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 CantinaGirl 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.
Though Hispanic women are now appearing more often on mainstream television, the ways in which they are portrayed have not improved. Two famous Latinas on mainstream TV is Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) from Desperate Housewives and Gloria (Sofia Vergara) from Modern Family. 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 (besides the fact both their names begin with G) are married to anglo men, and are overtly sexualized compared to the other female 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.
Debra Merskin discusses Gabrielle Solis' stereotypical character in her article Three Faces of Eva: Perpetuation of the Hot Latina Stereotype in Desperate Housewives. She describes Gabrielle as a "hoop-earringed hottie," mostly shown in bright, tight fitting clothes (or merely bras and panties), who uses her body to get what she wants/needs.
The stereotypes portrayed in these Latina actresses are the same ones that appeared in My Research.
Here is a video of Sofia Vergara's depiction of Gloria on Modern Family
The repition of these traits attached to Latinas is why society constantly regurgitates the same stereotypes whenever describing a Hispanic female. If we had Latin female characters with traits outside of the "typical" ones then maybe the public would start to view us differently -- maybe they would see us in a better light.
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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
I'm sure we all have our own definition of what a stereotype is, but I thought having it on print would put more emphasis on the word/idea.
Wikipedia's Definition:
A stereotype is a thought that may be adoptedabout specific types of individuals or certain ways of doing things, but that belief may or may not accurately reflect reality.
Eleven Theses about Stereotypes by Charles Ramirez Berg:
1. Stereotypes Are Applied with Rigid Logic In other words, traits applied to people in a group are inflexible. The idea goes: "If you are __________(fill in name of group), then you must _________ (fill in predictable traits, characteristics, behavior, etc). Berg suggests "people tend to find comfort in stereotypes because they can make rigid something that can only be fluid," since no one person is exactly the same to the next.
2. Stereotypes May Have a Basis in Fact The idea of the trait/image that becomes a stereotype did come from somewhere. Someone, somewhere must have experienced this with a person from the group who is being stereotyped, perhaps even had similar experiences with more than one person of that group. However, this does not mean every single person of that group will have said trait.
3. Stereotypes Are Simplified Generalizations that Assume Out-group Homogeneity Stereotypes "flatten, homogenize, and generalize" individuals within a group. People in a group are foremost, individuals, and therefore made up of their own different characteristics. They are heterogeneous not homogeneous.
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. (For more stereotypes go to My Research)
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 with 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.
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* Throughout my blog I will be constantly switching between the terms Hispanic and Latino. Please keep in mind they both mean the same thing to me. They will both be referring to a person of Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Mexican, Central American, or South American descent. I personally identify myself as a Latino, but I will sometimes use hispanic as well.
