The surf blog edited the following

Q&A: why so conservative in PI?
i lived here for 6 months finishing college..i am from hawaii and i am still having a hard time adjusting..i taught it would be just like hawaii since it’s the same weather same beaches..in hawaii everyone walks around in there bikini’s and flip flops..over here there all fully dress even long sleves !! and jackets!! all the time even though its 90 degrees . i live near the beach here too..and when i go i can’t wear a bikini with out being frowned apon! in school its soo hott so i wear a regular tank top nothing too reveiling and again..it’s frown apon..i have a small fairy tattoo i have to hide because over here because they told me only sluts and hoars have those..i am having such a hard time..because it’s SO hott..but i am forced to dress like its 50 degrees!! it’s the year 2007 already can’t i go to the beach with my bikini and surf with out being looked down on?

The pictures have nothing to do with the content!!

The following is the answer:

Answer by junky
Who cares what they think. Do what YOU want, and maybe others will follow your lead.

Answer by CuriousWoman
are you living on a province? I don’t think in philippine cities the attitude of people are like that… hawaii and philippines have a different culture… you are more westernized..more liberated… if I were you just do what you like to do, dressed what you like to dressed, after all who cares? it’s not their body you’re exposing… eventually some people will stop being shy and also do the same as you do… wear bikini and stuff like that.

Answer by mystery moo
90 degrees maybe very very hot for you, but for people who grew up with that weather, its just a normal thing.. and temperature lower than that may give chills for some.. Filipinos get cold easily..

im here in california, and its 44degrees down here and i see some people wearing just shorts and shirt while im all covered up..

where are you located at exactly? coz maybe it depends on what beach u go to.. people in the Philippines are not close minded about showing skin, its how you carry it..

tattoes, not a big ish as well..

Answer by Dave Star
Yeah, go ahead!

Answer by Diamond
haha wow. let me tell you something. im not that conservative! when I go philippines (i live in california) girls will talk and boys will think your a whore for showing cleavage and some skin but that is because they arent use to us. Let them think what they want, they dont know how dumb they act saying our tatoos are for hoes. defend your self and dont let them treat you like you are wild cuz your just normal!

tell me how it went.

Answer by TonyB
You choose to live in another country so you need to respect their culture and feelings. It’s not America, don’t try to make it so.

If the locals don’t like you dressing in revealing clothes then don’t do it. Or go back to the USA and do it.

Answer by CDOguide
Philippine schools usually have dress codes especially for women. Read you school manual. Beaches? Depending where you are, you can wear a bikini. In areas frequented by tourists, locals are comfortable with it BUT not in the nude. You really have no choice but to ADJUST to the culture. If not find another place in the Philippines that does not frown upon women in bikini. By the way, where on earth are you? My sister has a small tattoo in her ankle during her college days (1990s) but no one seem to bother. In fact some of her girl friends find it cute though they could not dare to have a tattoo. It is quite sad people find tattoos ugly. The first Filipinos were called “Pintados” or painted people because of their body tattoos similar to those from Micronesian cultures and even that of Hawaii.

To those who say just be yourself, try doing it in a Muslim area like Marawi City, the only Muslim city in the Philippines. You might be spitted on by locals. I could not believe people here are encouraging you to be disrespectful to other people’s culture! Those in the urban cities might be more accepting and open but in small towns it is a different story. Also the Catholic Church is a powerful institution in the country that prides itself as the conscience of the Filipino people. As the old saying goes “When in Rome do what the Romans do”.

Answer by ragdefender
You’re with the wrong crowd. You must remember that this is a Catholic country, and you will have some of that. The other answerer is right, and the people in the cities, and in places where there are premium tourist beaches are more used and open to your kind of fashion sense. Try to find people with the same outlook as you and you’ll have a great time.

Edit: And don’t listen to the xenophobes who tell you not to be yourself. I think we Filipinos should remind ourselves of how we feel when people dismiss our cultures while we are in another country. Do people here remember the case of the child in Canada who got disciplined because he was eating with a fork and spoon? That kid was humiliated simply because he didn’t eat like other canadians. If we judge visitors in our country by the way they dress, how different are we? Whatever happened to Filipino hospitality?

Sometimes we think we are just victims of racism. We forget how racist we can be ourselves.

Oh and don’t get me started with the muslims… anybody who approves of their disdain for other cultures is a moral cripple.

Answer by trykindness
Totally different country, my dear

Answer by daiLou
There’s a saying that goes: “Be a Roman, when you’re in Rome.”

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