full episode

Visions of the Filipina bride

Broadcast Monday 10 Jul 2023 at 10:00pmMon 10 Jul 2023 at 10:00pm

You view a young Filipina leaning against a vintage red sedan, as green rolling hills stretch out behind her to the horizon. — Alan Weedon's mother, Jesusita, was one of tens of thousands of Filipinas who migrated to Australia via marriage.(Supplied)

Growing up in the 1990s, Alan Weedon always wondered why he was one of many kids born to an Australian father and Filipina mother.

It was a pattern replicated in the various backyard barbecues and play dates of his youth — where Filipino men were far and few between.

Following the tragic death of his mother Jesusita in 2022, Alan, in his grief, decided to trace his Mum's story of coming to Australia. In doing so, he unravelled a great southern migration, where tens of thousands of Filipinas migrated to Australia via marriage in the 80s and 90s.

And this was no accident -- migrations don't just happen, they're produced.

But when they landed in Australia, these Filipina brides — many of who had migrated on their own accord — were often subject to racist and sexist stereotypes. Most persistent was the 'mail order bride' tag, a stereotype that stuck and leached into newspapers and popular culture – and which still lingers on today.

Alan Weedon was the recipient of the 2022 Tony Barrell Fellowship. The Fellowship celebrates the life and work of Tony, one of our most original and creative producers, and offers an opportunity for an ABC staff member to develop their radio feature-making skills.

Guests:

Jesusita Querobines Weedon
Emma Valenzuela
Melba Marginson, co-founder, Centre for Philippine Concerns — Australia, and Multicultural Women Victoria
Kristine Aquino, Filipina-Australian sociologist and urban ethnographer at the University of Technology, Sydney
Robyn Magalit Rodriguez, award-winning scholar, educator, and community organiser