The Myth Of The Latin Woman Summary

Imagine yourself at local bridal shop. As you walk in you see a women wearing a floor length white wedding gown. At the woman’s feet you see a Latin woman frantically pinning the end up whilst the bride is showing signs of irritation and annoyance. Suddenly the bride throws her hands in the air and spits out at the women “If I would have known Mexican girls were not really quick at making clothing I would have went somewhere else.” Congratulations, you have just witnessed stereotyping (imaginary situation aside) at its finest. Judith Ortiz Cofer is a popular, Latin author. In her essay “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” from her collection “The Latin Deli: Prose and Poetry” she also tells her audience of stereotypical

situations like the one I just described. Cofer uses meaningful moments of her life by appealing to logos to address to her readers that not all stereotypes are accurate. She demonstrates an insightful yet highly sympathetic tone of the subject, so that the audience will become truly aware of the hardships that she had to endure in America, as well as understand her thoughts and opinions of stereotypes. Although her tone is very sympathetic in her writing, overall Judith Ortiz Cofer appeals to ethos by getting the audience to see her logic of the situation is credible and to understand that things are not always how they appear on the outside, you just have to take the time and effort to really see the truth.

In the essay you are guided into the personal view of a Latin Woman’s life and how she was faced with the burdens of having to grow up in a society that was different from her own heritage’s personal beliefs and views.

As the essay begins, Cofer draws sympathy from her readers by explaining a moment in her life when she was reminded of the deep emotional damage she endured in her childhood as a Latin girl growing up in America. Her use of pathos hooks her audience in such a way that they are able to look past their own cultural differences and understand her point of view. As Cofer is reminincing in her thoughts she explains that as a child she was brought up in a Latin culture environment. The exact words she uses

are
Judith Ortiz Cofer (1952) “As a teenager I was lectured constantly on how to behave as a proper señorita.” (p. 308)
The way she demonstrates her mother and fathers parenting style appeals to an ethos persuasive technique, thus showing her audience that even though she was raised in New Jersey, she was still born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico and her parents lived up to their deep rooted family traditions. Cofer goes on to describe a time when she was younger, that causes her readers to see the clearly drawn stereotypical lines that plagued her everyday life. Her description involves a “Career Day” that was held at her Catholic Private School. She uses pathos to explain her feelings of being inadequate compared to the other students and their abilities of being able to dress appropriately for the day. By describing her cultures definition of “dressing up” type clothing; compared to an Americans definition appeals to logos by supporting the fact that stereotypes are a misunderstanding of what one sees on the outside.

As the audience shifts to the middle of the essay, Cofer directs her persuasive technique towards ethos, to explain why she believes the juxtaposed cultures she was presented with as a child viewed the beliefs, and clothing that each wore, much differently.

By explaining how each culture views clothing and hair color based on how they saw their parent’s views upon such things as children, shows Cofer’s readers both sides of the situation. This specific use of ethos strongly supports Cofer’s original argument by highlighting the fact that she is able to truly look passed any biases she could possibly have, and see the real reasons behind stereotypes and common assumptions. This particular part is very impactful on the readers and very creditable for Cofer. She then transitions towards a pathos technique when explaining how a young boy had made a sexual advance towards her at their high school prom. She goes to say that he had made the assumption she would comply based on her race. This example evokes sympathy from Cofers readers on how even at a young age young Latina women are viewed as a sexual symbol.

As the essay comes to a close Judith Ortiz Cofer shifts towards a more logos point of view by explaining a recent even in her life that had caused her to see how people are still prone to stereotyping in her adult life. She describes an early time in her career as an author; when she was doing a poetry reading, and was mistaken as a waitress by a woman in the audience. As

Cofer begins to explain this incident she initially uses a pathos technique by stating
Judith Ortiz Cofer (1952) “One incident has stayed with me, though I recognize it as a minor offense.” (p. 311)
This one sentence shows the readers how this incident has emotionally stained her, and also shows the sad truth of how compared to other “offenses” she has incurred this one was not as bad. The use of this example as a way to end the essay was very strategic way of proving Cofers argument. She draws on the emotions of her readers; in an attempt to create an emotional connection and sympathy for her. Cofer then shifts logos by explaining how though she may have had it rough growing up; there are other Latina Women who have had it worse. This circles her readers back towards her original argument that stereotyping is hurtful and incorrect.

In this essay Judith Ortiz Cofer uses a variety of persuasive techniques including all three from the Rhetorical Triangle as well placement and use of imagery and metaphors. However, her overall technique is one of ethos, by showing both sides of each situation and then stating the real reasons behind them. She does a great job of supporting her argument on a neutral standpoint and letting her readers see the bigger picture. Her tone of sympathy draws out emotions from her readers to make them look passed their cultural biases and see the harmful aftermath of social stereotyping. This is a major problem in America and Cofer did a great job of showing this to her readers by explaining specific examples of occurrences that have happened her entire life; that have been based solely on stereotyping. Her strategic placement of each situation and the way she utilizes different persuasive techniques supports her cause and makes this essay even more impactful on her readers.