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Discrimination against hispanics
Racism and discrimination in the Hispanic US
Discrimination against hispanics
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Explainer: How the United States represents Hispanics in the media October 27, 2014 Anthony Giron discusses the racial stereotypes that the American media portrays when reporting on Hispanics/Latinos. Introduction- Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic minority group in the United States. As of 2012, Hispanics numbered at around 53 million people, which constitutes as 17% of the United States population. They make the second largest minority group in the nation behind African-Americans. Racial stereotypes come hand in hand with Hispanics; they are manifested in the United States mass media, theatre, literature and any other forms of expression. The tend to occupy peripheral roles within the media, and when they are allowed to be central …show more content…
figures, it is usually to portray them as a threat and menace to the Anglo mainstream. Background Information on Hispanics in the USA- There are two primary reasons for why Hispanics immigrate to the United States: Economic opportunity: A large amount of Hispanics entered the United States to escape poverty and chase the “American dream”, most Hispanics carry little to no education, the majority are former peasants who were earning no were near enough to support their families back in their native countries. Political persecution: Many countries in Latin-American where dealing with Civil wars or dictatorship, Hispanics immigrated to the U.S for a better life. A breakdown of reasons can be seen below- Push Factors of Latin America: • Little to no job opportunities • Poor medical care • Poor housing • Discrimination Pull Factors of the United States: • More job opportunities • Better living conditions • Better education • Better medical care • Safety and Security • Family ties The statistics gathered by the United States Department of Commerce showed that Hispanics are less affluent, younger and less educated than the rest of the population. Their median family income was $23,400; this further brings down the Hispanic community. Due to low income, crime, terrorism, poverty and welfare begin to be associated with Hispanics. These are all common Hispanic stereotypes. Hispanics in the media- Hispanics are always shown in the media as illegal aliens, due to the thousands of Latinos that illegally immigrate to the U.S. We also know that the media proclaims that Hispanics are taking all the jobs, because of their low required income which is due to them been illegal immigrants. What many people do not know is that recent reports on Hispanics always relate them to crime, gangs and violence; this is the new ever growing stereotype for Hispanics. The entertainment media are fascinated with Latino gangs, while the nationwide news media have given them widespread coverage. In contrast, the entertainment media have offered little to no coverage of other Latino characters, while the news media has provided a comparatively small amount of coverage for other Hispanic topics, expect for the gang related issues, immigration and language.
This has resulted in Latinos being painted with a certain public image, or rather a stereotype in which Hispanics are being viewed as prominent figures within gang related activity. News, Media and Crime- In 2003, Serafín Méndez-Méndez from The National Association of Hispanic Journalist reported us of his findings, they were as followed: • Out of all news stories that appear on network broadcasts, Latino-related stories make up less than 1%, which is staggering knowing that Latinos make up more than 17% of the U.S population. • Illegal immigration, poverty and welfare, terrorism and Crime made up for 66% of all network stories relating Latinos in 2001 • When Jose Padilla are suspected terrorist was arrested, for supposedly planning on detonating a “dirty bomb”, more than 21 networks aired the story which was about 18% of all stories aired on Latinos. It became the main coverage story of Latinos in …show more content…
2002 • In 2002 the number of Latino gang related crime stories which aired was much greater compared to the statistics on crimes which involved Latinos. • Illegal immigration continues to be a major focus point for news coverage. Progressive media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) states that the media shows an over-representation of minorities in particular Hispanics as drugs users and criminals, while little to no representation will be given to experts and analysts. Female Stereotypes- Hispanic women carry sexual and racial stereotypes which are often shown in the US mainstream media. Latinas are portrayed in two ways, one as being extremely passionate, overly sensual, olive-skinned and curvaceous. Whilst on the other hand they are also demonstrated in an overly protective manner, for instance been extremely religious, virginal, family orientated and conservative. Reasons behind stereotypes- The issue is that America’s media liked to over exaggerate everything, instead of showing the good side of the Hispanic community, they find the “bad side” to be better for ratings. The mainstream media would rather report a story on Latino gangs or crimes than reporting on accomplishments achieved by the Hispanic community. They also tend to put subtitles when a Hispanics individual is speaking in English, a stereotype that Hispanics cannot speak English without a strong accent, this shows that the mainstream media assumes that the Anglo mainstream struggle to understand a single word when a Hispanic speaks. What if the stereotypes continue-? The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is a civil rights organization and media advocacy for the progression of Hispanics. Their goal is to work towards an understanding with the media, where Latinos receive a fair and inclusive representation. The problem is and what the media does not tell us, is if the media continues to be bias against Latinos, then the present generation of American Hispanic youth will grow up with a negative image of themselves, this would further promote low self-esteem and lack of ambition.
Media bias goes well beyond stereotypes; there is a lack of Latino presence in the mainstream media in the U.S. NHMC strongly believe that the only way that Hispanics can be portrayed unbiasedly is if they find jobs in all sections of the media industry, this been said NHMC also believe that the primary positions should be programming and policy making. National study- A national study conducted by the NHMC and the New York times showed that a number of Americans have a poor image and misunderstanding of Hispanics due to the way they appear on the news and mainstream media. At least a third of non-Hispanic Americans believe that half of the Hispanics population in the U.S are illegal immigrants with a large family, merely because of what they see and read about them on the news. The study also showed that many Americans believe the media only reports on Latinos when stereotypical cases arise, such as crime, gangs and labourers.
Conclusion- In some cases the way the mainstream American media reports on Hispanics is truly appalling, the racial stereotypes which are well out dated continue to be shown. Hispanics are struggling to get rid of a self-image that the mainstream media has given them. The only reports which are ever shown about Hispanics involved some sort of criminal activity, or something to worsen the reputation of the Hispanic community. As the Hispanic community continues to grow in the U.S it is well overdue that Hispanics get the respect in the mainstream media that they deserve.
“The Latino male is the bogeyman of the Pioneer Valley" (page 35). In my personal views, I am neutral in the debate of whether the standard Latino male has been dealt a negative hand in the past and present stereotypes. However, those who believe that ...
The Latino Generation: Voices of the New America is a book written by Mario T. Garcia. This book tells the individual life stories of individual Latino Americans all attending the same class at University of California, Santa Barbra. The book discloses stories and events told by 13 students each who narrate from first person and give us a brief description of their life. The book is composed of 13 sections with an additional introduction and conclusion (Garcia, Kindle). Within this reflection I will describe the key points within this book and compare the stories within this book not only to each other, but also to additional stories of Latino Americans and how Garcia’s book rids the general public of misconception of Latinos.
I disagree with Nicolas Barquin's statement that the "evolution [of Latino portrayal in films] as being [improved] is pseudo-hypocrisy because as ideologies and views on race have advanced, representation through the film medium has remained consistent in the discrimination of Latin@s in film. " Although it is true that the Anglo producer's depictions of Latinos have for the most part remained discriminatory, Latino portrayals have given the American audience more realistic portrayals to work with. Film depictions have come a long way since the early days of using white men to play Latino roles. As the years went by, and a greater understanding of Latino culture emerged, film representations of assimilation became a lot more realistic. The cultural gap between Julio Desnoyers and today?s portrayals of Latinos such as New York Undercover?s Agent Torrez is extremely wide.
Latinos beyond Reel documentary film presented how US news and entertainment media portray Latinos. Latino American is an ethnic minority group of whom origin was from Latin America or Iberian Peninsula. Latino American is the fastest growing population in the United States. However, media has had negative effects for the Latino community. News media and entertainment had strongly influenced the perception of non-Latino about Latinos. These media portrayal of Latinos had implications for real world perceptions of Latinos.
Are you tired of the stereotypical lies about Hispanics? Well I’m here to clear that up. Not all Hispanics are Mexican or Immigrants like society has told you. Not every Hispanic is a poor, Spanish speaking Immigrant. Society does not know who you are, unless they know recognize your language, origin, and culture accurately!
Since the 1960’s, Latino communities have experienced the implicit and explicit effects of racism through various social institutio...
In comparison to other migrating groups, Latinos have had different experiences that have prevented them from completely assimilating into American society. Throughout our history and presently, Latinos continue to face acts of cruelty and...
... their jobs” (immigration pg. 63). Hispanics fight back commenting on how they “take jobs Americans don’t want”. Hispanics say they come here to have a better life for their family and themselves and a job. Americans say Hispanics are criminals, drug dealers, etc. and should stay in their country. Yes, it is true Hispanics are usually in gangs; go to jail, do drugs etc. But Hispanics say they start doing those types of things because they don’t have money to take care of their family, so usually they will do anything for their kids to have a good life. The different POV arguments are endless.
For many years, racial and ethnic stereotypes have been portrayed on multiple television programs. These stereotypes are still illustrated on a day-to-day basis even though times have changed. Racial or ethnic stereotypes should not be perpetuated on certain television programs. These stereotypes provide false information about groups, do not account for every person, allow older generations to influence younger generations, create tension between groups, and affect people in many ways.
I also researched instances of counter actions taken by Asian Americans to protest against these negative images. My research also has examples of Asians that have succeeded in breaking through the racial barriers in the media. The results show that even though racial stereotyping still exists in various forms of mass media, there are signs that show noticeable improvement in allowing a more balanced image of Asian Americans. Statement of the Problem There are close to 12 million Asian Americans living in the United States (U.S. Asian, 2000). Asian Americans are considered one of the fastest growing minorities (Pimentel, 2001).
Today, the Hispanic population has grown tremendously over the years. We have watched the Hispanics community growth rate grow faster than any other racial and ethnic group in the nation. The Hispanic culture and community has populated all around the United States, introducing new traditions and customs. I was traveling to different to city in the States, I notice the wide spread growth of Hispanic communities, For Instance in Miami the Cuban and El Salvadoran culture is heavy populate in the area. In New York the Puerto Rican culture is dominating through out the several boroughs. I have come around town and Hispanics are known for their good food, which tends to have more diverse people try new cultural customs. Hispanic or Latino Americans are a group of people made up of distinct characteristics. Hispanics or Latinos are defined as a people of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish speaking cultures.
The media has being portraying Latinos wrongly for many years. It can be said that this problem has gotten better, but Latinos are still not giving the important/ main roles. However, they have been giving more positive roles like police officers, doctors, teachers, and lawyers. This is not always the case. Latinos are often given the roles of criminals, maids, and gardeners.
Latinos face a lot of discrimination when they come to the united stated or they try to assimilate to the American culture. Most immigrants have to deal with the police investigating them because they think they are all drug dealers or are in some type of illegal organization. They also have to deal with people calling them names because of their skin color. Americans also accuse Hispanics of stealing their jobs (Ramos, 53). They also face seeing racist graffiti on homes or wall of a building and they have to face hate crimes (Plunkett, 15). They sometimes get excluded from white communities (Plunkett, 39). Latinos are also blamed for serious problems the country faces (Ramos, 195). There are reasons for Americans to discriminate Latinos and reasons why they shouldn’t discriminate them.
The goal of any network is to achieve high ratings. Researcher belief that by 2060, 29 percent of the United States is projected to be Hispanic—more than one-quarter of the total population. According to the Nielsen research, one of the biggest misconception when thinking about hispanics is that bilingual hispanics, whether raised in the United States or not, no longer watch Spanish television. This is partly false taking into account that:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, however what is considered beautiful by some is not considered as beauty when discussing diversity within the media. Society is based on criticism of judging one’s characters body, shape and or race/ethnics background. In the media the society only sees one type that is only focused on perfection to the mind; however within the United States, it is very typical in that the media lacks ethnic representation, cultural identity and gender inequalities. There are no ethnic representation when it comes to the media world and that the media has been trained to believe that the ethnic groups are not valuable. African Americans and Hispanics writers are the minority group when it comes to a social group. According to journalist Prince and Television critic Deggans “CNN , let go one of its most high-profile anchor of color, Soledad O’Brien, replaced her with a white man, Chris Cuomo. Wolf Blitzer gave up one of his hours to another white man, Tapper. Though Zucker met with both National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalist to try and address their concerns, there has been no overt sign from CNN that it is bringing on any more anchors of color, ”(Mirkinson p.1).