La Latina Mujer

     One great aspect of growing up in the Los Angeles was the amount of diversity amongst the locals. I grew up with a lot of Koreans, Filipinos, Jewish, and Hispanics. I witnessed a lot of stereotypes and one strong single story that stuck out to me was Latina women. The Latinas that I witnessed were quite different than what the media portrays.

     There seems to be a very specific stereotype set for these women. They all seemed to be viewed as loud, curvy, and with thick accents. Latinas are thought of being very passionate and sensual as well. They have a lot of personality and they don’t really take any problems from anyone. They are thought of as confident women but sometimes maybe not on the intelligent side. They are kind of seen as objects that don’t think entirely for themselves. They always kind of get what they want and they don’t have to work hard for it. I feel like there are some conflicting stories on them, such as on one side they are viewed as illegal immigrants and they work as house cleaners, which is what is common in the Los Angeles area. A perfect example of this is Jennifer Lopez in "Maid in Manhattan". She comes from humble beginnings and is just trying to clean houses for a living.

 On another side they are seen as people who don't work and they take advantage of the government. 

On the last side they are almost viewed as a sex symbol: curvy, beautiful, and really flirty. In the show "Modern Family", Sophia is a trophy wife that always looks beautiful. The put her in tights clothes and with hoop earrings and she has a really thick accent.  

I couldn't resist adding this example, it seems that they have brought two stereotypes together with this TV show "Devious Maids". Maids are that sassy and beautiful. I have never watched this show but from the looks of this picture it is pretty obvious to tell that these women use their looks to their advantage.

      It matters that these messages are being sent because both can be seen as very offensive. It can paint a picture that is not very true and in many circumstances, women could be treated differently because of commonly known stereotypes. Although different stories are being presented, it seems the stronger stereotype is that they are curvy, loud, beautiful women. The media loves showing that image because frankly, sex sells. It happens a lot in music, artists and rappers reference them in sexual ways and they are seen as objects.  Here is a song lyric in a song called "Latin Girls" by the Black Eyed Peas. 

It is incredibly limiting because this represents 1% of the Latin culture. The Latina women I know work incredibly hard and do not use their looks to get what they want. 

         In conclusion, from what the media has shown, Latinas are viewed loud, beautiful, “finger-waving” sassy women that always get what they want. They are painted to always have thick accents and in many instances they are shown as trophy wives or just hot girlfriends. Even though the Latin culture produces all types of women, there is one main image that comes to mind for most when someone talks about a true Latina.