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Show Thespicy—hutnotsospiey-Latina | Mespicy-butnotsospley-Latina EE Misquided media regrese nations of Latina El problema con las representaciones de las Latinas By / Por Camila Cardozo Guerrillera “Pd like you to meet my spicy, fiery Colombian friend.” I mean, ate you ready to pull out the maracas, pull on a poncho, thtow on a sombrero and start playing mariachi music to me? This is the phrase my White friends typically use to introduce me to other people because a) P'm Latina and b) Pm Colombian. It seems that the characteristics of a Colombiana have been genetically defined and readily accepted. Can't I just be edgy and opinionated because of my personality rather than a result of biology? Thank you, but no thank you to ABC Modern Family's character, Gloria. She is played by the Colombian Sofia Vergara, whose role in the show is mother of a 14-year-old son Manny, and wife of a man who seniors her age, Jay Pritchett. Vergara was classified as the Highest-Paid TV Actor by Forbes magazine and has i cultivated a global fan base. Howevet, Modern Famsly is not a Hispanic viewets. Out overall viewership 798,000 Hispanic show's viewers—a Nielsen measures. have greater appeal character may Hollywood hit with of its of 12.9 million, Modern Famely drew an average of only about viewets in its 2011-2012 season, only about 6 percent of the paltry portion of the 48 million Hispanic television viewers that Yowd think that the most recognizable Latina celebrity would to the Latina/o community. However, her stereotypical not draw Latina/o viewers who cannot relate to White notion of what a Latina should look and sound like. Furthermore, given her level of success, you would think Vergara would challenge the stereotypes, but sadly, that's not the case. In fact, she changed her hait color as soon as she began working in the states in order to be cast as Hollywood's ideal Latin woman. Unfortunately, the perpetuating cliché of the fiery Latina doesn't give the average, non-celebrity Latina a chance to get mad, annoyed, or irritated without it being attributed to a cultural problem. In comparison to White women, when a Latina is bothered, itis a result of cultural traits. She is not allowed to raise her voice, express anger, or just be annoyed of anything. She is not just a human who is uneasy about a situation, but she is uneasy because it's genetic. It's in her blood: that fire and spice that runs through her veins makes her so hyped. She is sexy, not-so-clever, fierce, bronze, and has thick brown hair. : a The reality is that how the media portrays a person of color has an impact on the community as a whole, not just on the individual. So we wonder, how is it that this stereotype affects the real Latin woman? She is silenced, she is dismissed and not taken seriously by her co-workers. Her ideas ate not taken into consideration and she is looked at as a thing rather than a human being. The sex kitten who is good enough to look pretty and l used for sex appeal instead of the person with the solutions and a valuable answer. For instance, the time that Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza was a member of NBC' Celebrity Apprentice and she was shut down for being stupid, as : standing up she was called, by comedian Lisa Lampanelli. Framed as the pretty gal who was too dumb to function defined Mendoza's every action. Instead of giving her the benefit of the doubt that she was clevér or smart, the show tried to verify her intelligence. The experiences of women in the Latin - American community is not easy. The label of the exaggerated, loud, and melodramatic make her question herself and whether the way she is acting is okay. As a Latina, you wonder whether it's worth it to stand up for yourself in order to make others h, understand that your emotion is a human one—not a Latina/o emotion. Is it worth it to argue that you are not exaggetating but simply for yourself? |
