Stereotypes in Media
As a Latina living in the modern world, I've seen enough media to realize the general populations idea of what latino people are - assumed to be mexican, and if you're a young woman you've absolutely got to be fiery and sexy, and if you're older you're either a nanny or a maid. If you're a man, you're a creepy dude with a mustache and working as a gardener. It's tiring to witness this kind of thing on a daily basis, and whenever people portray latinos as actual people, it comes as a shock to non latinos.
To be frank, stereotyping of any kind to me is seen to be unnecessary, just because even if the stereotype seems to be a positive thing (i.e., all asian people are smart!), the real life consequences of pushing those stereotypes onto people hurt them. The only time I support stereotyping is when creators are using it as a vehicle to discuss wider issues with how different races are portrayed - essentially I only agree with it if the creator is making a point or is going to flip the stereotype on it's head.
Stereotyping hasn't necessarily affected me the way it does to other latinos. I have my mothers lighter coloring, and don't have any kind of accent, so for the most part I don't "pass" for latino, which is a whole other conversation - the idea that certain races have to look an expected way. I do, however, get a lot of people expressing surprise that I am latina, and saying they "don't expect it" or that "I don't look latino", which has been said in a weirdly complimentary tone. I have a larger than usual nose as well, which makes a concerning amount of people assume I'm ethnically Jewish based off of the stereotype of Jewish people having large noses.
All in all, I see stereotypes as something annoying and outdated. As artists, and people, we need to be able to portray people of all races as independent individuals, instead of relying on tired and more likely than not racist assumed ideas on how a person is because of their race.
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