Pinoy

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Pinoy (/pɪˈnɔɪ/ Tagalog: [pɪˈnɔi]) is a common informal self-reference used by Filipinos to refer to citizens of the Philippines and their culture as well as to overseas Filipinos in the Filipino diaspora.^{[1][page needed][2]} A Pinoy who has any non-Filipino foreign ancestry is often informally called Tisoy.

Many Filipinos refer to themselves as Pinoy, sometimes the feminine Pinay (/pɪˈnaɪ/ Tagalog: [pɪ'nai]), instead of the standard term Filipino.^{[1][page needed]} Filipino is the widespread formal word used to call a citizen of the Philippines. Pinoy is formed by taking the last four letters of Filipino and adding the diminutive suffix -y in the Tagalog language (the suffix is commonly used in Filipino nicknames: e.g. "Noynoy" or "Kokoy" or "Toytoy"). Pinoy was used for self-identification by the first wave of Filipinos going to the continental United States before World War II and has been used both in a pejorative sense and as a term of endearment.^[3][4][5]

Pinoy was created to differentiate the experiences of those immigrating to the United States, but is now a slang term used to refer to all people of Filipino descent.^{[1][page needed]} "Pinoy music" impacted the socio-political climate of the 1970s and was employed by both Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos and the People Power Revolution that overthrew his regime. Recent mainstream usages tend to center on entertainment (Pinoy Big Brother) that can be watched on Pinoy Tambayan^[6] and music (Pinoy Idol), which have played a significant role in developing national and cultural identity.