“Little Brown Brothers”: Height and the Philippine–American Colonial Encounter (1898–1946)

Authors

Gideon; University Lasco

Abstract

Thisarticle looks at how scientific racism, biomedicine, public health, sports, and a nascent bureaucracy intersected in the making of height (human stature) as an important attribute of individuals and populations during the Philippine–American colonial encounter. In relation to the “tall” Americans, Filipinos were depicted and problematized as “short,” and the attention to children’s growth, the rise of sports, and the establishment of a bureaucracy all contributed to making height a measure of health and a parameter of inclusion (and exclusion) in various domains of society.KEYWORDS: HEIGHT • ANTHROPOMETRY • PUBLIC HEALTH • COLONIALISM • PHILIPPINES

Recommended Citation

Lasco, Gideon; University (2018) "“Little Brown Brothers”: Height and the Philippine–American Colonial Encounter (1898–1946)," Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints: Vol. 66: No. 3, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13185/2244-1638.4307
Available at: https://archium.ateneo.edu/phstudies/vol66/iss3/5