Hispanic?

Okay, let's get this straight. I am a Filipino-American. I have always lived in the United States and have never stepped outside the borders of this country. My parents were not born in this country but have lived here for most of their lives and have never revisited their mother country.

"Filipino" is the correct term for what I am. It's not "Philippine," "Philippinian," or any of those variants I have heard in the past. O yes, and it's spelled with an F.

No matter what anyone else says, Filipinos are Asian. Not Spanish, Pacific Islander, Chinese, Japanese. ASIAN. The Philippines belongs to the continent of Asia. Therefore, it is an Asian nation and its people are Asian.

My last name is Spanish. That's because the Philippines were invaded by the Spanish many, many years ago. It does not make me Spanish. Many Filipinos have Spanish last names, so I'm not alone.

I [sadly] don't speak Tagalog. Nor am I fluent in Spanish.

But why o why is there still a confusion?

Why does my mother get a magazine entitled Hispanic every month without her subscribing to it?

Why do we get telemarketers asking to speak to a Hispanic member of the family?
A phone call I once answered:
Man: Are you Hispanic?
Me: No.
Man: Can I speak to someone in your household who is?
Me: No.
He literally couldn't; I wasn't being rude. There is no one in this household who is or ever was Hispanic.

Sure, Filipino restaurants don't exist at every street corner. And the biggest Filipino celebrity is in the lowly theatre world. But Filipinos do live in America. We're not that uncommon. So why is it taking so long for us to be recognized?

That said, I will continue to exploit my ethnic ambiguity as I pursue a career in theatre. I can fall into whatever race they want me to be. Why, you say? Because show business has yet to see beyond ethnic boundaries. I am still seen as a stereotype or a person to fill a certain quota. Yes, it's true that Asians are being seen more and more in the entertainment industry. And yet more and more are being turned away because they are "not what we're looking for."

I'm sorry if your head is now spinning. No worries, mine is too. Just too many things wrong here. Double standards, irony, and head-spinning... I guess that's what it's like to be a Filipino-American.

~Steven