Chimalpahin Conference 2008

Cyber-identities: Representation of Filipino Women in Mail-Order-Bride Websites

The representation of the ‘Other’ by the colonizers has always been an area explored by scholars dealing with postcolonial studies. However, how the ‘Other’ represents his or herself is something that few have delved into. Using Mail-order-bride[1] (MOB) websites as sites for analysis, this paper will attempt to examine how the ‘Others’ are portrayed not only by western men, but also how the ‘Others’ portray themselves. Given that majority of the ‘clients’[2] and owners of MOB websites are Western men or are from First World countries[3], this paper explores the orientalist discourses that can be found in Mail-order-bride websites. It will attempt to examine the existence of such discourses by looking at the representation of Filipino women by actors involved in the MOB business: the MOB website owners, the MOB ‘clients’ and the Filipino women themselves.

The paper is in three parts. The first part discusses the existing stereotypes of Filipino women and the role of mass media in the proliferation and maintenance of these stereotypes. The second part analyzes how Filipino women are portrayed by actors in the MOB website business. In this part, the author argues the existence of essentialist and orientalist discourses in the way these actors portray Filipino women. Here, the author also observes that a complement exists between what Western clients seek from Filipino women and the way the Filipino women advertise themselves. In the last part, the author presents how the Filipino women (and men) attempt to counter these essentialist and stereotypical representation of Filipino women in MOB websites in particular, and the Internet in general.

This paper is a continuing discussion on the argument that the discourse found in MOB website is a product of a colonial (and post-colonial) relationship that existed (and continue to exist) between Western/First World countries such as the US and Third World countries such as the Philippines.

Joyce received her master’s degree in Southeast Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore. She is currently working as Research Assistant at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. Joyce also has a bachelor’s degree in Communication Research from the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Her research interests include media, communication and gender studies.

[1] For this study, MOB websites refer to any website offering introductory services to men seeking to have pen pal correspondence with women.

[2] Refers to those who are seeking Filipino women as prospective partners

[3] In the US alone, there are more than 200 MOB website operating in 1999. Statistics show that 4000 to 6000 marriages are arranged by these sites “annually between American men and foreign women, mostly from the Philippines and the former Soviet Union.” (Available at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/05/politics/main561828shtml.)