Anti-Filipino Slur on Desperate Housewives?

Posted by bakla on October 2, 2007 · 1 Comment

Many Filipinos were offended by what seemed like a racial slur uttered by Teri Hatcher’s Desperate Housewives character, Susan Mayer when she went to see a gynecologist. In that particular scene, Susan objected to being checked by the OB-GYN and stated that she “wanted to make sure that those diplomas are not from some med school in the Philippines.”

Whoa! The line connotes negativity and distrust on medical schools here in the Philippines. Is it racial? Is it directed against Filipinos in general? Or is it directed at the medical educational system in the country? Should we react violently right away and call for boycotts of the show?

The slur can obviously be very offensive and the writers obviously may not have done their homework by researching on the quality of education that our medical educational institutions have. Perhaps it was an error in judgment on the writer’s part for directly relating the numbers of Filipino medical practitioners in the United States to the quality of education offered by Philippine medical institutions?

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Comments

One Response to “Anti-Filipino Slur on Desperate Housewives?”

ProudlyPinoy says:

October 4, 2007 at 1:24 am

I just want to share with you the impact of the online petition being circulated around the net. This is from ABS-CBN news:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=94508

Filipino Americans have expressed their outrage over the remark and have launched an online petition demanding an apology from ABC Network.

The petition also demands that the episode be edited to remove the “ignorant and racist” remark. As of 4:16 pm (Manila time) some 15,533 people have signed the petition.

The petition also points out the major contribution that Filipinos and Filipino Americans make in healthcare in the United States:

“[A] statement that devalues Filipinos in healthcare is extremely unfounded, considering the overwhelming presence of Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the medical field. Filipinos are the second largest immigrant population in the United States, with many entering the U.S. (and successfully passing their U.S. licensing boards!) as doctors, nurses, and medical technicians.

“In fact, the Philippines produces more U.S. nurses than any other country in the world. So, to belittle the education, experience, or value of Filipino Americans in health care is extremely disrespectful and plain and simply ignorant. Many of the hospitals in major metropolitan areas of the U.S. (and the world) would not be able to operate without its Filipino and Filipino American staff members.”

Jay Ngo, a Filipino health professional from Riverside, California in the United States ABS-CBN News that the episode was an outrage, saying, “the healthcare industry, including the best hospitals, is full of Filipino medical professionals.”