2/19/2017
UNDER MY
INVISIBLE
UMBRELLA
Objectives
• Identify the themes of homecoming and identity
within the Filipino-American context.
• Show a deeper understanding of the personal
and social issues the Filipino-Americans face.
By Laurel Fantauzzo, USA
The Author
•
Laurel Fantauzzo grew up in
California with a Filipina mother
and an Italian American father. Her
work has appeared in the New
York Times, Esquire Philippines,
and The Rumpus, among other
venues. She has earned grants and
residencies from Erasmus,
Fulbright, and Hedgebrook. Her
nonfiction book THE FIRST
IMPULSE explores a love story and
a mystery; it is forthcoming from
Anvil Publishing in 2016. She
teaches at Yale-NUS College and
lives between Singapore and
Quezon City, Philippines.
• Respond critically to the poem and articulate this
response through a Philippine guide for
balikbayans.
Activity
• In the essay, the writer observes
how she is treated differently
because of her whiteness.
Complete the activity in the
section Navigate on page 156
of the textbook.
1
2/19/2017
The Question
• How does the essay of
Lauren Fantauzzo explore
the experiences of
reintegration as this relates
to the stereotypes on
whiteness?
Liminality?
• What does it mean to be
Filipino-American?
• It is being in between.
• This is liminality.
White love?
• It can be roughly defined as the Filipinos’
love affair with the white man.
• It began with the American occupation.
• It continues up to today:
 Long queue at the US embassy
 Preference for the English language
 Love for basketball
 Tremendous hospitality for white foreigners
Searching for roots…
• The essay documents her woes and
adventures as she struggles to reintegrate
herself in her mother’s homeland while at the
same time dealing with the discomfort she
feels in her privileged position.
• The essay profoundly explores her experience
of being a balikbayan in a country she truly
calls home but one that consistently
reminded her of being different.
2
2/19/2017
Straight from the author…
This is a personal essay for The Manila Review on how I
maneuver race and class privilege in the Philippines. It was
very, very uncomfortable to write. As I hesitated and revised
and pushed forward, I kept remembering this punch-in-thestomach quote by Peggy McIntosh. I didn’t use this particular
quote in my essay, but perhaps I should have:
“My schooling gave me no training in seeing myself as an
oppressor, as an unfairly advantaged person, or as a participant
in a damaged culture. I was taught to see myself as an individual
whose moral state depended on her individual moral will.”
Fantauzzo’s theme
• The Filipino-American as a
perspective
• The concept of liminality
• The existence of racial politics
as embedded in the Filipino
culture – the white love.
Evaluation
• In groups of five, create a brochure that will
function as a Philippine guide for
balikbayans. Entitled “Five Things A
Balikbayan Needs To Do To Fit In”, your
guide should highlight the unique Filipino
characteristics that one can be proud of.
Your output will be graded based on the
Rubric on page 158 of the textbook.
Thank You!
For handouts, go to:
http://jacs.weebly.com
3