Nesley Bravo

May 29, 2013

Honors 232C Final Essay
My Life as a Second Generation Filipina
Introduction:
Throughout my life, my familys Filipino culture created pieces of my identity and a
divide between my peers and me. I initially registered for this class, Honors 232C with an
interest in learning more of the cultural background my Dream Project mentees may have, as
many of them are 1.5 and second generation themselves, but instead I found an understanding of
my culture and my life put into words I couldnt find before. I was born in Hackensack, New
Jersey, USA in 1993. My mother came to the United States from the Philippines in 1981 and my
father joined her in 1990, after my mom returned to the Philippines to marry him. My parents
were able to immigrate through being petitioned by their families. This was seen as a simple
process for my mom as my grandfather had served for the U.S. military. My parents came to
follow their siblings that came to America before them and to gamble life. I grew up in New
Jersey for the first eleven years of my life then moved to Lacey, Washington with my family
after my parents decided to invest in a house there. Through class readings and discussions, The
Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, and Class: The Multiple Identities of Second-Generation
Filipinos by Yen Le Espiritu and Diane Wolfs article Family Secrets: Transnational Struggles
among Children of Filipino Immigrants, I have been able to delve deeper into what it means to
be a second generation Filipina in areas of staying in touch, civic engagement, political
participation and opinions, and especially, identity. I compare my own experience with my
mothers background as a first generation immigrant from the Philippines.
Staying In Touch:

As a second generation Filipino born and raised in the United States, I define the U.S. as
my homeland and the Philippines as my parents home country. In terms of staying connected to
those from my parents homeland, I have never called the Philippines on my own. My parents
have always initiated the conversations with our connections in the Philippines. I speak to my
aunts during holidays, but my grandma on my dads side is my main connection in the
Philippines. I have only been to the Philippines once as an 18th birthday celebration in February
2011. This was my first time to travel beyond the Americas, and it was my best travelling
experience by far. My family and I went for two weeks as a birthday present and to spend time
with my grandma. It was also my moms first time back since immigrating thirty years ago and
the second time for my dad. Our family had not gone back sooner due to finances, work and my
parents believing my sisters and I would not be able to handle the travelling and hot weather.
I felt most connected to my culture in the Philippines when we were on our trip. I was
able to see where my parents grew up, learn about life in the Philippines and was able to pick up
more of the language. I saw particular differences between the United States and the Philippines
such as the apparent disparities between the wealthy and poor that is hidden well in the U.S., and
the corruption among the Philippines police officers. I hope to go back soon to the Philippines
and to make more frequent trips once I can afford it myself. With an inability to go home as
often as my family would like, my mom and dad have found multiple ways to stay in contact
besides phone calls. In chapter one, Arrival, Settlement and the Construction of Cultural
Landscapes of Civic Engagements by Caroline Brettell and Deborah Reed- Danahay, the
authors mentioned how Indians stayed connected to their homelands through school
communities (Brettell& Reed-Danahay 47). It was also noted that Vietnamese immigrants
connected through radio stations and sharing advertisements with others who migrated from their

homeland too (Brettell& Reed-Danahay 43). My mom stays up to date with political events and
television dramas in the Philippines through her TFC, the Filipino television network. Her
T.V. dramas allow for her to feel connected to the Philippines from the comfort of her home, and
bring her peace after a hard day at work.
Integration, Identity, Belonging:
When asked about my ethnicity I have answered Filipino. I never realized the distinction
and what it meant to call others American and not myself. It is an interesting point as I would
say that I am more American than Filipino. In terms of my identity, who I am is shaped by being
a Filipino growing up in America, but when I am in school or at work I dont see my Filipino
half as a defining factor.
Emotions, Sex and Money by Yen Le Espiritu in Nancy Foners book Across
Generations, spoke most to my identity as a second generation Filipina. Espiritu put into words
the rigid expectations of sexuality and success I have experienced, especially as a woman being
raised by Filipino parents in an American society. Growing up I felt feelings of resentment and
anger towards my parents for not feeling enough. Over the past year, I have attributed those past
feelings to having grown up in a collectivist home and an individualist society. Espiritu summed
up the contradictions of the pressures to succeed and to compete with peers while balancing out
being the keepers of culture (Espiritu 58). Being keepers of the culture alludes to taking care
of the familyin my case as the oldest daughter my sisters are my responsibility and if anything
goes wrong it is my fault. The overwhelming pressures results in a fear of disappointment due to
the emotional hold immigrant parents have on their children is their unique ability to strip them
of identity (Espiritu 62).

As mentioned in class, Diane Wolf, professor at UC Davis and author of Family Secrets:
Transnational Struggles among Children of Filipino Immigrants captures the emotional hold
immigrant parents have over their children, resulting in high numbers of suicide and depression
rates amongst second-generation Filipinas at UC Davis and UC San Diego. Wolf reasons these
results are due to emotional transnationalism, which describes the psychological experience
associated with transnational cultural practices. Part of that psychological experience which
supports Espiritus emphasis on the emotional hold family has on second generation Filipinos
is, family as the center of what it means to be Filipino (Wolf 261). After reading Wolfs
article, I was surprised at how relevant the results of the study are in my own life. Looking at all
Filipina relatives, I can say from my knowledge that all of them have had experienced periods of
depression, which can be attributed to overwhelming family pressures to succeed and to reach
expectations of parents.
Espiritu continues her insights on the lack of fluidity in Filipinos identities with her
other article, The Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, and Class: The Multiple Identities of SecondGeneration Filipinos. She notes how Asian-Americans defy the assimilationist and pluralists
models (Espiritu 252). Espiritu concludes from her study of San Diego second-generation
Filipinos, As children of middle-class, acculturated parents, they have grown up largely without
the presence of strong ethnic networks that reinforce their culture of origin (Espiritu 268).
Growing up in New Jersey, I felt the strength of Filipino networks with a plethora of Filipino
restaurants and church community, but coming to Washington I lost that sense of culture. For
instance, I only joined the Filipino American Student Association at UW to get a discount for
tickets. My parents have instilled Filipino beliefs and the culture, but besides that I do not feel
connected to other Filipinos besides for our experiences growing up. Espiritu stresses the racism

and challenges against stereotypes Filipinos face due to their dark skin (Espiritu 269). I dont
remember experiencing racism due to being Filipinomore particularly for being Asian. This is
probably due to being a light-skinned Filipino. In terms of being stereotyped as the model
minority Asian, I have felt the need to break beyond that identity.
Civic Engagement and Political Participation:
Compared to my mother only being a member of her work union and attending church
weekly, my participation in civic organizations includes being a member of the Newman
Catholic Center, Young Democrats, Office of Governmental Relations, Filipino-American
Student Association and other RSOs on campus. Throughout high school I was a part of a
number of volunteer organizations such as the citys Library Board, Key Club and National
Honor Society. I had always had a busy schedule volunteering and with club meetings and
activities. Civic engagement is all I have known since taking part in ASB during middle school.
My mom does not partake in volunteer work and votes for whoever will lower taxes and create
jobs. My mom does donate to charities and does recycle from my dad advocating the importance
of the environment to her. Like my mom, I am not particularly concerned about the environment,
but am informed from being in a school that emphasizes the importance of being green. This lack
of concern stems from not recycling as a child in New Jersey. In terms of my political
participation, I remember taking the voting pamphlets with information on the candidates out of
the garbage and picking between officials. Despite my lack of knowledge as an eight year old, I
was intrigued in how our government was affecting our country. Since college, I have attended
OGR meetings, taken part in going to Olympia to talk to officials and have voted. I am
particularly passionate about education issues. If I were to become a teacher, I would want to

teach Leadership and U.S. Government. Also, if time permits I hope to minor in Law, Societies
and Justice.
The drastic difference between my moms civic engagement and my own can be
attributed to my mom not having time and not caring. My mom can relate to the Vietnamese
mothers in Civic Engagements, More families were struggling financially and working long
hours, and many did not feel they had time for such participation (Brettell& Reed-Danahay
118). Thankfully our family has never struggled financially, but with wanting to always wanting
to provide more, politics or the idea of being part of the PTA was never on my moms radar. My
moms perception of moneys importance also explains why she frequently asks me if my
volunteer work involves being paid and why I do it if Im not getting money. A key factor in my
moms lack of empathy for government officials is that she never voted in her home country.
The voting age is 21 in the Philippines and she left for America then, a country she would
initially feel no allegiance to vote in. This is a striking difference my moms father who was the
mayor for their hometown and was a part of the military. Despite my moms family history in
civic engagement, I believe it all goes back to her being too tired to become engaged.
In comparison, my civic engagement and political participation spurs from similar
reasons to those of the Young Dominicans in Nicole Marwells Ethnic and Postethnic Politics in
New York City: The Dominican Second Generation in Becoming New Yorkers. The Young
Dominicans stated their objective was to, involve Dominicans living and working in all sectors
and cities throughout the U.S. in the development of a national agenda, a movement that will
work to provide a new direction to community empowerment (Marwell 236). Through political
and community involvement, I agree with the Young Dominicans that empowerment can be the
result. The power and influence the government has over its country is fascinating to me and

with that known I want to make sure democracy prevails. I believe in democracy and creating
inclusive communities. As a second generation immigrant, I have been fortunate to have grown
up in a community that allowed me to foster my surroundings and to value having a voice
without having to experience what its like to not have a voice. I enjoy knowing whats
happening around me and knowing I can make a difference if I chose. Political participation and
community involvement has also allowed me to study how systems and the government have
influenced the opportunities presented to certain groups. For instance, the second-generations in
Success Against All Odds by Maurice Crul, Min Zhou, Jennifer Lee, Philipp Schnell and Elif
Keskiner in The Changing Face of World Cities noted how different factors like family
support were key for the educational success. Overall, access to community opportunities and
political involvement has allowed for my civic engagement, versus the lack of time that stands
between my moms involvements.
Political Issues and Opinions:
Our class readings and discussions have considered a number of impacting factors that
affects if one is politically active. Citizenship and Participation by Barbara HerzogPunzenberger, Rosita Fibbi, Constanza Vera-Larrucea, Louis Desipio and John Mollenkopf in
The Changing Face of World Cities studies the participation of second-generation citizens of
different nationalities in European and U.S. cities. Based off the data, I believe that young adults
are politically active based off, not particularly based off their age bracket, but more their
feelings of assimilation into the countrywhich is impacted by ones socioeconomic class. For
instance, the data in Citizenship and Participation shows that the participation of Los Angeles
Mexicans increases over second and third generation from 57.7% to 59.8%, as well as New York
Dominicans naturalized 1.5 generations 54.2%, which voted to second generations 55.3%.

Over time it is assumed each generation becomes more assimilated into Americas society hence
an increase in voters over generation. This case can be seen in my own life as I am more political
active and opinionated in comparison to my parents.
The only interest my mother expressed when I asked her about her opinion on political
issues, she thought it would be a good idea for people of their national origins to be represented
by officials of the same background, as some Filipinos cannot speak or understand English. I
agree with her, as I believe it is important to have people to represent citizens that they can relate
to and emphasize with. Personally, I am more interested in politics from the U.S. level to Seattle
area. Internationally, I am concerned about the well-being of others, but not in terms of
economics unless it affects America. As some believe that their vote makes no difference in
America, in some sense I see my opinion or voice making a difference at the international level.
Also, I am not internationally connected in any way besides having family in the Philippines and
being Filipino influences my identity.
With the plethora of different political issues in our world, I used to be the least interested
in immigration law, but along with having an undocumented mentee over the past quarter, this
class has opened my eyes to how immigration laws can make or break families. The influence
the government has over the dynamics of families is overwhelming. I have heard of the impacts
the law had over Latino families, but through the short documentary, Whose Children are
These? I saw how Muslim families were torn apart after 9/11 without actual proof to deport
family members or to hold them in detention centers. I realized the impact of immigration laws
goes beyond the Latino community and impacts others as deeply.
Conclusion:

The insights I have gained through our class readings, discussions and the outside sources
on second generation Filipinos identities has given me a deeper understanding of myself and my
family. As a second generation Filipina, staying in touch with people from my parents home
country is not important to me as I have fewer connections compared to my mother. There are
huge variations between my civic engagement and political participation compared to my
mothers. This can be contributed to feelings of belonging in the home country and opportunities
available. I relate most to the lack of fluidity that impacts my identity, specifically as a Filipina.
The exceeding amount of pressurefamily-wise and educational wise play a key role in the
troubling emotional transnationalism expressed in Espiritu and Wolfs articles and in my own
life. This class has helped me realized I am not alone in my experiences and that what I may
have considered a family thing or an Asian thing pans across different ethnicities.

Cited Works
Diane L. Wolf, (1997) Family Secrets: Transnational Struggles among Children of Filipino
Immigrants. Sociological Perspectives 40:3, pages 457-482.

Brettell, Caroline, and Deborah Reed-Danahay. Civic Engagements: The Citizenship Practices of
Indian and Vietnamese Immigrants. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 2012. Print.

"The Changing Face of World Cities: Young Adult Children of Immigrants in Europe and the
United States [Paperback]." The Changing Face of World Cities: Young Adult Children of
Immigrants in Europe and the United States: Maurice Crul, John Mollenkopf: 9780871546333:
Amazon.com: Books. Ed. Maurice Crul and John Mollenkopf. Russell Sage Foundation, 2012.
Web. 31 May 2013.

Foner, Nancy. Across Generations: Immigrant Families in America. New York: New York UP,
2009. Print.

"Immigrant Experience." Personal interview. 31 May 2013.

Kasinitz, Philip, John H. Mollenkopf, and Mary C. Waters. Becoming New Yorkers:
Ethnographies of the New Second Generation. New York: Russell Sage, 2004. Print.

Le Espiritu, Yen. "The Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, and Class: The Multiple Identities of
Secondgeneration Filipinos." Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 1.2-3 (1994): 24973. Taylor and Francis Online. Web. 31 May 2013.
<http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/1070289X.1994.9962507#tabModule>.