Myth Of The Latin Woman Essay, Research Paper
The chief impression about life revealed in this essay is that in Western
societies the Latin Women are viewed stereotypically as a sex object
or selfless homemakers and bootlicking workers. Otherwise, some people
believe and perpetuate stereotypes about peculiar cultural groups while
in world those myths can be related to few members of that cultural group.
In this essay the writer Judith Ortiz Cofer discusses how she has
been treated by different people in different states due to their
construct of her as a Latin adult female. The writer refers to the several
incidents where she has been viewed stereotypically as a individual who is
capable of making merely a really simple occupation or being an object that satisfies
a adult male & # 8217 ; s lecherousness. She says that from her childhood, because she was a female,
she was kept under rigorous surveillance by her parents and was schooled
how to act as a proper Senorita. Because of her background she had to
be dressed up as a Puerto Rican miss. As she says it was obvious that
for the others this sort of dressing seemed vulgar. It is clearly that
from her childhood the writer has been surrounded by the fortunes
in which a female human being must suit into demands of her society. The
writer & # 8217 ; s civilization and traditions were non the same with the American
civilization, and as a consequence, the miss was grown up on the brink of two
different imposts. As the writer says, the manner of dressing of the Latin
adult females gives American work forces a incorrect massage about these adult females. It happens
because they apply their ain civilization and imposts to the traditions of
other cultural group. Vivid colourss of apparels and glare of jewellery
sometimes are signals of the easy handiness of a adult female for a Western
adult male. From those properties was created a myth about Latino adult female as
the hot Tamale or sexual firebrand.
The writer recalls narratives that she heard in her house during her
childhood about sexual torment that Puerto Rican adult females endured in
mills where they were seen as if sexual insinuation was all they
understood. She besides describes her ain experience of being seen
stereotypically when the male child who took her to her first formal dance
kissed her and without holding received a passional response remarked,
I thought you Latin misss were supposed to maturate early. Here we see
non merely a stereotyped position of the Latin adult females but besides consideration
of those adult females as something that is able to mature like a fruit or
veggie. The incident with a immature male child on the coach who was singing
Maria from West Side Story besides seems to hold left a acrimonious gustatory sensation at
the writer, You can go forth the island & # 8230 ; and travel every bit far as you can,
but if you are a Latina, the island travels with you. The event at the
hotel seems to be the apogee of the essay. Here a adult male who seems
to be knowing and respectable sings a dirty vocal to astonish the
writer and people around. It is evidently that the writer was profoundly
embarrassed in this incident and she comments that if non-Hispanic adult female
were in her topographic point, the same adult male would non demo such discourtesy because
she could be somebodys married woman or female parent, or at least person who might
take offence. & # 8221 ; But for this adult male she was merely & # 8220 ; an Evita or a Mare:
simply a character in his cartoon-populated universe. & # 8221 ;
To back up the sentiment that the Latin adult females in the United States are
viewed as domestic or humble workers the writer gives another one illustration
from her ain life.
She tells us about her first public poesy reading that took topographic point at
a eating house. She tells how nervous and excited she was as she walked
in with her notebook in manus. An older adult female motioned her to her tabular array
and ordered from the writer a cup of java, presuming that she was the
waitress. As we see some people merely from the visual aspect of the individual,
following and back uping the bing stereotypes, are able to reason
everything about this human being. They merely see the members of
other cultural groups as they have been making it all their lives.
I can associate to this thought about stereotyped position of the Latin adult females
because I have become a victim of stereotyped position of the Russian adult females
and because about all my friends go through this every twenty-four hours. Normally
this misconception arises from cultural differences or from images that
are represented to us by media or Television. And it is extremely improbable for this
misconception to be of all time broken down because normally we are satisfied with
what we already know and we dont want to upset our heads by seting
them into work to alter our perceptual experience of the around universe. Sometimes
it is easier for us merely to wipe out 1s individualism by sing a
individual as a typical and ordinary than to acknowledge person as an unusual
and alone personality.
For the interest of objectiveness I have to advert that while I was looking
for the information on Latin adult females in Internet, after come ining the
keywords like & # 8220 ; Latin adult females in USA & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; Discrimination of Latin adult females & # 8221 ;
most of the sites that I was acquiring were offering sexual services. So,
we can presume that some Latin adult females have a finger in the pie and escalate
the bing stereotypes.
I would wish to state about Rita Morena, the actress who played in the
mentioned above film & # 8220 ; West Side Story & # 8221 ; and who received Oscar for
Best Supporting Actress in this movie in 1962. The narrative of her calling
shows in full step how the Latin adult females are seen in the USA and in
England. Little kid, she was brought to New York from Puerto Rico by her
female parent. Turning up, Rosita had to excel many obstructions in a new for her
society. Because of her natural endowment and diligence she rapidly succeeded
as an actress and a terpsichorean. But she says that to acquire a occupation she had to play
up the thought of the & # 8220 ; Latin spitfire. & # 8221 ; She ever wanted to play of import
functions but being a Puerto Rican, she had to play the functions of the Latin
adult females as they were seen in the USA. Usually she was cast as the dumb,
barefooted, sexy & # 8211 ; the lone roles she was suited for harmonizing to the
film makers. In her first function she played & # 8220 ; a fiery love machine. & # 8221 ; In
her 2nd film she represented the image of a hapless, brown-skinned
adult female. She says she felt letdown at that clip because by her work
she was perpetuating the stereotype of the adult females of her nationality as
hot-blooded and choleric sex kitties. The money received for Academy award
she donated toward the civil rights motion. To get away from racism Rita
went to London but after some month she returned because she found more
racism at that place. Rita Morena says that even today, after many old ages, the
state of affairs hasnt changed. Here we see that the whole life of a gifted
individual was darkened by the stereotype that follows that individual even today.
