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This piece was written in collaboration with Jessica Petalio, a psychology doctoral student and Filipino American community organizer and educator.
Almost 430 years ago, October 18, 1587, was when the first Filipinos – or “Luzon Indios” as they were referred to in historical records – set foot on the lands now called the United States of America. Because of this, and through the leadership of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), the U.S. House of Representatives (House Resolution 780) and the U.S. Senate (Senate Resolution 298) officially recognized October as Filipino American History Month back in 2009. Since then, “various states, counties, and cities in the U.S….have established proclamations and resolutions declaring observance of Filipino American History Month.”
Today, Filipin@s are the fourth largest immigrant group in the country and their collective numbers – 3.4 million – make them the second largest Asian Pacific Islander (API) group in the U.S. and the largest API group in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Yes, Filipin@ Americans are everywhere and they have been contributing to the growth of the United States for generations.
So as we welcome October and begin our appreciation of Filipin@ American history and culture, one must ask, who really are Filipin@ Americans—the group of people who comprise 20% of the API population?
Challenging the Model Minority Myth
Filipin@ Americans are our coworkers, our neighbors, our classmates, our friends, and our family. We see them working in post offices, airports, hospitals, the food industry, in retail, in the military, in churches, in educational settings, and the list goes on. However, although many of us might see Filipin@s in our communities driving fancy cars, playing hoops, rocking nice clothes, singing karaoke, and celebrating with smiles, bright-colored clothing, fancy galas, high-priced banquets, dancing, and food, what we do not see is what is beneath it all—the high rates of depression, low graduation rates, low college admission rates, struggles with racism, alcohol and drug use, high rates of hypertension and other health concerns, and many families struggling to make ends meet.
But why is that?
The "model minority myth" portrays all Asian Americans as smart, successful, excellent problem solvers, and high in socioeconomic status. Pop culture, social media, research, and mainstream literature have all endorsed the model minority myth as we see Asian Americans play roles such as scientists, math geniuses, engineers, computer nerds and the like. Also, the model minority stereotype assumes that because of Asian Americans' high socioeconomic and social status, Asian Americans do not experience racism or societal oppression, which reaffirms the belief that anyone can be successful simply with hard work and the "right" cultural values. While many of us find the model minority myth to be an endearing and positive image of Asian Americans, research has shown that the myth is damaging and problematic because it creates a set of standards and expectations on what an Asian American is and should be. Historically, the model minority myth has disadvantaged and is detrimental to Asian Americans because systems such as schools, communities and governments that endorse this myth fail to give attention and resources to the Asian American groups who are statistically not doing well.
So what is really going on?
Going Beyond the Surface
Many Asian Americans - primarily those who are not of East Asian heritage (such as Chinese, Korean and Japanese) - achieve significantly less educationally and economically, and are ignored or made invisible by service providers (i.e. teachers, counselors, psychologists, etc.) who assume they are doing well. For example, 40% of Hmong, 38%of Laotian, and 35%t of Cambodian populations do not complete high school. Also, the poverty rates for Hmong (37.8%), Cambodian (29.3%), Laotian (18.5%), and Vietnamese (16.6%) peoples in the U.S. are significantly higher than the national average (around 12%). Another example is a recent study by researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage who found that 60% of APIs in Alaska (about half of which are Filipin@s) reported feeling depressed within the last month, and that racism is a major contributing factor to their depression.
Research specifically with Filipin@ Americans suggest that they attain low income levels, especially when their level of education is taken into account, and often have to live together in one household to combine income with other family members in order to make ends meet. Furthermore, estimates of household income often fail to take into account the size of the family in a household, and for many Filipin@ Americans the "family" being supported by their household income also include immediate and extended family in the Philippines. Some research have also found low high school graduation rates and low college admission rates for Filipin@ Americans, especially for those who are second or later generation.
In terms of their mental health, Filipin@ American focused research has also found clinical depression rates of around 30%, which is significantly higher than national rates of around 10-15%. Filipin@ American college students also tend to experience the highest stress levels among various API groups. A large-scale epidemiological study has found that more Filipin@ Americans (at a similar rate as Chinese Americans) have thought about suicide at some point in their lives compared to other API subgroups. A recent large-scale study of mental health service use among all racial and ethnic groups in California have even reported that schizophrenia was more frequently diagnosed among Filipin@ American clients (23.8%) than for other groups. Studies also show that 98 to 99%t of Filipin@ Americans experience racism, which is not new because the inferiorization of the Filipino ethnicity, culture, and body has been going on for generations ever since the advent of Spanish colonialism and throughout U.S. colonialism and its legacies. Even further, research and theory suggest that these stressful experiences may lead to depression symptoms, hypertension, alcohol and drug use, and other high-risk behaviors.
To make matters even more troubling, research also shows that most Filipin@ Americans do not choose to seek out mental health services. In fact, one of the more consistent findings in Asian American psychology research is that as low as the rate of mental health help-seeking is among Asian Americans, Filipin@ Americans seek mental health services at a much lower rate even compared with other Asian American groups. Using data from the Filipino American Community Epidemiological Study (FACES), researchers have found that 75% of their sample have never used any type of mental health service, with an additional 17% receiving help from their friends, relatives, priests, ministers, herbalists, spiritualists, or fortune-tellers only. The few Filipin@ Americans who do seek mental health services report feeling frustrated and misunderstood when seeking help, creating a general mistrust with the providers. This results in Filipin@ Americans resorting to other, less reliable sources for information on health, such as the Internet. Therefore, many of our Filipin@ American brothers and sisters may not be receiving the services that they need.
An Invitation to All of Us
So while October is a month to celebrate Filipin@ American history and culture, we must not forget the diverse, complex, and oftentimes even painful and difficult realities that our Filipin@ coworkers, neighbors, classmates, friends, and family may be facing. Rather than celebrating Filipin@ American history by simply attending a Filipino function or gathering, we invite everyone – those with Filipin@ heritage and those without – to take it to the next level and get to know our communities beyond our traditional clothing, dance skills, and tasty food. Filipin@ Americans are a very diverse group of peoples (with more than 150 languages!), and our culture and history are rich with stories of struggles, traumas, and hardships, as well as stories of strength, resilience, and success. Come to know our stories and realities, including the ones that do not fit preconceived notions of who we are.
Then, let us all work together - collaboratively, in solidarity, and in harmony - even beyond October.
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*Note: An earlier and shorter version of this article was previously published by the Alaska Dispatch News.
Jessica Petalio is a doctoral student in the Ph.D. program in Clinical-Community Psychology at UAA with a rural, cultural and indigenous emphasis. Her research focuses on Filipino American mental health and psychology. She has been active within the Filipino American community as an organizer and educator for various organizations such as the Pilipino American Collegiate Endeavor and Pin@y Educational Partnerships.
E. J. R. David, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage. His work on the psychological experiences of marginalized peoples has resulted into two books, "Internalized Oppression: The Psychology of Marginalized Groups" and "Brown Skin, White Minds: Filipino American Postcolonial Psychology." Learn more about his work here or follow him on twitter.
