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Definition of a Filipino
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What exactly is a Filipino/Filipina?
vonpossel
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What exactly is a Filipino/Filipina?
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That is a more complicated question that it appears at first. There are at least two different things the term can mean: A nationality – In this case a Filipino would be a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines (Republika ng Pilipinas or formerly República Filipina) This designation came about when the Philippines declared independence in 1898. Even though the Philippines was not an independent state until 1946, it still retained a seperate citizenship for its residents different from that of the United States. This use of the term derived from that used by the Spanish when they were governing the archipelago as a colony, though at that time it was not as well defined. The word comes from the Spanish name for the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas, named after King Philip II of Spain. Prior to these many of the islands had individual names (and of course still do) and some groups of islands did as well (and in some cases also still do like the Visayas) but there was no generally used name for the entire archipelago that did not also include other islands not part of it, nor a demonym for the residents there.An ethnicity – In this case a Filipino would be someone whose ancestry traces back to the residents of the islands now known as the Philippines. I'm not sure when this usage took hold and the idea of a Filipino ethnicity (as opposed to one of a smaller, more closely related group such as Tagalog, Cebuano, Illocano, etc.) took hold. Like many nationality/ethnicity combinations (e.g. Indian, Italian, German) there are ethnicities within the term "Filipino" and other ethnicities that are not included even though they are more closely related to most Filipinos than are some who are included. E.g. most Filipinos are descended from Malay settlers of several millenia ago, but there are indigenous groups such as the Negritos who are not, yet they are considered Filipino, while people of Malay ancestry from Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. are not. Ethnicity is complicated, especially in an archipelago of mostly fairly small islands and it is made even more complicated by the fact that this ethnicity is also a nationality and the two are somewhat different.Hope that helps. I am by no means an expert on the Philippines, but I do have something of an attachment to them and I love the Filipino people, by either definition. I could probably split off a cultural component into a third definition, but so far I don't know of too many people who participate in Filipino culture but are not also of Filipino nationality and/or ethnicity. There are a few of course, like myself, but I would guess nearly all of us are married (or either were or soon will be) to ethnic Filipinos/Filipinas.
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You are considered Filipino/Filipina if you are part of the Philippine nation. The concept of nation is a bit broader than just citizenship and encompasses people who identify themselves with the cultural heritage of the Philippines island (as Joel puts its). The Philippine nation likely shaped it's identify during the 300 years of Spanish rule. So all islands and communities subject to that are included.