CULTURE
The 3 Main Filipina Types and How to Date Them
Unbeknownst to many people outside of the Philippines, Filipinos are a historical hodgepodge of a few different ethnicities. While this isn’t so seemingly obvious to outsiders, we aren’t as homogenous as we’re made out to be.
The vast majority of the population is of Malay descent, which, unsurprisingly, means that you’re likely to confuse every other Filipino person with an Indonesian. As a matter of fact, we are sometimes referred to, in jest of course, as Catholic Indonesians. But I prefer to call them Muslim Filipinos. I kid, of course.
While there are over a hundred ethnic groups in the country, there are three subcategories that are referred to in daily life and in Philippine popular culture, and they are used to describe Filipinos based on their physical features and heritage.
These are the moreno, chinito, and mestizo. But since we will mainly refer to Filipino women in this article, we shall use the feminine version of the words, namely morena, chinita, and mestiza.
When I was growing up, all throughout my student days, and even until today, we still use these words to describe someone’s ethnicity. Think of it as how Americans use Asian, African-American, Italian, Irish, Latino, etc.
And in a similar way to that in the US, while we are all generally Filipino, each ethnicity may have certain quirks or peculiarities that surface every now and then. Each ethnicity has certain stereotypical attributes attached to them. Some of these attributes are unspoken, some whispered, and some out in the open. But Filipinos generally have a good attitude towards it, and those that don’t have issues of their own.
If you are looking to date someone in the Philippines, you may find it interesting to know our 3 basic types, and what you can possibly make of that.
The Morena
The Morena is the archetypical Filipina woman. Taken from the Spanish word for “brown,” it refers to those who possess dominant Malay features. So it just doesn’t boil down to skin tone.
You might have heard of the Southeast Asian obsession with white skin, and the Philippines is certainly in the mix.
So while we may vary in different shades of brown, most Filipinas today tend to have fair skin — partly due to skin whitening products, and partly due to the fact that we don’t have to stay out in the sun too long.
The general complexion of Filipino women is getting fairer by the day, but it doesn’t take away from our being “morena.”
Whether the stereotype is true or not, we just give the impression that we’re sweet yet adventurous. We love going out to nature, whether it is in the mountains or the beaches.
I always had the impression that us morenas were the sweetest and friendliest of the bunch. Not to take away from the others, of course, but we just got along with everybody.
So if you want to date someone who looks like your typical Filipina and acts like your typical Filipina, have your friends introduce you to a morena beauty.
The Mestiza
The Mestiza, from the Spanish word for “mixed,” refers to Filipinas with mixed features, specifically European-Caucasian.
The country was colonized by Spain for 333 years, and by the United States for another 48. Hence, no surprise there are a LOT of mixed Filipinos.
Mestizas are usually fair in complexion and possess longer and sharper noses, deep set eyes, and fair-skinned traits like visible freckles. While mestiza used to refer mainly to the Filipino-Spanish, it is now used as a general term for the Filipino-Caucasian mix, which includes those of American, Australian, and European backgrounds.
You will see many mestizas in show business and entertainment, as they are generally considered by Filipinos to be stand-out beauties. Have a look at the roster of Filipino beauty pageant contestants of the last decade or more, and you will see that a huge percentage of them are mestizas, even carrying foreign last names.
Admittedly, in high school and university, we would fawn in jealousy over the mestizas. All the boys seemed drawn to them. They just stood out in every way, with their beautiful faces, lean and tall bodies, and naturally fair skin.
Nowadays, the playing field is a lot more level, and everyone is getting around the same attention.
If you want to date a mestiza, just know that many of them come from affluent families, so you’ll be dealing with women who have fairly high standards. But who doesn’t love a challenge, right?
The Chinita
Last but definitely not the least is the Chinita. As you might guess, they are Filipinas who have dominant Chinese/East Asian features.
The Philippines has always had a minority population of businessmen and traders from mainland China. Their footprint in the country can be traced back to hundreds of years ago.
If you take a look at a list of the Philippines’ richest people, you will see that a huge percentage of them are of Chinese descent. That’s because those that settled here from China brought with them their entrepreneurial spirit — many becoming wildly rich and successful.
It comes as no surprise then that chinitas belong to families who run businesses. Back in the day, and even now, we always thought of the chinitas as the rich ones. One of the pervasive notions we have is that the Chinese keep to themselves, even in relationships. And this is true for a lot of families with old money.
Slowly but surely, however, this sentiment is changing, with many chinitas marrying non-chinito men. You may still run into a few chinitas who fall under this traditional and conservative mindset, so don’t fret. It is the way it is.
But the Philippines is never short of variety, so always keep an open mind.
If you do manage to snatch a chinita’s heart, just know that her family may be a bit more traditional than she is. Try your best to give a good impression and don’t take it too personally if they get a little bit too nosy with your finances. They just want what’s best for their daughter.
At the end of the day…
…they’re all Filipinas. They all possess the traits and characteristics we’ve come to love from these Southeast Asian people. And that’s one of the beauties of dating in the Philippines — you’re never stuck with just one type of girl! So keep an open mind, be adventurous, and you may just find the right type for you.
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