Summary Of A Prostitue By Carmen K. Luo-Lugo

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A new generation of students has begun their journey through the life-changing experience known as college. Upon entering their new world, they seem to carry with them ideas of what it will all be like: the new friends they will make, what living in a dorm will feel like, the clubs they will join, and how the classes and professors will be. Although imagining how things will work out comes naturally to most, Carmen K. Lugo-Lugo explains why expecting certain things can be dangerous. Throughout her persuasive piece “A Prostitute, a Servant, and a Customer-service Representative; a Latina in Academia,” she gives reasons as to why this expecting attitude leads to prejudice behavior, a sense of entitlement, and stereotyping, including racism

and sexism. Going from having a daydream of a new class in college to being a racist student may seem like a large jump, but Lugo-Lugo uses repetition, personal experiences, and word choice in her article to effectively demonstrate these characteristics in her classes, ultimately persuading the readers to put an end to this behavior.

Not far into her essay, Lugo-Lugo writes “I was a woman of color.” On its own, this statement can be powerful; she is writing to end prejudice in the college setting while boldly expressing that she is the one facing the discrimination. She uses repetition with this phrase throughout her writing; found in the very next section of her essay is “I am a woman. A woman who is of color. Woman of color who is a Puerto Rican.” Statements like these are repeatedly made throughout the article, thus painting a very clear picture of who is the

one arguing for equal treatment. While she continues to remind readers she is a Latina woman teaching ethnic studies, she is stressing the idea that most people find a professor with these qualities to be out of the ordinary. As readers first recognize she is Latina, it may come across as no big deal. The more she reiterates this fact, the more it opens the eyes of readers and makes them look at themselves. One may feel they do not expect a certain “type” of professor, but as Lugo-Lugo makes the audience to picture her as a woman of color, it becomes more clear that that image is not natural to most. To strengthen this idea, Lugo-Lugo also continually writes what she is not. She is not a “white male.” Many Americans try to tell themselves they are not racist, sexist, biased of any kind. Because of Lugo-Lugo’s repetition, the idea of prejudice is enforced. Not only does this repetition force the readers to understand they are prejudice themselves, but it clears the way for her to explain the specific examples of discrimination she had to deal with because of gender and ethnicity.
To introduce her argument, Lugo-Lugo writes of a personal encounter with a student during her first time teaching ethnic studies.

A white, male student asked if they could cancel class. His response when Lugo-Lugo asked why was, “I don’t feel like being in the classroom today, and since my parents pay for your salary, I think it is only fair you do what I say.” Later in her essay, she writes that “he would not have thought about asking his math professor (who he conveyed was male and white) to dismiss class.” Using this anecdote allowed Lugo-Lugo to provide ethos for her argument. To simply write about a topic without any evidence to support it gives the audience the opportunity to disregard the information. Writing of negative encounters with students based on her ethnicity and gender was an effective tool, not only because she proves discrimination happens in the class, but it also evokes emotions for the readers. Although offering statistics to readers is a powerful method, they do not have the same sympathetic effect that a story can have. While Lugo-Lugo wrote about sexism in her article, she mentioned the stereotypes, including the idea that women are “volatile creatures dominated by their feeling, their ‘hearts.’” Readers of this article could have disregarded this statement due to their belief that sexism does not still exist. To prove it is a relevant and current issue, she immediately offers another statement made by one of her students. The female student told

Lugo-Lugo that women “‘ do not have the brain capability to understand engineering.’” Unlike the previous example of an encounter with a student, this one does not only imply that people treat other differently based on things like gender. It is straightforward and practically inarguable. Both examples, along with the others found in the article, prove sexism and racism are very relevant. While reading that her students actually think (and say) these things seem to catch readers off-guard.
Throughout the essay, Lugo-Lugo tends to gain credibility with the audience through her word choice. In her introductory paragraph, she writes her response to the student asking to cancel class: “‘...I am your professor, not your personal prostitute.’” Because of this statement, she immediately grabs the attention of her audience. The word “prostitute” was a risky choice for Lugo-Lugo, but it was worth it. The word choice in the beginning of the essay showed readers what the rest of the essay would be like: bold, to the point, accusatory, but real. Nothing seems to be held back from Lugo-Lugo and nothing should be. She is tackling difficult topics and demands a change. As she writes what students think of racism, she paraphrases their stance by saying “we just need to let go of the past, stop bitching about it, and move on.” Profanity, such as the word “bitching” is not expected to be seen in a professional essay. In Lugo-Lugo’s case, though, it is appropriate because it accurately represents what the students believe. The word choice makes Lugo-Lugo’s argument intriguing and relatable.
Because of discrimination Carmen K. Lugo-Lugo faces in her college classes, she writes the essay “A Prostitute, a Servant, and a Customer-Service Representative: A Latina in Academia” to inform the public of racism and sexism. She effectively persuades her audience to end this behavior through her use of repetition, personal experiences, and word choice.