Saturday, December 8, 2012

To Be Latina: Breaking The Stereotype

My Blog: To Be Latina

I am proud to be Latin-American, and as a girl I enjoy embracing my femininity (minus our monthly friend and the nuisances it brings with it, as well as child birth and menopause). However, I am aware the combination of these two kinds is not always easy. Being a Latina carries certain "expectations," not necessarily good ones. As with any other label, there are stereotypes that immediately "define" who you are. As a Latina we are pictured as voluptuous, sex-crazed individuals. We are expected to be single mothers by the end of high school. We are expected to talk loudly, quickly, with an accent, and with our hands.

In retrospect, I do fit some of these stereotypes. I was blessed with curves, I have an unmistakable laugh, I find myself screaming over others when I speak, my hands add flavor to the words that race out of my mouth, and every now and then I mistakenly mispronounce a word, causing me to have an accent. Oh, and I like to wear my hair in curls and dangle large gold hoops from my ears: the typical Latina image. However, I do not fit all the stereotypes. I have been told I come off as a flirt, but that may only be consequence of my friendliness and lack of care of personal space. That does not mean I am promiscuous. Also, I am a year from finishing my undergraduate degree and still child-less. Obviously, stereotypes are general and do not fit every single person in that group. I have Hispanic friends who do not fit the typical Latina body type, who are more conservative, who are soft-spoken. Equally, I have Hispanic friends who do have children at a young age, never went to college, and speak as loud as I do.
One way these stereotypes are a burden to Latinas is their predominance in the media. The media tends to exaggerate these stereotypes, further enforcing them within society. This blog will compile such media and will offer rebuttals. Both negative and positive traits will be highlighted. This blog will be an addition to those trying to break down Latina stereotypes. 

Two Latinas in the media I will focus on are Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) from Desperate Housewives and Gloria (Sofia Vergara) from Modern Family.Though Hispanic women are now appearing more often on mainstream television, the ways in which they are portrayed have not improved. Both women are of Latin-American descent and both are stereotyped on their perspective TV shows. I'd like to note both Gabrielle and Gloria are married to anglo men, and are overtly sexualized compared to the other females characters on the show. Besides these stereotypes, Gabrielle is unfaithful to her husband and portrayed as a gold digger. On the other hand, Gloria has a heavy accent, is constantly screaming, and on various occasions has tried to pick a fight.


Gloria from Modern Family


Gabrielle from Desperate Housewives

Besides discussing these two Latina portrayals, I have also incorporated my personal experience with stereotypes as well as those experiences of Hispanic women I know. In addition, I have included a survey taken at Hunter College by thirty individuals asking them to list the stereotypes they associate Latin/Hispanic females with.

Some of the findings include:

  1. Loud XIII
  2. Promiscuous IX
  3. Housewife VI
  4. Good Cooks  VI
  5. Too Many Children V
  6. Good Dancers  V
  7. Feisty IV
  8. Gold Diggers IV
  9. No English IV
  10. Frequent Gel users IV
  11. Voluptuous   IV
  12. Big Butt IV
  13. Tight Clothes IV
  14. Uneducated III
  15. Beautiful III
  16. Confrontational III
  17. Get Pregnant Young III
  18. Chonga III
  19. Unfaithful III
  20. Hoop Earrings III
  21. Family Oriented II
  22. Exotic II
  23. Ignorant II
  24. Single Mother II
  25. Blue Collar Jobs II
  26. Frequently shops at Rainbow II
  27. Frequently wears leopard print II
  28. Frequently says "pero" II
  29. Overly Nationalistic II
  30. Illegal II



Out of all colors, why must they be dressed in red?



 
Berg, Charles Ramirez. Latino Imagines in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion, and Resistance. University of Texas Press, 2002. Print.
  
Mendible, Myra. From Bananas to Buttocks. University of Texas Press, 2007. Print \
  
Merskin, Debra."Three Faces of Eva: Perpetuation of the Hot-Latina Stereotype in Desperate Housewives." Howard Journal of Communications 18.2 (2007):133-51. Print
Alternative to the Stereotype:
The Viral Immigration Meme: Did You See The Success Story?
Sofia Vergara: Is She Taking The Latino Stereotype Too Far?
Maid in America: Top 5 Latina Media Stereotypes:
http://www.tuvez.com/maid-in-america-top-5-latina-media-stereotypes/
  
Hispanic Viewers Embrace Ugly Betty's Positive Role Model
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