Which Latina Are You?

As noted in My Research there are many stereotypes attached to the image of a Latina but out of those there are only a select few that are constantly repeated in the media. According to Myra Mendible in From Bananas to Buttocks and Debra Merskin in Three Faces of Eva these include:

• Whore
• Criminal
• Domestic
• Cantina Girl
• Self- Sacrificing Senorita
• Vamp

Whore and Cantina Girl are fairly similar. This depiction expects the Latina to have "great sexual allure," being seductive and naughty. She will most likely carry herself as a sexual object. An example of this is Francia Raisa Almendarez's portrayal of Adrian Lee from The Secret Life of the American Teenager.



Francia Raisa Almendarez as Adrian

In this show, Adrian's character is the school slut. She is portrayed as promiscuous and uses her "sexual allure" to get what she wants.

Criminal is what it is: the Latina who steals, kills, and is all out bad.
An example of this is Paola Mendoza's portrayal of Magda in Padre Nuestro.

In this Argentinian film, Magda is a drug addict who sells her body to buy dope and even steals the protagonist's heirloom necklace for the same reason.



Paola Mendoza as Magda






The Domestic can be the housewife or the maid. The Latina who is uneducated and/or dependent on the husband. An example of this stereotype is the maid in Family Guy. Out of all races, the maid had to be a Hispanic named Consuela.



Consuela from Family Guy


The Faithful Self-Sacrifcing Senorita is the Latina who puts her dreams/well-being/interests aside for her love interest (who according the Merskin is normally an Anglo male).

The Vamp uses both her body and her brains to get what she wants. She has schemes up her sleeves and uses her manipulation to benefit her. A good example of this one is Eva Longoria's depiction of Gabrielle Soles in Desperate Housewives.

According to Merskin, Gabrielle uses her sexuality and her intelligence to manipulate men into giving her what she wants.

Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Soles

According to the media Latinas are only this. So I ask you, Which Latina reflects you the most?
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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

Mendible, Myra. "From Bananas to Buttocks: The Latina Body in Popular Film & Culture." Austin: University of Texas Press (2007). Print