Culture Essay

The Philippines is a country located in the heat of Southeast Asia. It is composed of 7,107 islands, with the three main islands being Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The Phillipines has a population of over 50 million which is unevenly distributed to these larger islands based on economic opportunities and the history of the islands. They speak mostly English in the Philippines but they also speak Pilipino and Spanish. Filipinos are some of the most outgoing individuals that you will ever meet. They are made up of several different races including Malay, Chinese, Spanish, Indian and American. Their culture is a blend of all of these races coming together in one country. According to Senkotiros, Filipinos have seven different elements to their culture which are: values, basic personality, basic social unit, politics, economics, technology and ecology.

At the center of the Filipino society is family. This includes aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and people that are of what is called an “honorary relation” including godparents, sponsors and close family friends (Kwintessential, 2014). Many Filipino families are dependent on having large families when it comes to the workforce. Members of families work for the same company and will get priority within companies where their family works. “The prevailing family structure emphasizes loyalty and support of the family, not of any higher level of social organization” (Senkotiros, 2005). When a portion of the family structure moves to another country, they still live together and stay in close touch with family members they have left behind. Many things that happen within the Pilipino culture is based off of family, individuals come second.

When it comes to values and norms, Filipinos have two sets of paradoxical traits that are instilled in them through their culture. The first set is a very structured family set-up where each member of the family has their own specific role. The elders are the decision makers and...