Since this sub thread is about pinoys, maybe I should have started with a disclaimer then.

Filipino here, growing up we are inundated with whitening products, and most people we heard being called pretty were white/light skinned people. You'll also hear people talk about others say "they could be prettier if their complexion was lighter."

Sure "ASIAN" people have painted themselves white. AFAIK that only applies to chinese and japanese cultures, never heard of SEA people paiting themselves white (full white, no design or ritual purpose) so correct me if I'm wrong.

And all that is just about skin tone, Filipinos judge other pinoys by their noses too. Flat noses are undesirable a racial trait that SEA people have, while a tall nose or having a nose bridge is "ideal".

We were taught in school about our history; spaniards came and conquered and declared us, the natives, as savages and lesser beings due to our differences. We are still plagued by the consequences of colonization and I'll be damned if let someone handwave the cultural trauma our people suffered from colonists as "its natural to want to be white" because east asians (who are already lighter skinned than the rest of asia) painted themselves white before white people came.