Tisoy. For many of you this probably the first time you hear of the word Tisoy. You are probably thinking to yourself, WTF is a Tisoy? Tisoy is a Tagalog (Filipino) word describing someone who is of mixed race. In my case, Filipino and Scottish.
For many bi-racial and multi-racial people the identity of race always poses a unique situation. Often times they are view by society as being “Half” or placed in a situations where they are viewed as not quite being up to the standards of being “Full”. When someone asks me what my race is, I reply “I’m Filipino” invariably the next words out of their mouth are “You don’t look Filipino, you must be half?”
I’m sure it isn’t said in malice, but I often feel like I have to justify who I am because I am not as dark, I’m not as short, I don’t have a button nose, or for some reason I just don’t fit into the mold of what they view as what a Filipino is.
So lately when people ask me what I am, I tell them I’m 100% Tisoy which seems to make those who understand Tagalog content. They understand that I’m mixed race, but at the same time I understand, at least in part, Tagalog so I must be Filipino enough for them. I guess many of the older generation the reply of being 100% Tisoy isn’t what then expect and my response more than not, is a great ice breaker and I enjoy watching their faces as they digest my response.
For those who insist on me being Half Filipino, can you please let me know what part of me is Filipino? Is my left hand Filipino. How about my ears, which one is Filipino and which one is not. Both of my eyes are brown, so perhaps those are Filipino. I am fluent in one of the two official languages of the Philippines, so perhaps if I learn the other official language, that would make me full.
Perhaps I would be seen as more Filipino if I pronounce my “F’s” as “P;s” and my “V’s” and “B’s” or added stuffed animals in my back windows of all of our cars.
So, what is a Tisoy? Well it is, as the philosopher José Vasconcelos Calderón states in his essay, La Raza Cósmica, it is the fifth race, the next step up in the evolutionary chain. Or in today’s politically correct terminology, A tisoy is simply a Hybrid.
When was the last time you enjoyed the thrill of an original hybrid? And no, I”m not talking about the Toyota Prius.