Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Media Moment, "Jessica Perez"


I heard about this on Elvis Duran and the Morning Show this morning, and thought it would be a perfect media moment. It would have greatly complimented our class discussion on Latina women a couple weeks ago, but now that we are knowledgeable of the topic, you should all be able to comment with great scholarly insight and being able to facilitate discussion with classmates on this media moment. 

If I would have seen the name 'Jessica Perez,' I would have assumed Latina. If I would have seen Jessica Perez and didn't know her name, I would have made an ASS out of U and ME, because I wouldn't have affiliated her with being Latina. I think it's great that she wants to revamp this stereotype about Latina women being dark hair, brown eyes, and tan skin because of the perpetuation of images in the media. Perez is a native Spanish speaker from Costa Rica, with blonde hair and blue eyes. I don't blame her for being tired of the endless criticism of not having the typical characteristics of Latina women. I was able to make an interesting observation by spending six weeks in Spain over the summer. Most Spanish people from Spain are white, fair skin tone, lighter hair, and even lighter eyes. I was totally perplexed when I first arrived, and didn't realize the diversity of the Spanish people, because of these preconceived stereotypes I had prior to my arrival. People from Spain are some of the most beautiful people I've seen.





1. Do you think the media should start representing the diversity in Latina women? (ie: blonde hair, blue eyes)
2. I found it interesting when Jessica mentioned she would never be hired as a Latina girl on set. What are your thoughts on that?

2 comments:

  1. This video is a great example of the perpetuated Latina stereotype in U.S popular culture. She made a good point when she asked who this sassy/flamboyant character was, and what country she could possibly be from that would allow her to embody such a stereotype? The Latina stereotype, just like many other stereotypes creates an image of a person that is far from reality and incredibly hard to relate to. As we discussed in class, Latin America refers to a whole 400 billion people, so one can only imagine the diversity within these groups! As a Mexican American I can tell you that not every Mexican person fits “The Greaser” look, for example, just like you experience in Spain. I feel that steroetypes are built on a very limited exposure to certain groups which is why they are so innacurate. In response to the first question, I think the media is definitely lacking a broader representation, and keep in mind that it’s mostly due to the history of colonization within all of Latin America that diversity exists. For the second question, Latinos in general have often been depicted as being part of one homogeneous cultural or ethnic group and/or having no defining characteristics, which is an awful truth that will be difficult to overcome.

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  2. I feel the media needs to stop stereotyping people and understand that people do not have to look a certain way to be considered a certain ethnicity. For example, I can say in Iran you have Iranians who are white and then in the south they are darker.

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