Hispanic Stereotypes

The Puerto Rican parrot or "iguaca" (as our Taino Indians called it) is a bright green bird with a red band on the forehead, a white ring around the eye and the blue primary feathers. Juveniles are quite similar to adults. Both females and males are similar and measure about twelve inches.

Richard Rodriguez’s essay “Blaxicans And Others Reinvented Americans”, states that using race as a basis for identifying Americans is not valid; culture should be what defines a person’s identity. For example, when Rodriguez states “For there is no such thing as a Hispanic race” (89). This demonstrates that people should not use race because when we use the term Hispanic, we group everyone in one category. It’s not fair to group everyone in one category because we are not all the same. Even though, the food that we eat, might be the same.

Hispanics or Latinos are defined as a people of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish speaking culture. This term “Hispanics” was created by the U.S. federal government in the early 1970’s to refer to Americans born in a Spanish speaking nation or with ancestry to Spanish territories. Hispanics people are vibrant, socializing, and fun loving people. Among various facts associated to this culture is that they have a deep sense of involvement in their family traditions and cultures.

Much to my own embarrassment, my Hispanic heritage had been a thing I hardly thought of. My Father left my family when I was young, and with him went the hopeful wisps I had of learning about myself. It’s not to say that I wasn’t aware that I was Hispanic, but rather, growing up in a mainly white household I didn’t think I had any right to claim my ethnicity. However, the more I look around me and learn about the community Hispanics have grown accustomed to, the more I find that I understand where I came from. To me, being Hispanic isn’t about what you were told when you were younger, or the traditions you grew up with. Rather, being Hispanic is about learning where you come from, and learning about those who share your same heritage. ‘Hispanic’

In this day and age we as a community are learning the appropriate terms to use to describe a person. For example, the difference of a person who identifies as pansexual versus someone who is asexual. Sadly, we continue to be uneducated between two terms, unaware that they are in fact different from one another. Even though the terms Latino and Hispanic have similar culture, they are opposite from one another by their mother tongue to geographical location.Firstly, it is understandable why the titles of Latino and Hispanic is spoken interchangeably due to their similar cultures. An example of the Latino and Hispanic community shared culture is religion. Reports done by Nabil Yafai from Inter Exchange states, “...majority of Hispanic and

“We all use stereotypes, all the time, without knowing it. We have met the enemy of equality, and the enemy is us,” said Annie Murphy Paul who is a magazine journalist and book author that writes about the biological and social sciences. Stereotypes are a part of everyday life. Every person, young or old, has been labeled with a positive or negative stereotype. They are heard everyday and sometimes label certain groups of people. As Martina Navratilova said, “Labels are for clothing. Labels are not for people.” A lot of time stereotypes don’t fit what they are labeling. They can have a bad effect on people’s emotions, the way people interact with each other and their social lives. A common stereotype of many U.S. citizens is that all Mexican immigrants are criminals and have come to the U.S. illegally; therefore, this stereotype has a bad affect on the way Mexicans and other people think and act.

Reports show that Latinos are the most underrepresented ethnic group in film affected by stereotypical issues shown via pictures in our heads and through watching. I concur with this information as stereotype starts from a personal level, which is definite through meditation, this does not include all the negative traits portrayed by the out-group. Although we have some general stereotypical agreements within in-groups that cannot change. This stereotyping is evident in a case where a foreigner defines Bandido accurately while a (North) American will involve them with laziness, being dirty and all sorts of negativity on them. These findings make me feel that Latinos and Americans will always be contrary to their film industry.

Imagine someone is lost, standing in a checkout line at a corner drugstore. They need directions to get back on the road. The couple in front of them is having a very engaging conversation, fluently, in Spanish. Most would not even give an effort to talk or ask where to go, but why not? Too often the assumption is made that people who speak Spanish are immigrants, and do not speak English well. Hispanics are, persons of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American descent, other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. Too often the assumption is made that Spanish-speakers are unamerican, lazy, receive low income, or are uneducated in any way. Hispanics are also demonized in the media as people who are stealing American jobs. That is the belief that some Americans associate with Hispanics.

Is it right to stereotype someone for who they are, what they do, and what they think? To stereotyping is someone that believes unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same. When i'm around people taking, sometimes i hear that all mexicans mexicans jumped the border but that does not apply to all mexicans, i'll be talking about a time where i was stereotyped.

At some point in time in your life you have heard the terms Latino or Hispanic. What was the first thing that came to your mind? There are many different types of Latinos and/or Hispanics in the United States today. In 2003, 37.4 million Latinos reside in the U.S., outnumbering 34.7 million African Americans (Ramirez and de la Cruz 2003 Racial and Ethnic Groups Chapter 9). Each of these types has similar cultures and customs, but is uniquely different. No one person can be so sure of which of these ethnicities one belongs to, unless you already know the person.

Besides boys reacting differently than what I expected, appearances on what boys are supposed to look like affected my views when I was younger. Watching novellas with my mother I used to looking at latino men who were tall and ripped, as I got older I started to notice that not all Mexican males were not buff and over six foot, and not all women wear tight dresses showing off a lot of cleavage. To rephrase it I do not want to say that latinos are not attractive, it's just I feel uncomfortable when people say that latinos are only attractive on tv. I feel that the stereotype of novella actors have imprinted an idea what latinos are supposed to look like, I constantly here that latinos are super sexy and good in bed, as if we are only good

I have learned more about Hispanics’ unique perspective of race that it doesn’t necessarily fit with the definitions of United States officially. Hispanic is considered more as an ethnicity than a race and that Hispanic individuals can come from any racial category. However, the census makes it difficult for Hispanics to describe their racial identity as there not many relevant options to choose from. This is why they fill in the “other” section of the census. I think it’s completely irrelevant to categorize Spanish-speaking individuals into one single group as they come from different parts of the world, such as Central and South America and parts of the Caribbean, different European nations, indigenous regions, Asia, and Africa. I am glad

The Hispanic population is the fastest growing minority in the United States, Hispanics or Latinos are defined as a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Central American, or other Spanish speaking cultures. Hispanics, particularly Hispanic Americans are full of pride and vibrancy that you can’t help but notice. Today Hispanic groups are often perceived as immigrants, when in fact some group’s heritage can be traced back to the 1600’s in the western, southwest corner of what is now the United States, others groups such as Puerto Ricans were given American citizenship in 1917. “While immigrants used to make up the majority of U. S. Hispanic population today, almost two thirds were born in the U. S”(jec.senator).

When it comes to the dilemma of categorizing “Hispanic/Latino” as a race on the United States Census, the Bureau should be advised to not proceed in such a change. Although it may seem that enacting this change would be beneficial in clearing up confusion within the population, this classification would undermine the meanings of “race” and “ethnicity.” Thus, the change would prove to be more detrimental than beneficial as it would be placing the “Hispanic/Latino” label in the incorrect category.

Why is it important to study the way American society perceives the Hispanics? There are several implication for the existing stereotypes of the Hispanics. One is that Hispanics are unable to establish identities due to the negative ones that already exist. In school for example their children are unable to rise above the racial prejudices where they are considered lazy and lacking in focus. The racial stereotypes of being non-white or criminals and uneducated also plays out in how they are treated by the rest of the society for instance whether they are able to access services that normal people can. Further internalization of the negative stereotypes leads the Hispanics to develop self-defeating behavior such as helplessness and depression