Four Enduring Latina Stereotypes in the Media

Latinas are almost always portrayed stereotypically in the media, often fulfilling some sort of male fantasy. It's appalling that Hollywood has changed very little since its genesis. We continue the same roles we held in Westerns of the 1930s. The Academy Awards this year were really a slap in the face for minorities. It's hard to believe that in 2011, we are still very marginalized in both TV and film. Here are four of the most enduring Latina stereotypes:

Latinas Are Slutty

Somehow, everyone believes Latinas are hornier than the average woman. When researching for this article, I did an advanced, safe image search on Google that was supposed to exclude porn: “Latina -porn,” “Latinas in film -porn,” “Latinas in Westerns -porn,” and each time, I got porn. In the film The Perez Family (1995), for example, Marisa Tomei played a lustful Cuban whose only mission in life is to boink John Wayne. Then let us not forget Salma Hayek playing the femme fatale vampire in From Dusk til Dawn among other problematic roles. This is not at all different from all the marginal Mexican wenches in old Westerns who only existed to bump uglies with the white cowboys.

Latinas Are Fiery

Our fiery tempers must be a result of tequila, tropical climes, and our brain's inability to reason. Latinas frequently play roles that portray us as hot-tempered and irrational. We’re always ready to take the knife out of our boots to cut someone in a jealous rage. In season four of 30 Rock, for example, Salma Hayek plays a nurse named Elisa who becomes Jack’s exotic love interest. It is later revealed that she killed her ex husband when she learned that he had had an affair. I believe that 30 Rock was making fun of the stereotype itself since the whole ordeal was so exaggerated. (I don’t want to underestimate Tina Fey.) However, it serves to illustrate how prevalent and absurd this stereotype is.

Latinas Are Submissive

Many would like to believe that we are meek little women with braided hair who are really good at cleaning and making tortillas. It doesn’t help that maids and housekeepers are one of the most common roles available to us.These have been present throughout the history of film. Lupe Ontiveros has allegedly played a maid somewhere between 150 and 300 times. In Spanglish, Paz Vega plays a white family’s Mexican housekeeper. Maid in Manhattan also made me want to sock someone in the mouth. Poor little JLo had to be rescued by a rich white man. These movies do attempt to give these women some sort of agency, but ultimately, they are perpetuating the notion that Latinas are working class women waiting for their white savior.

Latinas Are Voluptuous

With the help of Carmen Miranda, Latinas are often seen as curvaceous caricatures. We are so fecund, we have strawberries growing from our heads! What most people don't know is that Miranda was not even Brazilian, but Portuguese. Additionally, her career caused her to be a drunk and a drug addict, which likely contributed to her early death. It's all fun and games until someone dies of a heart attack. See, objectification is deadly! (Also, her song "Bananas is My Business" has atrocious grammar, which makes us look stupid.) The freak show that is Charo doesn't help our image either with all her "cuchi cuchi." Though I love ABC's Modern Family, and find Sofia Vergara's character very funny, it's typical that she plays the voluptuous trophy wife of an old white dude. When are we going to see a hot young Latino married to an ugly old white woman? That would make for some interesting TV.

These tired images will continue until Hollywood is more willing to fund serious films by Latinos and willing to cast us in roles that are not one dimensional. There are many of us with endless creative ideas with no idea what to do with them. Additionally, Latinos should make more of an effort to watch films and shows made by fellow Latinos. There are many projects that go unrecognized. It was also upsetting that Ugly Betty ( the lovable Latina dork), one of the only shows that starred a Latina, was canceled prematurely. I suggest that next time you are going to the theater, reconsider watching that vapid romantic comedy starring some generic waif, and watch a more complex independent film. There are so many Latinos in this country now, and selectively choosing where our money goes, can make an enormous difference.

Oh Hells Nah is a small Mexican American woman who likes to eat, bitch, and write poems. Her blog explores the relationships between poetry, politics, and food.