Fluidity of Filipino American Identity

This research explores the identity issues of 1.5 and second generation Filipino Americans, specifically how they construct, shift, and maintain their identities. Having been colonized by the Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Americans to name a few, Filipinos have an interesting mix of race and culture – physically and internally Filipinos are a diverse group of people among themselves. Notoriously claimed to lack a sense of unique cultural identity and classified as racially ambiguous, Filipino Americans pose to be of unique stance because of their interesting background – predominantly Catholic, relative ease with the English language, early push towards American assimilation, yet still considered “Asian” in some spheres, while having Spanish influences. This research will take a more in depth look at the complexities of a fluid identity and the subcultures that exist within the Filipino American cohort