The duality of identity: Exploring postcolonial paradoxes and cultural oxymorons in the Philippines

Edgar R. Eslit

doi:10.31893/humanitj.2025009

Keywords:

cultural oxymorons

duality of identity

postcolonial paradoxes

qualitative literature review

Abstract

Understanding Filipino identity is a complex challenge, shaped by contradictions and cultural tensions that can often seem like opposing forces. This article explores these contradictions, which we call cultural oxymorons, to shed light on how they define the Filipino experience in a postcolonial world. Using a qualitative literature review approach, the study highlights key cultural paradoxes such as how "Filipino hospitality" can coexist with the harsh realities of poverty, or how the community spirit of "Bayanihan" contrasts with the rise of individualism in urban areas. It also examines the contrast between the warm national greeting "Mabuhay" and the ongoing struggle to build a unified national identity in a globalized context. Theoretical perspectives, including postcolonial theory and cultural studies, are used to explore how the legacies of colonialism still shape Filipino identity today. By looking at case studies from universities and using tools like comparative and discourse analysis, the research shows how Filipinos have remained resilient and adaptable in navigating these paradoxes. Ultimately, the study emphasizes the importance of recognizing these contradictions in understanding what it means to be Filipino in today’s world and calls for more research into the ever changing and multi layered nature of cultural identity in the Philippines.
References
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29. Peracullo, J. C., Baring, R. V., Erasga, D. S., de la Rosa Garcia, L., & Ubaldo, L. R. (2019). The sacred experiences of Filipino youth. In E. Arweck & H. Shipley (Eds.), Young people and the diversity of (non)religious identities in international perspective. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16166-8_8
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32. Rafael, V. L. (1995). White love and other events in Filipino history. Duke University Press.
33. Ramos, F. V. (2000). Nationalism and globalization. CNN Asiaweek. http://edition.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/98/0612/cs4.html
34. Rizal, J. (n.d.). Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) Reader’s Guide. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/291131/noli-me-tangere-touch-me-not-by-jose-rizal/9780143039693/readers-guide/
35. Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. In B. Ashcroft, G. Griffiths, & H. Tiffin (Eds.), The postcolonial studies reader (pp. 87-98). Routledge.
36. San Juan, E. (2022). Crisis in the Philippines: The nation-state and the struggle for identity. University of the Philippines Press.
37. San Juan, Jr., E. (2017). The Filipino diaspora (Mapping the vicissitudes of the Filipino diaspora). The Philippines Matrix Project. https://philcsc.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/the-filipino-diaspora-by-e-san-juan-jr/
38. San Juan, Jr., E. (2017). The Filipino diaspora (Mapping the vicissitudes of the Filipino diaspora). The Philippines Matrix Project. https://philcsc.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/the-filipino-diaspora-by-e-san-juan-jr/
39. Sanchez, J.-N. (2022). Construction and deconstruction of Maria Clara: History of an imagined care-oriented model of gender in the Philippines. Kyoto University Asian Studies Unit. Retrieved from https://www.kuasu.cpier.kyoto-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/JN-Sanchez-Paper.pdf
40. Tiongson Jr., A. T. (2019). Asian American studies, comparative racialization, and settler colonial critique. Journal of Asian American Studies, 22(3), 419-443.
41. Tiongson, N. (2023). Filipino cultural identity in the age of globalization. Ateneo de Manila University Press.
42. Vale, H. M. (2023). Collapsing moments: Confronting anti-Black logics in the Philippines' colonial archive (Master’s thesis). University of Washington.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to cite

Eslit, E. R. (2025). The duality of identity: Exploring postcolonial paradoxes and cultural oxymorons in the Philippines. Humanities Journal, 2(2), 2025009. https://doi.org/10.31893/humanitj.2025009

[1] Agoncillo, T. (1990). History of the Filipino people. Garotech Publishing.

[2] Agoncillo, T. (1996). The revolt of the masses: The story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan (1st ed., reprint). University of the Philippines.

[3] Aguilar, F. V. Jr. (2015). Is the Filipino diaspora a diaspora? Critical Asian Studies, 47(3), 440-461.

[4] Antolihao, L. A. (1999). Modernity and the underdevelopment of sociological theory in the Philippines. Philippine Sociological Review, 1. https://doi.org/23898180

[5] Bautista, A. J. (2012). The Philippines: A past revisited. National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

[6] Bautista, A. J., & Sison, M. R. (Eds.). (2020). The Philippines in the world: The nation, the state, and the people. Palgrave Macmillan.

[7] Bernad, M. A. (1971). Philippine culture and the Filipino identity. Philippine Studies, 19(4), 573-592. http://www.philippinestudies.net

[8] Constantino, R. (1976). Identity and consciousness: The Philippine experience. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 6(1), 5–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472337685390031

[9] Cordero, D., Leal, M., & Corpuz, J. C. (2021). The unwavering faith of Filipino Catholic workers in Macau: Personal narratives of motivation amid distant employment. The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society, 11(1), 155-169. https://doi.org/10.18848/2154-8633/CGP/v11i01/155-169

[10] Crenshaw, K. W., et al. (2013). Toward a field of intersectionality studies: Theory, applications, and praxis. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. https://doi.org/0097-9740/2013/3804-0001$10.00

[11] Cruz, M. D. (2020). Women and health. In R. P. Ofreneo & J. I. Illo (Eds.), Philippine NGO Beijing+25 Report (pp. xx-xx). UP Center for Women's and Gender Studies. https://niccdies.climate.gov.ph/files/documents/gender_country_profile_2021_philippines.pdf

[12] David, R. S. (2001). Philippine society and the challenge of modernity. University of the Philippines. https://www.ateneo.edu/sites/default/files/202210/JVO%201%20LECTURE%20by%20RSDavid.pdf

[13] Espia, J. C. P., Prieto-Carolino, A., Espectato, L. N., & Napata, R. (2021). Into the unknown: Migration and the politics of identity in four coastal municipalities in Southwest Panay, Philippines. Ocean & Coastal Management, 211, 105801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105801

[14] Gonzalez, A. D., & Quindoza-Santiago, R. (2021). Philippine literature in the global and local contexts. De La Salle University Press.

[15] Hall, S. (1980). Cultural studies: Two paradigms. Media, Culture & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/016344378000200106

[16] Hernandez, J. B., & Pacheco, J. (2021). The Filipino diaspora: Resilience, resistance, and identity. Routledge.

[17] Jensen, S., Hapal, K., & Quijano, S. (2020). Reconfiguring Manila: Displacement, resettlement, and the productivity of urban divides. Urban Forum, 31, 389–407. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-020-09399-0

[18] Juan, E. S. (2001). The Filipino diaspora. Philippine Studies, 49(2), 255-264.

[19] Lopez, E. (2021). Decolonising the Philippine language: The ebb and flow of Spanish influence on Filipino culture. [Blog post]. https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/decolonisesml/tag/the-philippines/

[20] López, J. E. (2019). The politics of identity in the Philippines: Cultural, social, and political dimensions. Routledge.

[21] Lynch Jr., O. J. (1988). The Philippine colonial dichotomy: Attraction and disenfranchisement. Philippine Law Journal, 63, 112.

[22] Maca, M., & Morris, P. (2015). Education, national identity and state formation in the modern Philippines. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292980444

[23] Malek, J. G. (2019). Silangan rising: Crafting the Filipino self and the other in the diaspora. Philippine Studies: Historical & Ethnographic Viewpoints, 31. https://doi.org/45171971

[24] Mulder, N. (2013). Filipino identity: The haunting question. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs. https://doi.org/10.1177/186810341303200103

[25] Nolasco, J. I. V. (2023). Self, family, and democracy: Individualism and collectivism in two contemporary Filipino family films. In V. L. Gregorio, C. M. Batan, & S. L. Blair (Eds.), Resilience and familism: The dynamic nature of families in the Philippines (pp. 249-265). Emerald Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1530-353520230000023014

[26] Orbeta Jr., A., & Paqueo, V. (2022). Philippine education: Situationer, challenges, and ways forward. Philippine Institute for Development Studies Discussion Paper. https://pidswebs.pids.gov.ph/CDN/document/pidsdps2223.pdf

[27] Orig, S. (2006). The politics of identity and mimetic constructions in the Philippine transnational experience. Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, 6(1), 49-68. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-9469.2006.tb00074.x

[28] Parreñas, R. S. (2001). Servants of globalization: Migration and domestic work in the Philippines. Stanford University Press.

[29] Peracullo, J. C., Baring, R. V., Erasga, D. S., de la Rosa Garcia, L., & Ubaldo, L. R. (2019). The sacred experiences of Filipino youth. In E. Arweck & H. Shipley (Eds.), Young people and the diversity of (non)religious identities in international perspective. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16166-8_8

[30] Philippine Daily Inquirer. (n.d.). https://www.inquirer.net/

[31] Rafael, V. (2000). White love and other events in Filipino history. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv11689pq

[32] Rafael, V. L. (1995). White love and other events in Filipino history. Duke University Press.

[33] Ramos, F. V. (2000). Nationalism and globalization. CNN Asiaweek. http://edition.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/98/0612/cs4.html

[34] Rizal, J. (n.d.). Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) Reader’s Guide. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/291131/noli-me-tangere-touch-me-not-by-jose-rizal/9780143039693/readers-guide/

[35] Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. In B. Ashcroft, G. Griffiths, & H. Tiffin (Eds.), The postcolonial studies reader (pp. 87-98). Routledge.

[36] San Juan, E. (2022). Crisis in the Philippines: The nation-state and the struggle for identity. University of the Philippines Press.

[37] San Juan, Jr., E. (2017). The Filipino diaspora (Mapping the vicissitudes of the Filipino diaspora). The Philippines Matrix Project. https://philcsc.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/the-filipino-diaspora-by-e-san-juan-jr/

[38] San Juan, Jr., E. (2017). The Filipino diaspora (Mapping the vicissitudes of the Filipino diaspora). The Philippines Matrix Project. https://philcsc.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/the-filipino-diaspora-by-e-san-juan-jr/

[39] Sanchez, J.-N. (2022). Construction and deconstruction of Maria Clara: History of an imagined care-oriented model of gender in the Philippines. Kyoto University Asian Studies Unit. Retrieved from https://www.kuasu.cpier.kyoto-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/JN-Sanchez-Paper.pdf

[40] Tiongson Jr., A. T. (2019). Asian American studies, comparative racialization, and settler colonial critique. Journal of Asian American Studies, 22(3), 419-443.

[41] Tiongson, N. (2023). Filipino cultural identity in the age of globalization. Ateneo de Manila University Press.

[42] Vale, H. M. (2023). Collapsing moments: Confronting anti-Black logics in the Philippines' colonial archive (Master’s thesis). University of Washington.

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References

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