Meet Asia Jackson.
Jackson, who has a Filipina mother and an African-American father, is a model/actress who is proud of her unique heritage.
Recently, the Los Angeles native made headlines for her uplifting hashtag, #MagandangMorenx (Beautiful Brown Person in Tagalog).
“The reason why I wanted to start this hashtag is so that I could inspire other people who look like me, other Filipinos who look like me, to also love their skin because it’s really, really difficult to do that when you have your mom telling you, ‘Oh, don’t go outside, you’ll get too dark,'” Jackson told AJ+. “And you have all these billboards and things telling you to whiten your skin.”
“There’s a lot of indigenous Filipinos that look exactly like I do,” she continued, explaining that dark skin should be embraced as beautiful. “They have curly hair, they have dark skin like I do.”
And although other Filipinos have come forward to try to break the stereotypes that wrongfully suggest dark skin isn’t beautiful, colorism is still a prevalent issue in the Philippines. One study found that 50% of women in the Philippines use skin whitening products, while more qualitative reports show that many Filipinas believe their lives will be better if their skin is whiter.
“I knew that colorism was such a huge issue in the Filipino community and I felt like no one was really talking about it.”
“It’s time for it to go.”
And with that, Jackson decided to start the hashtag, inviting others to share their stories, photos, and celebrate the radiant skin they’re in.
Took me 20 yrs to embrace my skintone. I created this hashtag to empower others in a way that I didnāt have growing up #MagandangMorenx pic.twitter.com/vZfgnNAa8x
ā Asia Jackson (@aasian) October 27, 2017
Thousands eagerly answered her call, tweeting photos and accounts of how they came to realize that their skin was just as beautiful as anyone else’s.
in honor of #MagandangMorenx here are some unsolicited pics of me feeling comfortable with myself pic.twitter.com/nVUNhgsqvd
ā joy (but spookier) (@joycissistic) October 27, 2017
I grew up around whitening products and always wondered why my mother insisted that being dark is ugly but it’s honestly not. Brown skin is beautiful dark skin is beautiful. I’ll fight you if you try to tell me otherwise. #MagandangMorenx pic.twitter.com/ejBdfUgGnJ
ā leah boo bih janelle (@leahjvnelle) October 28, 2017
My mom used to tell me about how her darker skin wasnāt appreciated back in the Philippines. Iām so excited for this tag #MagandangMorenx pic.twitter.com/6DKCWk5mFE
ā Ondrea (@califondrea) October 27, 2017
the problem with filipina beauty standards is that ābeautifulā is anything that resembles our colonizers #StopSkinBleaching #MagandangMorenx pic.twitter.com/oCQgRkuQp5
ā spooky ling (@bodakyelIow) October 28, 2017
took me almost 20 years to finally be comfortable and confident in my own skin. cheers to a new age of filipina beauty #MagandangMorenx
pic.twitter.com/o5WiKtCt30ā $teph (@StephLaurenTan_) October 27, 2017
Celebrating my brown skin that I was once so insecure about ✨ #MagandangMorenx pic.twitter.com/k5KUgEbXZw
ā (@stcdln) October 27, 2017
I love my beautiful brown filipino skin. I always thought my darker complexion made me less, but I am enough and I am a #MagandangMorenx pic.twitter.com/viFXjWvE7L
ā chesapeake bae (@CheskaBanez) October 28, 2017
#MAGANDANGMORENX THROW AWAY THE BELO, PAPAYA SOAP, AND EUROCENTRIC BEAUTY STANDARDS AND EMBRACE THE MORENX pic.twitter.com/cbaW5FmsJr
ā aly rae (@_theglzrr) October 27, 2017
Even Filipino men joined in, showcasing their beautiful skin as well.
Americanization ruined our perception on our natural skin. s/o to all the morenos & morenitas from Las Islas Filipinas #MagandangMorenx pic.twitter.com/QKp6kX00yy
ā Andrew (@anduraofficial) October 27, 2017
love my skin and proud of who I am. brown skin is beauty yāalllllll #MAGANDANGMORENX #UnderratedAsian #FilAmHistoryMonth #Filipino pic.twitter.com/t7FTv5Atk1
ā jay (@aglassofojay) October 27, 2017
@aasian Doing it, as one might say, for the culture. #ParaSaKultura #MagandangMorenx #Filipino #AsianTwitter pic.twitter.com/KwEjB2dJez
ā Justin Victoria (@YAYItweets) October 27, 2017
Jackson is happy with the results of the hashtag and hopes that she has generated a larger conversation about embracing dark-skinned beauty.
“I just want everyone to feel super confident in their skin and really embrace what it means to be Filipino.”
Feature Image via Instagram / aasian