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Stereotypes and media effects
How does media play a role in reinforcing stereotypes
Stereotypes and media effects
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As of today, modern society contains an abundant amount of information about Chicana/Latina demeanor. Information seeps out of commercial ads, TV Shows, movies and the like. Many sources, such as these, attempt to sell a specific product and end up also selling information about, the way Latinas supposedly carry themselves in society, now and in the past, their supposed usual and most dominant characteristics and where they come from. This information is infested with mere stereotypes and is not in any way factual, and most importantly it gives, usually negative, meaning to Chicana and Latinas in the dominant society. However, these stereotypes come about so often, through Television, and other forms of media that that have significantly illustrated Latinas, to the entire world, to be a completely different product then what they actually are or can be. Not only does the portrayal of Latinas through media create false images it reproduces these images greatly, causing them to be …show more content…
There is a scene in the ad in which a group of children of all ages chase Jennifer Lopez down the street while she drives. As stated earlier, several young children also rush to greet her at the end of one scene. It may not seem extremely evident at first but there seems to be correlation between the fact that the people chasing her are mostly children and the fact that she is a Latina woman, who seems to almost be attracting them. This factor of the ad could be related to the misconception about Latinas being hypersexual and highly fertile. It might be possible that if the ad portrayed a Latino male driving the car there might be less children running after him, or running to hug him at the end of the advertisement. Jennifer Lopez being a Latina woman may symbolize motherhood and fertility which are factors that are often used to identify Latina and Chicana
The Latina women, even throughout the era resistance cinema, have not been able to make much progress in overcoming the degrading stereotypes that Hollywood has created for them. Despite the many advances that minorities have made in the cinema in recent years, Latina actresses still take on the roles of the "dark skinned lady" and other such stereotypes with strong sexual connotations. It is often debatable whether or not the role of the Latina has undergone dramatic changes since the days of Dolores Del Rio and Carmen Miranda dancing with the fruit baskets on top of their heads. However, in recent years there has been an emphasis by various Latinas in the film industry to combat such stereotypical roles and redefine themselves through the film medium, especially by means of documentaries. It is hopeful that the existing portrayals of Latina women as the sex object and desirable mate will gave way to a range of opportunities in cinema with roles of a more powerful and influential nature.
One of the major stereotypes is racial/stereotypical thoughts against Mexicans. Lots of people say that all Mexicans like soccer and/or professionally play soccer. Also people like to joke around and say that all Mexicans like tacos and burritos. Even though there might be some kids that are of mexican heritage that don’t like soccer or don’t like tacos or burritos. Just because so one is Mexican or even just looks Mexican doesn't mean that they play soccer, eat tacos, listen to marrache, or that their families are poor.
Although our society is slowly developing a more accepting attitude toward differences, several minority groups continue to suffer from cultural oppression. In her essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldúa explores the challenges encountered by these groups. She especially focuses on her people, the Chicanos, and describes the difficulties she faced because of her cultural background. She argues that for many years, the dominant American culture has silenced their language. By forcing them to speak English and attempting to get rid of their accents, the Americans have robbed the Chicanos of their identity. She also addresses the issue of low self-esteem that arises from this process of acculturation. Growing up in the United States,
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria.” The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2014. Print. Judith Ortiz Cofer is a poet, a novelist, and a professor at the University of Georgia. In her essay, Cofer discusses some of the stereotypes Latin women are commonly associated with. For example, Latinas are sexual objects, are uneducated, and are housemaids or waitresses. According to Cofer, these typical stereotypes are perpetuated by “mixed cultural signals” because the media portrays the women of Latin America with these stereotypes. However, this “myth” is not true for all Latin women. Cofer mentions she was once mistaken for a waitress at her first public poetry reading. Cofer also explains that Latinas are seen as sexual icons because of their choice of clothing, but their choice of clothing “is custom, not chromosomes” (310); their mothers, who grew up wearing skin-showing clothes to keep cool and look sexy, influenced their decisions about clothes. I plan ...
In “The Myth of the Latin Women: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” by Judith Cofer, she discusses about the Latina stereotypes made by Americans. Her project was on the culture difference of Latina women in Puerto Rico and in America. For example, in Puerto Rico, Latina
Whether they were on Broadway or in Hollywood, being a Hispanic actor meant you were put into this stereotyped box that was and is hard to break through. How many times has there been a Hispanic or Latino in the role of a hero, wealthy man/woman, or doctor in film or television? The following quote from Lin Manuel Miranda is to explain the struggles of a male Hispanic actor aspiring to be on Broadway. “I couldn’t see a way for me [a Latino man] to have a career in musical theater based on the musicals that already existed. I don’t dance well enough to play Bernardo [of ‘West Side Story’], or Paul in ‘A Chorus Line.’ And I don’t have an operatic voice enough to play the ‘Man of La Mancha.’ And if you’re a Latino man, that’s all you get… I
Judith Ortiz Cofer, a professor of english and creative writing, tackles gender roles as well as cultural stereotypes in “ The Myth of the Latin Woman” and challenges them by attempting to replace the stereotypes with the realities. In “The Myth of the Latin Woman” Cofer discusses her life in America as a Puerto Rican woman. She also shares her stories of when she was stereotyped and how gender roles play a role in how Latinos are viewed. Stereotypes will follow you around because of your appearance and how the media portrays Latinas.
Puerto Ricans, just like many other ethnic groups, are victims of stereotypes and prejudices. These individuals have been labeled as lazy, submissive, etc. However, one of the main stereotypes that affects Puerto Ricans, to this day, is the one that labels them as criminals. There are many media representations that continue to identify Puerto Ricans as criminals, even though that may not be the case. Unfortunately, for many ethic groups, the media plays a major role in regards to their stereotypes. As mentioned in earlier lessons, Native Americans have been labeled as lazy, drunk, savage, etc. The main reason that these stereotypes persist is because of how they are represented by the media. Usually hollywood portrays them according
There are many stereotypes that have been placed on just about every race group.Some stereotypes can be positive , however the majority of those stereotypes paint a negative image on that particular group or individual . An example of a positive stereotype is "Latinos are hard workers " . However that positive stereotype can easily be turned into a negative with broadcast television . One example is the typical stereotype of the "female Latina maid " like the one in the movie "maid in manhattan " that features Jlo playing a Latina hotel housekeeper that falls in love with the stereotype "rich white man" . Or the Latino " gangbanger " stereotype like the one featured in movies like "American Me" or the most recent movie "Low riders".
Latina women are suppressed through Hispanic culture with the ideology that a woman’s domain is within the walls of her own home. However, there has been a greater turnover rates in high school graduates amongst Latinas they are still falling behind due to lack of resources and the restricted patterns of opportunity perpetuated through transformative assets.
In the article, Professor Gaspar de Alba discusses and critics the CARA exhibition's lack of inclusivity of Chicana artists. Gaspar de Alba explains the gender disparity and problematic female representation exhibited at CARA. For instance, she illustrates that many of the females portrayed by Chicanos are either depicted as mothers or as mistresses which objectify Chicana women to a constrain role or identity. This is interesting because I believe these expectations are still practiced in the Chicanx community. Unfortunately, women are seen as inferior due to the patriarchy and machismo embedded in society. Gaspar de Alba also discusses in lecture how CARA was created to preserve, represent, and maintain the Chicano/a experience. She specifically
As far as personal experience, living in Miami,-Florida, as a none-Cuban Latin, makes it easier to have an insight in all kinds of prejudice and stereotypes within the same Hispanic society. This behavior makes it hard to not feel negatively judged by others who do belong to the majority group. Unfortunately prejudice is not simply an attitude that remains internal to its owner; it impacts behavior. When negative attitudes on the basis of differences translate into behavior, we have as a result, discrimination and the social inequity it produces. Therefore, efforts to reduce prejudice are well advised to take the social context into consideration when focusing on the individuals' attitudes.
We live in a time where Congress spends their time deciding that pizza is a vegetable. We live in a time where we place embargoes on countries that are no longer a threat to the world. We live in a time where a president that sends more drones, sends more troops, and kills more soldiers and civilians is awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. We live in a time where assassinating American citizens as young as 16 without a trial are considered progress. We live in a time where being detained indefinitely without due process and having our phones wiretapped are considered a necessary procedure to our security. We live in a time where we bang our war drums for the sake of war. We live in a time where we spend billions of dollars abroad in foreign aid to build schools, homes, and democracy. We, too, have poor education, foreclosed homes, and restricted freedoms. We live in a time, when the United States ranks 31 in math, 23 in science, and 17 in reading, out of 74 countries by the Organization of Economic
Stereotype has become the new fashion of labeling groups and an easier way to identify a minority group by ones opinion. Judith Ortiz Cofer, author of “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I just met a girl named Maria” and Eric Liu, author of “Notes of a Native Speaker” escaped from any label that will shadow their minority group as a way to show others that it is possible to become themselves, rather than what society has labeled their minority group. Stereotype is not anything else other than expressions and opinions that have accumulated in past and present years. No one should ever be satisfied with their minority label, but should try to brake-free and be one in a million instead of a million in one.
In Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, the title character is a 16th century Moorish general of the Venetian army who, because of the cultural and historical background of the play’s setting, the playwright, and the original intended audience, is portrayed as both well-respected for his military prowess and disparaged for his race. Similarly, because of American media’s portrayal of them, Latinas in today’s American society are both praised for being perceived as nurturing and hardworking maternal figures and dismissively labelled the “spicy latina”.