Saturday Save - The Best For Last #1

Misconception?

Let me start by saying I am not your normal or average Filipina. I have a fair skin, not like fair skin as American but fair skin as in Filipinos. I grew up not knowing a single American or talk to any American either. When I was in my teen then I was exposed to a few of them. There were a few missionaries in town where I went to school and one actually teach in the school I was in.

I never spoke to anyone who said that American never take a bath. Nor I ever heard that they shave their body because they are very hairy. None at all. Now after graduation I move out of that area and live where there are plenty of Americans. None of my neighbors and friends who live in that area ever talk that they thought of the same thing.

(Now, fast forward to present and thousand of miles away from my birth country.) I joined Adgitize and click on their ads and came across a fellow Filipina's blog, talking about such remarks. I said to myself, "wow" was I that stranger in my own country. Other people are just generalizing other culture or just stupid.

Misconception number one: Bath and shower are the same when you use it in tagalog. It's the same concept "cleaning yourself with water". If you ask someone if they take a bath and if they answer you "no, yuck I hate bath", would you not ask them how they clean themselves? Most American does not take a bath, one example is my husband. He only do it when he got sore muscle or not feeling very well. However, he takes a shower everyday and sometimes twice a day. He works outside and most of the time he comes home from work dirty and needed to take a shower before going to bed. I am the same way, I rarely takes bath. I don't like still water. Most of the time I take a shower first then take a bath, soak myself for and hour or two then take another shower, this is a waste of water in my opinion and I never do it often unless I am getting sick.

Misconception number two: Not all American shave body hairs. This makes me laugh out loud, again they are generalizing. DH is hairy but no hair on his back. Some American have body hair everywhere. DH never shave his body hair except for his face. People that I know shave body hairs are those who are body builders and the gym enthusiast. I knew and met a few of them. Ok that, I am not generalizing, I'm talking about the people that I met and know. I had my single days living in this country before a met DH. So, I am not talking about one American here.

How would you feel if other culture generalize Filipino and say "they all eat dog meat". I know that is not true, I am Filipino and I don't eat dog meat, but in their mind we all do. And whenever I get asked a generalizing questions, "I asked them back with "how many do you know, where they live" and all sort of questions before I answer them. I can attest that "most Filipina wants fair skin" (most filipina I know). Again, I am not your average Filipina, DH can vouch for me but how many Filipina does he know? Not very much and he knows I'm not, and I don't belong in the norm category.

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