About this Project

“You’re not Filipino enough. You’re Filipino when…. You’re not any less Filipino because….” These statements are used by many within the Filipinx-/American (Fil-/Am) community to measure one’s “Filipinoness.” These statements are and have been used to invalidate claims to a Filipino heritage and identity. They measure one’s proximity to the Filipino culture and demand performances of cultural competency. This process of gatekeeping the Filipino identity has been used to define a specific idea of what it means to be “Filipino.”

Coming from the perspective of a contemporary scholar, a millennial, and a techie, I consider Twitter an intriguing site to examine and research. As society steadily moves online and becomes more digitized, the processes of identity formation shift accordingly. Facilitated through social media platforms, online places have become primary sites of collaboration, negotiation, conflict, and tension. Due to its popularity as well as its significant role in processing the current zeitgeist, Twitter encapsulates the here and now. My own engagement on Twitter is limited to consuming the different ideas and topics produced, but what drew my attention was the active Fil-/Am presence. Twitter provided a unique opportunity to explore the ways Fil-/Ams made sense of their diasporic identity, even as they shared commonalities with Filipinos in the Philippines. On a personal note, I conducted this research to further participate in my community and navigate the processing of my Filipinx identity.

At the root of it all, my project seeks to understand how Fil-/Ams see themselves, make themselves, and imagine themselves. Working within the framework of “belonging,” I look into how Fil-/Ams of this generation formulate spaces both physically and metaphorically as a means of co-creating a sense of self.