-skinned Austronesians with amazing island culture. On the contrary, Within the deeper knowledge of the Philippines’ biological and geographical ties to Pacific Islanders, Filipinos ignore and never really bother to understand the genetic and geographical historical ties that the Philippines and Filipino people to the rest of Asia, especially the ASEAN member states. Instead, they simply try to identify themselves with the group that looks like them on the surface, which is not the best way to base your cultural identity.
Despite the similarities that Pacific Islanders and Filipinos have in common, Supmynesian scientifically counters the claim that Filipinos are not considered to be Pacific Islanders. The Philippines are made of more than 7000 islands found in Southeast Asia, on the eastern rim of the Asiatic Mediterranean. However, according to the US Census Bureau, Pacific Islanders are people who either descend or are from the three regions of Pasifika — Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. The Philippines is not part of any of them, geographically proving that Filipinos are not Pacific Islanders. Though Filipinos and Pacific Islanders may have shared the same ancestor, it doesn’t prove that Filipinos are Pacific Islanders. As said by Maritikit, “While a sizable portion of the Philippine population is mixed with Chinese and other East and Southeast Asian groups, Pacific islanders are heavily mixed with Papuans and Melanesians.” In the biological sense, it doesn’t make sense to consider Filipinos as Pacific Islanders. Though we may seem similar, it doesn’t mean that we are the same.
While Supmynesian rightly argues that Filipinos are not Pacific Islanders from a scientific perspective, he does not explain the difference in culture and why it isn’t right to categorize Filipinos as Pacific Islanders. One aspect that Filipinos differ from Pacific Islanders is their cultural practices and traditions. Each culture has its unique customs, Filipinos practice the Boodle Fight, Bayanihan, and Iglesia every holy week, and give respect to elders by “Pagmamano. Pacific Islanders have their traditional music, tattoo traditions, customary ceremonies, and dance styles such as the haka, Siva, hula, and stick fighting. Another aspect that differentiates Filipinos from Pacific Islanders is our differences in our etiquette where there’s a Filipino time and Island time. For example, Filipinos emphasize being at an event two hours early, while Pacific Islanders start 2 to 3 hours later than the expected time. Lastly, the thing that differentiates our cultures from each other is the social structures. The social structures in Filipino culture include a strong emphasis on family and extended kinship ties and the concept of community cooperation also known as Bayanihan. Whereas the Pacific Islanders’ social structures are emphasized on extended family networks and communal living arrangements. It’s important to see the cultural distinction between Filipinos and Pacific Islanders as it helps recognize and appreciate cultural differences and helps us avoid stereotypes and biases leading to better intercultural understanding and harmony.
To conclude, Supmynesian rightly argues that Filipinos are not Pacific Islanders from the scientific perspective, but they are also too culturally different for Filipinos to be claiming to be Pacific Islanders. This is a claim to be brought up because Filipinos are claiming to be Pacific Islanders, and this has led them to adopt some of our cultural practices such as flaunting tribal tattoos without understanding the meaning behind it. When Filipinos adopt cultural elements of a minority group such as Pacific Islanders, it is exploitive and disrespectful to the culture. Let Pacific Islanders be appreciated rather than appropriated so Pacific Islanders can be represented for their cultural originality and not from their stereotypes.
