Land Of The Giants By Alex Tizon Summary

“What about him, he has beautiful eyes,” my mother whispered to me. I rolled my eyes continued to walk through the mall with her. My mom had a tendency of doing this. She would point out men she found attractive and would want me to go talk to them. The more caucasian looking they were, the better. Since I was younger she would tell me that my skin was lighter than many of my family members, and if I married a white man, our children would be light skin. I always brushed it off. Many new people coming to America think that to be American means being white. America is a nation of culturally diverse people in all colors, and people of color should not try to make themselves white to better fit in.
Alex Tizon in his essay, “Land of the Giants,”
Alex’s parents feel obligated to whitewash themselves, so they can fit into the American culture. His father massages his nose so that it will not be flat. When Alex asks why he does that, his father says that a flat nose is “so Filipino.” Even though he does admit that there is nothing wrong with being Filipino, he says that people will treat you more favorably if your nose is sharper, His father was also pleased when a woman spoke Spanish to him due to the fact that she mistook him for being from Spain (Tizon 646). Alex’s family is trying to be something they are not so they can fit into the American culture. By doing this, his family drifts further from their native culture, and future generations will not know of their rich heritage. Alex would like to change aspects of his body and face to resemble a
She was not happy with her own race or color of skin because she did not think that she was beautiful. She would try lotions that were supposed to make her lighter. She wore green contacts to try to convince people that she was half caucasian. She did not like how her facial features resembled someone of hispanic origin. My cousin would put concealer on over parts of her lips to make them look smaller, and she applied heavy brown contour on her nose to make it appear to be thinner. One day in particular, I remember her asking me why my skin wasn’t as dark as her. I joked that my parents weren’t my parents, and they took me during the night. She glared at me and waited for a serious answer. I shrugged and said I was just born like this. I said don’t go in the sun because I sunburn. Her eyes widened, she began telling me how lucky I was that i could sunburn like a white person. I began telling her that we were all different for a reason, and how if we were all the same, life would be boring. She then tried to prove me wrong by saying that women in lead movie roles were all caucasian. I did not try to argue with her, and she to this day continues to try to look as white as possible. She tortured herself like Alex by trying to be something she is not,