Representation of Latinas

According to films and television shows, there are only two types of Latinas. She is either "spicy" and hypersexual or she's the maid, maybe even a combination of both. The media also dictates how Latinas are supposed to look, only choosing to cast light to tan skin actresses for the few roles available, which exclude a lot of the people who actually make up our culture and ethnicity. However these psychical and and personality restrictions on Latinas aren't enforced in mainstream media alone but also in Latin media such as telemundo and univision as well.. 

For my final project I created a video where two different Latinas were asked to discuss their views and personal stories of their representation in the media. This idea is inspired by HBO's segment Habla Women, where women share their stories from a Latina perspective and Bell Hooks' The Oppositional Gaze where she examines how black female spectators view their representation in the media.

The two women in my video differ in age and nationality. They were given the same set of vague questions and recorded themselves discussing their answers. While both women talked about the restrictions put on Latinas by the media, they focused on different restrictions. Kim Delgado focused on the mainstream media's lack of variety in the physical representation of latinas while Sonia Sanchez focused on lack of developed characters in Latin media. 

I uploaded the video on a tumblr website that focuses on being a safe area for latinas, and women in general, to share their stories and ideas. I made the decision to have Kim and Sonia record themselves so that their responses would be more personal and unaffected by my own opinions. I also hope that having "homemade" videos on tumblr encourages other latinas to make their own and express their own concerns about their representation.

Women and Media from Stephanie Sanchez on Vimeo.

http://latinasunited.tumblr.com/ 

Bibliography

Bell Hooks, In Black Looks:Race and Representation (Boston:South End Press, 1992), 115-31


Article: http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/15/opinion-latina-stereotypes-still-rule-tv-and-films/


Film: Habla Women. HBO. 2013