I work in a small office with three Filipino employees and live in an area with a large Filipino population. It seems that most or all of them smack their lips when eating - and not quietly. I avoid taking lunch when they do because this is so annoying to me. I was taught that smacking lips and eating with your mouth open is very rude. Is this something common to the Filipino culture and not considered rude there?
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Name : Mike, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 42, City : Ben Lomand, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Most Asians do not consider it bad manners to smack their lips or keep their mouths open while eating. And I'll bet that no one has told them it is considered bad manners in the United States. Here in the United States, it is considered rude to slurp one's soup, but in Okinawa (where I'm from) it is considered good manners and complimentary to the cook.
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Name : Kim-R, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Christian, Age : 39, City : Wichita, State : KS Country : United States, Occupation : Enginner, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I have been to the Far East 9 or 10 times, and I am married to a Filipina. Also, several of my coworkers are from the Pacific Rim. It's cultural. Filipinos, as well as others from that part of the world, will smack their lips. A host will perceive this as a subtle sign that her meal is good. At my work, it appears that my Vietnamese coworkers will smack their lips even louder. (I am sure that none of them are aware that they could be annoying.) By the way, my Filipina wife does not smack her lips when eating.
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Name : Jerry H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 54, City : houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : letter carrier, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I am not Filipino, but I know a few people who have spent time in the South Pacific with Filipinos. As I recall, it is considered normal to eat loudly, and even encouraged. I believe my friend said that when eating, you were always supposed to take extra helpings and eat loudly, and even burp, or risk offending the host. Now, this was a while ago, and my memory may be changing some parts, but I believe this is largely correct.
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Name : Matthew21851, Gender : M, City : Lawrence, State : KS Country : United States, Filipinos don't have a monopoly on this. I lived in the 'PI' a few years, as well as other cultures in Asia. In most cases, you are encouraged (in private homes after being invited to dinner) to show enjoyment 'with much slurping, and smacking of lips.' It is unlikely you would find much of this outside the home, or other 'private' settings, but it is common. The other practice is to leave a little rice in your bowl when you are done eating. If you empty your bowl, it will be filled again, because you are obviously still hungry.
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Name : Ron29649, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 56, City : APO, State : NA Country : Forward Location, Occupation : Pilot Training, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I believe that other Asian cultures have similar customs. I had a college roommate who was Filipino, and she always ate with her mouth open. It got frustrating, and eventually I asked her if she could chew a little quieter. I'm not sure what I'd do in your situaiton, however, because everyone around you is from that culture.
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Name : Cor, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, City : Dayton, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, I'm half Filipino and Black and I also experience the way you're feeling. Sometimes, my mother does the same thing, and I think it's annoying. I'm not too sure if it's part of the culture, because most Filipinos who are trained to eat properly do not behave as such. It can also be lack of education and training. My best friend is Chinese, she's a college grad and she eats the same way. I do get irritated too, but sometimes I just ignore them because I might just hurt their feelings if I say something. So it's not just Filipinos, but I think it's the way you were brought up. I would suggest that if it bothers you that much, maybe you should ask, jokingly, why you notice most of them eating this way. If you don't think it's worth the conversation, then you should stick with what you're doing: avoiding eating with them
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Name : Jennifer30898, Gender : F, Race : Filipino/Black, Age : 23, City : San Francisco, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Office Manager, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I am a Filipino and I don't smack my lips loudly when eating. I was taught at a young age that eating with my mouth open and chewing loudly (especially in the presence of other people) is very rude and unethical. I don't think lip-smacking is common here, at least not in my crowd. But it is surely rude and annoying.
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Name : Ria, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Age : 20, City : Las Piñas, State : NA Country : Philippines, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, My grandmother is Filipino and I have never heard her smack once. I have heard plenty of people who aren't Filipino smack. I doubt seriously that it has anything to do with culture.
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Name : Nita, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Baptist, Age : 29, City : Jonesboro, State : AR Country : United States, Occupation : legal, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I am a Filipina and currently working in Hong Kong. Lip-smacking while eating is not common to Filipinos. We have table manners and were taught by our parents during childhood. Visit the philippines and see the real thing.
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Name : Leslie, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Christian, Age : 32, City : Hong Kong, State : CO Country : hong kong, Occupation : BUSINESS WOMAN, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Different folks, different strokes. The l[p smacking while eating is a very common display of good meat, good rice and just plain old good food. It's also a display of gratitude for having such a delicious meal. Of course life in this here United States and its culture finds it disgusting, disrespectful, and annoying. But try blowing your nose, burping or making a loud inhaling of the nose as if to clear it, which I've seen done on many occasions by both African Americans and Caucasians, and you will practically cause a huge argument and occasionally be verbally led to the front door. To the Filipinos and all Asians, and Pacific Islanders, this is the lowest of the lows that wouldn't be tolerated.
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Name : Franco, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Other Pacific Islander, Religion : Catholic, Age : 50, City : Sacramento, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Airline Industry, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I don't know if it is customary or not, but my friend from Cuba, she and her mom smack their lips while eating, and burp and suck their teeth clean after they're done. Ewwww, its so annoying and disgusting but I'm afraid to say something to them because I too always thought that maybe it's part of their culture or something since they both do it. I dont' know but it's really rude, and I usually leave the break room at work when they're eating.
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Name : Sasha, Gender : F, Age : 25, City : Tampa, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, I've met all kinds of people who don't close their mouths while they chew. They just don't notice the disgusting spectacle they present, especially if you are also socializing during the meal or in a quiet place where the messy mastication seems amplified. As with other stereotyped behavior I'd recommend that you make a point of looking around pointedly for non-Filipinos who do this. The results might surprise you.
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Name : Vail, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Mutt, Religion : Atheist, Age : 40, City : Philly, State : PA Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, With a lot of Asian cultures, making noise while you eat is perfectly acceptable, and sometimes even considered a compliment to the chef. Old habits die hard I suppose.
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Name : Randy, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 17, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, In Japan, at least, slurping communicates to the host that the food partaken is delicious. And I have worked with Koreans who sit at their desks slurping and smacking their lips together in this very unhygienic and disgusting fashion. What gets me is the fact that Asians chew with their mouths open in public places, like restaurants. If they are living in America, they should learn to eat like Americans. Many times, I have had my meal ruined by Asians sitting next to me chewing with their mouths open, sloshing their food around in their mouths, making all sorts of slurping and lip smacking sounds. If you look over at them, you can see a wide-open mouth of half-eaten food piling up in their mouths, some of it flying out while they smack away. This is America, damnit. Why can't they adopt our habits? Don't they care enough to learn our ways of eating? If I went to Japan, I'd have to learn to slurp during my meals. Asians refuse to integrate. Even if you stare at them while smacking and slurping away, they look oblivious and indifferent. They are almost autistic in this way: no concern for social nuances or the discomfort they impose on other people.
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Name : Lucy, Gender : F, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, 
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