Stereotypes: A Bilingual Analysis

In general, have we ever walked into our local grocery store or mall and notice all the prejudice, stereotypes, and the social standards that surrounds us as we’re buying milk or new shoes? Probably not. Our society embraces a culture that’s filled with assumptions and biases that individuals may not even be aware of. These includes stereotypical thoughts like Asians are good at math, Black people have an innate ability to run and can’t swim, and authentic mexican food is considered to be the Taco Bell or Qdoba down the street. It’s disheartening. However, each individual is responsible for their own awareness of their biases and to educate themselves on the diverse minorities that walk our streets alongside us. Yes, we’re all chasing that

Juan Gonzalez uses Chapter 12: “Speak Spanish, You’re in America!: El Huracán over Language and Culture” of his novel Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America to introduce a truly polarizing argument that has plagued the Latino community in the United States of America. Gonzalez is quick to point out that English is the common language in this country, though he is quicker to note that it should not necessarily be so. This author is so incredibly biased in this chapter that it is nearly impossible to disagree with his opinion without feeling like one is completely shutting out the entire Latino community. However, speaking as a member of this community, perhaps it is this unique insight that allows for not only a contending opinion, but also the framework to make the opinion relevant. Gonzalez makes brash claims with little supporting evidence and relies heavily on argumenta ad passiones to manipulate the reader’s emotions instead of focusing on rationalism and sound judgment. Quite possibly, it was the abundance of this logical fallacy that made it difficult to sympathize with his argument; though, it lays the basis for this chapter analysis.

As I stared into my reflection, I began questioning my identity. I felt as though the world was was condemning me for not fitting society’s image of the “typical Latino”. I began to hang my head down in shame. I was apprehensive to show my culture because I would be ridiculed for not being Latino enough.

Ernesto Quinonez 's novel is very influential and gives insight into the harsh reality of being a minority in America. Quinonez also speaks on the history of the Latino culture and the life experiences. The fabricated stories based on true events, affected Latinos as well as other nationalities. This book has served its purpose and is speaking to families, friends, wives, husbands, and children on being aware and conscious of the reality that surrounds them. This novel amazed me with the political and historical content surrounding the Latino community, and it is extremely powerful as it shows independence in its own culture. The novel uses its content to bring awareness of Latino ethnic identity, their way of life, and defines social factors from within. (Barajas 2014)

When Americans think of racism, they usually think of slavery, and that racism is no longer a problem in America. However, this is not the case. Racism is still obvious in America. Racism can be linked directly to stereotypical mindsets of certain groups of people.  Today’s racism is not restricted to whites and blacks, and it has come to define many different groups and races. Pigmentation as well as physical characteristics and features still are influential for classifying people. It is easy to overlook the racism that hides below the surface and is part of American life. Today, an estimate 54 million Latinos live in the U.S. and around 43 million people speak Spanish. Although Latinos are the country’s largest minority, anti-Latino prejudice is still common. Very few Americans recognize, acknowledge, and respect the contributions of one of America’s greatest ethnic groups – Hispanics. Americans are often confused as to who Hispanics really are and what they represent in America. Although the United States is known for having a melting pot of diverse cultures, recent studies have shown the rise of discrimination against Latinos and Hispanics immigrants. A person’s legal status should not be an excuse for mistreatment.

The latest survey by the US census portrayed the big change that is happening after the influx of Latinos in the country. There is a Latino identity that’s neither white nor black she mentioned, and it is a positive identity. It appeared that 48% of latinos claimed to be white. Classifying themselves as whites connotes that they have already assimilated to the American Culture The survey wrapped up that there is a considerable demographic shift identifying Latinos to be increasingly aligned with the color that that defines America. On the other hand, 42% of Latinos marked other race, and 2% claimed to be black. Even in the census, to be white signifies the dominance and the notion that it is better than non-white. People who look similarly share the qualities that are perceived to be alike. They usually enjoy similar success and suffer similar sorrows. This method of collection racial data augmented debates however it revealed many things. It is undeniable that the cultural and social construction of Latino in the US is growing exponentially and the race and ethnicity that used to define and unite them has now become the margin that split them

The Latino and Hispanic population continues to increase at a lower rate every year in the U.S., they account for a large portion of the population. However, it hasn’t change the portrayal of Latinos in the media. Often, the Latino community is shown in a negative light that doesn’t represent the reality of this community. The main goal of this paper is to show and understand how the media portray Latinos and ways to solve the problem.

Overall, the chapter, which focuses on “Hispanicity”, impacted me because I began to formulate ideas which opposed those that had been hammered into my mind all my life. For so long I had heard that minorities were victims to oppression by whites and for that reason minorities should strive to do more than what is expected from them. In reading Rodriguez’s claim, questions that had never been explored in my development arose in my mind such as “Are Hispanics really the victims?”, “Do Hispanics truly strive to their fullest to accomplish things that have never been done?”, and lastly, “Are Hispanics committing acts of hypocrisy?”. If a Hispanic

Dr. Jason Richwine discusses the Latino’s absorption and integration into the American culture. He compares the Latino nation with other countries’ immigrants that has rose out of poverty, while the Hispanics have not been rising up out of the lower class after several generations have passed. Richwine mentions that American prejudice might be influencing the Hispanic immigrants not striving. For example, he states, that “popular explanations from the

What is the image of the male Latino American in the media today in television, in the movies, and in other media? Is the male Latino represented fairly in American media? And if he is often presented as a stereotype, why is he portrayed in stereotypical situations? The answers to those questions come from a number of sources that will be presented in this paper.

This essay will cover the analysis between the New York Times article “Latinos Onscreen, Conspicuously Few” by Anna Bahr and the study it references, “The Latino Media Gap: A Report on the State of Latinos in U.S. Media.” The study, by lead researcher Frances Negrón-Muntaner, is an in-depth look at Latinos as media consumers and creators, the issue of stereotypes, and recommendations for closing the gap. Bahr’s article highlights the study to bring attention to the lack of Latino representation in the media. The article does an excellent job of representing the facts and purpose of the study.

I interviewed my father, Reynaldo Martinez, who is a 53 year old Salvadoran immigrant and has lived in the United States for 33 years. I posed the topic question of how the treatment of Latinos and Hispanics have changed over his time in the United States, and if it has gotten worse or better. His overall view was that the current political and social environment can sometimes be harsh right now to Latinos, and in his opinion discrimination towards them has gotten worse. He said, “I think there’s an underlying resentment about the direction the country is going.” The resentment being that some seem to blame Latinos and immigrants are contributing to the decline of the country. He thinks major developments and national world events have

The Latinos in my class differed in the way that they were proud to say they were Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Dominican. Thus, I pursued a relationship with these classmates and I began to feel differently about Latinos. I realized that I was taking part in the prejudice thoughts my previous classmates had toward Latinos by concealing my identity. I also recognized that Latinos were struggling to pursue a better life and that we are looked down upon. As a result of discrimination, it is difficult for us to accomplish our goals in life. Presently, every opportunity I get, I talk about my culture. I discuss the hardships Latinos face and I describe my experience growing up Puerto Rican. Although I am Puerto Rican, I don't know as much about my culture as I should. Reading Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America by Juan Gonzalez has brought new insights to my knowledge of Puerto Ricans and Latinos in general. Gonzalez focuses on language and writes that speaking Spanish is treated as a handicap instead of as an asset.

Race relations are an ever prominent issue in American society. Controversies focusing around race are a commonly seen smeared across the front page of the newspaper or headlining on the evening news. The opposition is usually between a minority group and "The Man," a colloquialism used by many Blacks to refer to the overwhelming power stemming from white racist tendencies. This racial tension can sometimes can cause the oppressed to band together against the oppressor. Many times, the most prevalent link is between the African American community and the Latino community. Here we find two groups of people with very similar lifestyles who find camaraderie between themselves when dealing

The one obvious negative effect of the perceptions that we know little about paves the way for stereotypes , ethnocentrism and Prejudice . Stereotypes are the oversimplified ideas about a group of people , Ethnocentrism is the evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture , Prejudice is thoughts and feelings about those discriminated groups . Because all obvious things that we hear about include stigmas like “ All Asians are smart , and all blacks are criminals “ . It is sad that all of these invalidated myths have become common currently because they are seen as the self-evident and the obvious .