The Stereotyping of Hispanics

Stereotyping is all around us. Whether it’s in the jokes we say or the television we watch we are surrounded by generalizations of groups of people. A stereotype I generally endure without realizing it is people assuming im white based on my skin color. Much like it is rude to assume someone is Mexican if they are tanned or have dark hair, it feels like people assume I have had an easy life or am “uncultured” because I am light-skinned and appear white. I am very involved with my culture and heritage. I speak spanish, I’ve visited Mexico many times, and I celebrate my culture every opportunity I get to. It is something I am proud of. However, in hispanic culture there is a lot of self-hating behavior. Many hispanic people praise lighter skin and those who have immigrated here sometimes want to erase their heritage in order to assimilate with American culture. I spent so much of my youth rejecting my culture and going along with people’s assumptions of me because it was just easier but I also felt ashamed. I thought being Mexican was a bad thing, that I would get made fun of or seen differently for being Mexican. I let the outside world make me hide behind the stereotype so I wouldn’t be grouped with “them,” but I am “them” and I’m finally proud.

In my personal experience I get asked why I am tall, blue eyed, and fair skinned. Through the media we are only seeing specific stereotypes of Mexican-Americans. I am no less Mexican because I am fair-skinned, even if I am treated so. Now it seems I’m doing the opposite of what I did in my younger years, and using any opportunity to speak on my heritage, or even speak Spanish. It feels as though I am now fighting the “gringa” stereotype. This seems to be because the voices of actual Hispanics are missing within the Media and are being portrayed by those who aren’t familiar with actual Hispanic culture as only 4.2% of directors across the 1,300 films from 2007-2019 were Hispanic/Latino.

https://www.npr.org/programs/latino-usa/470976152/stereotyped

Throughout the media there are various forms of stereotyping Hispanic culture.

Whether it is Gabrielle Solis in desperate housewives who is a beautiful bombshell from a poor Mexican family, or Gloria Maria Ramirez Delgado-Pritchett a “Spicy” Colombian from Modern Family, or Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan, or even Consulea from Family Guy, there are generalizations in the media of Hispanic people that can pigeon hole how they are perceived. These stereotypes make audiences everywhere think that all Hispanics can be boiled down to just a few basic traits. In reality most of these characters aren’t even written by hispanic writers, but white ones.

In my personal experience I get asked why I am tall, blue eyed, and fair skinned. Through the media we are only seeing specific stereotypes of Mexican-Americans. I am no less Mexican because I am fair-skinned. In the Genetic lottery I got the height and the eyes, but most of my family is fair-skinned, and my grandparents were born in Mexico. While I am the tallest of my sisters I am also the most fluent in Spanish, but I am often assumed to be a “gringa”.

Instead of showcasing hispanic tropes in the media, (i.e. The Maid, Cholo, or Gardener) we need to strive to show every variation of hispanic. The only way for these tropes to disintegrate is to continue to challenge them and bring multi-dimensional characters into the light rather than easy cop-outs in an attempt to seem “diverse.”

Unfortunately, those who benefit from these stereotypes are the same people who perpetuate them. During Trump’s time in office he made a lot of comments about the Mexican community, feeding into the stereotypes. He even said, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best…They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

I’m not bringing this inaccurate statement up just to hate on Donald Trump, but to point out how these statements can be harmful and cause those who are racist to feel like they have “proof” backing up their beliefs on Mexican people. Our former president essentially gave the O.K. to continue perpetuating this false narrative that Mexicans are bad people and should not be immigrating to the United States.

The harm this causes is boundless. Many hispanics have come to this country legally, and those who haven’t often come in hopes of finding a better life for themselves and their families. The United States has touted that it’s the best country for as long as it has existed, it’s been a melting pot for any and all who want to escape oppression and find freedom but then it turns around and spits on the very people who praise it and want to join in on the American Dream. It’s disheartening.