An Open Letter to Apl.de.Ap, Patricio Ginelsa/KidHeroes, and Xylophone Films, re: the Bebot Video

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To Apl.de.Ap, Patricio Ginelsa/KidHeroes, and Xylophone Films:

We, the undersigned, would like to register our deep disappointment at the
portrayal of Filipinas and other women in the new music videos for the Black
Eyed Peas' song, "Bebot." We want to make it clear that we appreciate your
efforts to bring Filipina/o Americans into the mainstream and applaud your
support of the Little Manila of Stockton. However, as Filipina/o and
Filipina/o American artists, academics, and community activists, we are
utterly dismayed by the portrayal of hypersexualized Filipina "hoochie-mama"
dancers, specifically in the Generation 2 version, the type of
representation of women so unfortunately prevalent in today's hip-hop and
rap music videos. The depiction of the 1930s "dime dancers" was also cast
in an unproblematized light, as these women seem to exist solely for the
sexual pleasure of the manongs.

In general, we value Apl.de.Ap's willingness to be so openly and richly
Filipino, especially when there are other Filipina/o Americans in positions
of visibility who do not do the same, and we appreciate the work that he has
done with the folks at Xylophone Films; we like their previous video for
"The Apl Song," and we even like the fact that the Generation 1 version of
"Bebot" attempts to provide a "history lesson" about some Filipino men in
the 1930s. However, the Generation 2 version truly misses the mark on
accurate Filipina/o representation, for the following reasons:

1) The video uses three very limited stereotypes of Filipina women: the
virgin, the whore, and the shrill mother. We find a double standard in the
depiction of the virgin and whore figures, both of which are highly
sexualized. Amidst the crowd of midriff-baring, skinny, light-skinned,
peroxided Pinays ­ some practically falling out of their halter tops ­ there
is the little sister played by Jasmine Trias, from whom big brother Apl is
constantly fending off Pinoy "playas." The overprotectiveness is strange
considering his idealization of the bebot or "hot chick." The mother
character was also particularly troublesome, but for very different reasons
She seems to play a dehumanized figure, the perpetual foreigner with her
exaggerated accent, but on top of that, she is robbed of her femininity in
her embarrassingly indelicate treatment of her son and his friends. She is
not like a tough or strong mother, but almost like a coarse asexual mother,
and it is telling that she is the only female character in the video with a
full figure.

2) We feel that these problematic female representations might have to do
with the use of the word "Bebot." We are of course not advocating that Apl
change the title of his song, yet we are confused about why a song that has
to do with pride in his ethnic/national identity would be titled "Bebot," a
word that suggests male ownership of the sexualized woman ­ the "hot chick."
What does Filipino pride have to do with bebots? The song seems to be about
immigrant experience yet the chorus says "ikaw ang aking bebot" (you are my
hot chick). It is actually very disturbing that one's ethnic/national
identity is determined by one's ownership of women. This system not only
turns women into mere symbols but it also excludes women from feeling the
same kind of ethnic/national identity. It does not bring down just
Filipinas; it brings down all women.

3) Given the unfortunate connection made in this video between Filipino
pride and the sexualized female body both lyrically and visually, we can't
help but conclude that the video was created strictly for a heterosexual
man's pleasure. This straight, masculinist perspective is the link that we
find between the Generation 1 and Generation 2 videos. The fact that the
Pinoy men are surrounded by "hot chicks" both then and now makes this link
plain. Yet such a portrayal not only obscures the "real" message about the
Little Manila Foundation; it also reduces Pinoy men's hopes, dreams, and
motivations to a single-minded pursuit of sex.

We do understand that Filipino America faces a persistent problem of
invisibility in this country. Moreover, as the song is all in Tagalog (a
fact that we love, by the way), you face an uphill battle in getting the
song and music video(s) into mainstream circulation. However, remedying the
invisibility of Filipina/os in the United States should not come at the cost
of the dignity and self-respect of at least half the population of Filipino
America. Before deciding to write this letter, we felt an incredible amount
of ambivalence about speaking out on this issue because, on the one hand, we
recognized that this song and video are a milestone for Filipina/os in
mainstream media and American pop culture, but on the other hand, we were
deeply disturbed by the images of women the video propagates.

In the end we decided that we could not remain silent while seeing image
after image of Pinays portrayed as hypersexual beings or as shrill,
dehumanized, asexual mother-figures who embarrass their children with their
overblown accents and coarseness. The Filipino American community is made up
of women with Filipino pride as well, yet there is little room in these
videos for us to share this voice and this commitment; instead, the message
we get is that we are expected to stand aside and allow ourselves to be
exploited for our sexuality while the men go about making their nationalist
statements.

While this may sound quite harsh, we believe it is necessary to point out
that such depictions make it seem as if you are selling out Filipina women
for the sake of gaining mainstream popularity within the United States.
Given the already horrific representations of Filipinas all over the world
as willing prostitutes, exotic dancers, or domestic servants who are
available for sex with their employers, the representation of Pinays in
these particular videos can only feed into such stereotypes. We also find
it puzzling, given your apparent commitment to preserving the history and
dignity of Filipina/os in the United States, because we assume that you also
consider such stereotypes offensive to Filipino men as well as women.

Again, we want to reiterate our appreciation for the positive aspects of
these videos ­ the history lesson of the 1936 version, the commitment to
community, and the effort to foster a larger awareness of Filipino America
in the mainstream ­ but we ask for your honest attempt to offer more
full-spectrum representations of both Filipino men and Filipina women, now
and in the future. We would not be writing this letter to you if we did not
believe you could make it happen.

Respectfully,

Lucy Burns
Assistant Professor
Asian American Studies / World Arts and Cultures, UCLA

Fritzie De Mata
Independent scholar

Diana Halog
Undergraduate
UC Berkeley

Luisa A. Igloria
Associate Professor
Creative Writing Program
& Department of English
Old Dominion University

Veronica Montes
Writer

Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Assistant Professor
English, State University of New York--Fredonia

Gladys Nubla
Doctoral student
English, UC Berkeley

Barbara Jane Reyes
Poet and author

Joanne L. Rondilla
Doctoral candidate
Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley

Rolando B. Tolentino
Visiting Fellow, National University of Singapore
Associate Professor, University of the Philippines Film Institute

Benito Vergara
Asian American Studies / Anthropology, San Francisco State University