Ucr/101

Stereotypes are everywhere, and there is no doubt that everyone has encountered them several times in their lives. In fact, everyone uses them all the time without knowing it. Stereotypes are overly simplified and fixed images in someone’s mind about a person’s race, gender, or religion, or just about anything. They appear in our daily lives so often that we do not realize its presence all the time, considering them as a part of our normal environment. That includes the media, families, workplaces, and even schools. Unfortunately, certain races and gender roles in society tend to get more exposed to harsh stereotypes, such as Latinas who are believed to only understand sexual innuendo based on their attire and seen as lesser-educated menials. In “The Myth of a Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named María”, by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the author uses anecdotes and pathos to show how Americans hold stereotypes about others of different races. Ultimately, Cofer targets people with ethnocentric mindsets who associate Latinas like herself to negative cultural stereotypes.

In “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” Judith Ortiz Cofer illustrates several hardships she suffered due to the universal, misleading stereotypes propagated by the media. Cofer demonstrates various stereotypes that Latin women are subjected to, such as an experience in which she was regarded as a waitress at a California restaurant, and “the Hispanic woman as the ‘Hot Tamale’ or sexual firebrand” (63).She also states that she was taught to act like a woman when she was a teenager and encouraged to dress maturely, which made her peers laughed at her (64). At the end of the article, Cofer concludes that she hopes to change the

In “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” the incidents on the bus, in the hotel, and at the poetry involved prejudice and stereotypical misconceptions of Puerto Rican women. While Cofer was on a bus trip to Oxford University, a man “broke into an Irish tenor’s rendition of “Maria” from West Side Story” (Cofer 103). This implies that Latinas dealt with people who automatically assume that a Latina’s name is “Maria” or “Evita” based on a fictional movie. While at a hotel with a colleague, a middle-aged man called Cofer an “Evita” and he “began shout-sing a ditty to the tune of “La Bamba”---except the lyrics were about a girl named Maria” (Cofer 107). Then Cofer realized that “[she] was just an Evita or a Maria: merely a character in his cartoon-populated universe” (107). The men that sung stereotypical songs viewed Cofer as a sexual object and referred to her as an image displayed by the media.

The articles “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” written by Juthish Oriz Cofer and “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh are two essays covering the topic of race and gender. With a focus on privilege and race, one may assume that these two articles say the same thing, while in reality that is not true. As McIntosh and Cofer come from two different backgrounds and social standing, the authors offer two very unique views on the subject matter. Due to Cofer being a Puerto Rican woman and McIntosh being white woman, the two are opposites when it comes to white privilege and how it has effected them. This allows for them to give different views on the subject within the papers. Each articles differ in the audience, the purposes, and the appeals used within. On the other hand, both works are similar with the end goal and intended audience. As a member of the audiences targeted by both of these authors, I was able to connect to both of their writings due to the many different ways the two authors connected to their audiences.

Being stereotyped is used in many races, however Judith Ortiz Cofer, a Latin woman, was going to take a stand for the Latin women. Cofer describes her personal experience throughout her lifetime dealing with racial slurs. She also shows the important events and she uses pathos which took place when she was being stereotyped on many different occasions.

Angelica Meza Professor Nguyen English 1301 11-13-17 Angelicas Commentary Stereotypes follow certain ethnic groups throughout their lives. Judith Ortiz Cofer is a Latina who has been stereotyped and she depicts this in her essay, "The myth of the Latin woman: I just met a girl named Maria. " Cofer portrays how hurtful stereotypes can be. Readers can realize Cofer's message through the many rhetorical appeals she uses.

Throughout the essay, Lugo-Lugo uses personal experiences and builds bridges with her audience to further establish emotional appeals. Carmen Lugo-Lugo is a woman of color, specifically a Latina. Latinos have become so stereotyped, that people’s portrayals and descriptions of them have become so ingrained in their minds that

In the story, “The Myth of the Latin Woman”, Judith Ortiz, an English professor at University of Georgia, tells us her story of growing up in in New Jersey and juggling Puerto Rican and American cultures. She tells her childhood story, how she was raised in comparison to how her school friends were brought up. She speaks about the Puerto Rican culture and how that the conflicting messages she received affected her life throughout her childhood and teen years. She also shows examples of how people tend to look at Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics: the women are “hot tamales” and ripe for sexual conquests or people look down their noses and only see them as maids and waitresses. Oritz is taking her education and making it her job to demolish

In the essay “The Myth of a Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” written by Judith Ortiz Cofer, she talks about her struggles growing up as a Latina. She tells multiple stories of experiences she has had with being stereotyped as a Hispanic woman. Judith does a good job describing her situations and emphasizing the problem with the way society treats these women.

“The Myth of the Latin Woman” is a significant composition of Puerto Rican writer Judith Ortiz Cofer living her life in America and the stereotypes she faces. Latina women are often perceived as either whores or domestics and Ortiz Cofer infers that she despises this label. From a fairly young age, Latina girls are over-sexualized by society and are looked at as being far too mature for their age. Wearing colors that would typically be seen on a fully grown woman, tight fitting clothing, and flashy jewelry are things that would get these girls looked at as if they were pieces of meat. These things are a part of Latin culture although despite this fact, sexualizing these girls and women is still wrong. Ortiz Cofer writes that customs are what

The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria is an essay by Judith Ortiz Cofer. In this essay she writes about her experiences to demonstrate the stereotypes of Latin woman and the struggles they face in America. In Puerto Rican culture it is normal for a girl’s mother to encourage her to look and act like a woman and dress in clothes too “mature” for her age. This is a conflicting message for these young women because they are also kept under scrupulous surveillance, since virtue and modesty are equivalent to their family’s honor. Two Ways to Belong in America tells about how there are two ways to belong in America; legally and to feel you belong. It exhibits this by telling of two sisters who used to think alike, but now share opposing views on their lifestyles. The author, Bharati Mukherjee, is an American citizen who married outside of her Indian culture and has lived all over the United States. Her sister Mira has a green card and does not wish to become an American citizen, even though she has become successful in her contributions in the fields of pre-school education and parent teacher relationships. Mira married an Indian student and they have plans to move back to India when she retires. Out of these two essays, The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria is more effective.

The article “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” by Judith Ortiz Cofer is about the hardships that Latin women have to go through due to many stereotypes portrayed by the media. Cofer starts out be reliving an experience with a drunk man who re-enacted “Maria” from West Side Story and even though she was aggravated, she tried to keep her cool even though everyone around her was laughing and applauding. She states that growing up in New Jersey, she suffered from “cultural schizophrenia” which meant she had to kept true to her heritage while her friends got to act and dress the way they wanted. Cofer continues by explaining some of the stereotypes, such as the “hot tamale”, that she had to put up with and how men

Both authors use their personal experience to great effect in their essays allowing the reader to experience from a first person point of view the humiliation and indignation that Cofer and Johnson suffered. In an excerpt the Myth of the Latin Women Cofer writes, “ The boy said I thought you Latin girls matured early”(Cofer, 205). This line reflects the cultural clash between that Cofer experiences when she moves to the

The term feminism encapsulates a vast variety of topics important to women’s rights. Unfortunately, feminist theory is often talked about within the restrictions of a reproductive binary. Latinx feminist theory is more than just a reproduction binary. As women of color, Latinx women have historically been undermined and excluded from social narratives. Latinx women however, challenge various forms of oppression, such as the perpetuations of sexism, racism, and violence, by sharing their testimonios to the world- a vulnerable yet incredibly strong form of resistance. This specialized theory addresses many of the barriers that intersect and impact Latinx women on a daily and generational basis. Evident in my resistance poem, through the use

Living as a latina in the United States of America is tough. Racial stereotypes follow minorities everywhere they go, even in the classroom. The average American has a typical image of what a professor should look like. What should they look like? These perceived images should not exist because professors could come from all around the world. In “A Prostitute, A servant, and a Customer-Service Representative: A Latina In Academia”, professor in the department of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race studies, Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo, uses emotional appeals and language to inform and create awareness of social and racial stereotypes, as well as how profiting is a priority amongst universities.