Bookgasm: I Have the Skin Color of Coconut Cream

Saturday, June 16, 2012

As Fresh Off the Boat's Vicenza Arambullo said (a fictional character), I have the skin color of coconut cream.

She is a Filipina and she just migrated to the United States with her family. That is why the book is called Fresh Off the Boat. According to the Urban Dictionary, it is a degrading term for people not up to date on the culture meaning you still carry your sense of fashion from your country which clashes with the current countries cultures.

But that is not the point of this post. I just have to share a few details about the book so you would have an idea.

It's about our skin color.

I guess Melissa De La Cruz gave the perfect description that would really make Filipinos feel really good about our skin. I don't know this just struck me so well and made me feel better.

Admit it, once in your life, you also wanted that fair white skin our friends from other countries have. I actually felt that when I was younger and when I was in the puberty stage. I wanted to look perfect and we think that is really the standard of beauty.

But as I grew up, I learned to love my skin. I know I don't have that really coconut cream skin that Melissa said. But I experienced that before and it's not so bad. I even experienced "sun burnt tan" due to the sports I play and the dances I performed in an open field. Though I will not share a photo, it might be blackmail worthy just because I was a late-bloomer.

I just want to share some Filipinas that embraces their true color and they are very beautiful at that.