...Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” is about the racist stereotypes that she has encountered in her life. Cofer is known for the publishing of three collections of poetry, four essay collections, four novels, and short story collections. Cofer is currently “Regents’ and Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Georgia” (230). In this essay Cofer often experiences being stereotyped based off her beauty and ethnic background. Cofer is a beautiful Hispanic woman “who so obviously belongs to Rita Moreno’s gene pool” (231), as she stated in the beginning of the essay. Cofer begins the essay by relating an experience where a drunk man started singing "Maria”, from "Westside Story” (231) to her, while she is on a bus trip to London from Oxford. Cofer tries to keep her cool even though everyone around her finds it entertaining. Cofer states “I managed my version of an English smile: no show of teeth, no extreme contortions of facial muscles. . .” (231). At this moment, Cofer is aggravated by the actions of the drunk man but tries to keep her composure. Cofer feels that just because she is beautiful that does not...
Words: 703 - Pages: 3
...Academic Writing Workshop Cofer - The Myth of the Latin Woman: I just met a girl named Maria March 4, 2009 As Judith Ortiz Cofer says in her essay “mixed cultural signals have perpetuated certain stereotypes” (49). Since something can be natural in a determined culture and offensive in another, it is easy to find a variety of behaves that are misunderstood. This misunderstood is what promotes the existence of prejudice. The stereotypes should be ignored and forgotten by people. Each individual should be judge by its work and personality, and not by its clothes, physical appearance or place of origin. People should know better about distinct culture before believe in stereotypes. As a Brazilian woman (and therefore Latina).I can talk about the stereotype created about women from my country. Brazil is known for its soccer team, carnival, and beautiful women. It seems nice characteristic to be identified with. Although, those characteristics make people believe that in Brazil the women are always or at least most of the time naked. Brazilian girls are believed to be easy ones, because they kiss in the mouth on the first date. In some countries (as the ones in Europe) people also believe the Brazilian women that move to there are all prostitutes. Those and much more related kind of stereotypes make the Brazilian women to endure a lot prejudice not only as a Latin but also as a Brazilian. It is very sad to know that people are so influenceable but that is how it is. And it is...
Words: 462 - Pages: 2
...2014 In her essay “Se Habla Espanol” Tanya Maria Barrientos expresses her struggle of being a pure Latina who doesn’t speak Spanish. Being born in Guatemala, a Spanish speaking country, she and her family moved to the United States of America at three years old. (Barrientos, 2011) now living in Texas her parents made the decision that their children would cease speaking Spanish only to speak, read, and write English molding them into America’s Anglo culture. Barrientos set out to defy the stereotypes being placed on brown people while at the same time believing them herself. She stated “To me, speaking Spanish translated into being poor. It meant waiting tables and cleaning hotel rooms.” (Barrientos) Not being seen as Mexican was a compliment in her eyes while not speaking Spanish equated to being white. Clearly she was not proud of her heritage and at the age of 16 in attempt to reverse the disdain for her culture Barrientos was sent to Mexico for the summer by her father. To her surprise pride emerged but created a new dilemma. How can you be a proud Latina and not speak Spanish? She set out to learn it. After taking several Spanish classes she continued to feel laughable around native Spanish speakers. Not only did she struggle with the language but with the fact that she was now frowned upon as a Spanish woman who can’t speak the language. Barrientos eventually learned to speak Spanish and now proudly calls herself “Spanish Challenged and pura Latina.” (Barrientos) ...
Words: 491 - Pages: 2
...A stereotype isn't a sign of ignorance but stereotyping is. Stereotyping is ignorance because it shows that you automatically assume that one person is the same as everyone else. In this short essay, Cofer describes her personal experiences of being a Latin woman, and the struggles she has had to face with ethnic stereotyping. As we know, appearance plays a huge role in the way that individuals are perceived especially when dealing with different races. In this particular story, an educated Latina woman was often perceived as something she was completely different from. In various instances, the author was underestimated because of her Latin beauty and exotic features. Cofer describes how in one instance a man on the bus reenact “Maria” scene from “Westside Story “in front of her. And even though she was aggravated, she tried to keep her cool despite everyone around her was laughing and applauding. Cofer emphasizes her objection of Latin women being compared to foods such as “Hot Tamale”, or being described as “sizzling” as opposed to using other words to describe the beauty of Latin women. Besides explaining how she was often looked upon as an object rather than a woman, Cofer talks about how she would get confused with the waiting staff. Just because of the stereotype of most Hispanic women being part of waiting staff or cleaning services. Cofer describes an incident that occurred at a restaurant where she was one of the readers during open reader night. A woman thought...
Words: 513 - Pages: 3
...film…from about 1930 to the end of World War II, Chicana and other United States Latina characters began to move into center screen, but with limited diversity and little depth of characterization” (Cortés 126). In his essay, Chicanas in Film: History of an Image, Carlos E. Cortés defines four broad eras of Chicana women in American film. The first film in our series, The Girl from Mexico, falls under the category of the second era: “Sensuality and Frivolity” (Cortés 128). Actresses portraying Mexicana or Chicana characters could embody frivolity, like “high-voltage Brazillian actress Carmen Miranda, “ or sensuality, like Dolores Del Rio (Cortés 130). Or, one could go “striding...
Words: 481 - Pages: 2
...When I read the essay of Clara E. Rodriguez, it made me think if I defined myself either a Hispanic or Latina. There is no doubt in my mind that I define myself as a Chicana, not Latina, not Hispanic. A Chicana is the first generation Mexican American, born to parents of Mexican descent and raised in the Mexican traditional way, living in an American society and also being born and raised in Chicago. I am the first generation Mexican American. My parents raised me with the values, traditions and culture as they grew up in Mexico. Chicana are viewed in somewhat like way in the American and Mexican society. . Since I’ve been little, my parents instilled me with their family values, traditions and culture. Our family value’s revolves on religion and family. From my second grade to seventh grade, I attended...
Words: 742 - Pages: 3
...English Composition “Se Habla Espanol” Summary and Personal Response In the essay "Se Habla Espanol" by Tanya Maria Barrientos, she identifies her struggles of being a Latina native who does not speak the language. From Guatemala, Tanya came to the United States at three years old, in 1963, with her family and gave up communicating in Spanish quickly. Her parents determined that their children would only speak, read, and write English to fit into what they called the “Anglo Society” (Barrientos, 2011). In her younger years, Tanya herself believed that if she fit in with this society, she could escape the Spanish stereotypes. At sixteen, Tanya’s father decided to send her to Mexico to help her see that being called Mexican was not an insult but more of an honor. Tanya was reluctant to go, but when she did, she found out that she loved the environment and culture. Sending her to Mexico gave her a new sense of pride that she didn't exactly know how to sustain. The author opens the essay registering for a Spanish class for the sixth time. According to Tanya in the wake of expressing her last name, she naturally heard that snippet of delay from the other man on the telephone. She reveals how she feels when people see her or hear her last name, they automatically expect her to speak Spanish. Tanya and her family came to the United States in 1963. Immediately at the age of three both of her parents decided that their children would defy the odds of their Guatemalan culture and...
Words: 650 - Pages: 3
...UIL Latino History Essay Una mujer de muchos logros What is History? What events are defined as history? Changing the world or even a community with just the tiniest of events is how history is created. Christy Martinez-Garcia is making history in Lubbock, Texas. Born and raised in Lubbock, Christy has long since been discourage for her race, yet none of these things have stopped her from achieving her goals. “Discouragement is my encouragement, tell me I can’t and I’m going to show you I can do it,” Christy stated when asked about herself and the hurdles of being an educated Latina. Christy has become a leader, activist, and an inspiration to an innumerable amount of individuals because of her endless aspirations to change the world. “Be fearless and have faith,” a quote Christy uses to conquer life endless impediments. Latino’s are often stereotyped as drug dealers, criminals, and gangbangers. None of these statements represent every single Latino. Christy is proof of this statement, she has proven every one of these stereotypes to be inaccurate. She has been the founder of various types of organizations, created a newspaper from the Latino perspective, and worked in grassroots communication in Washington, D.C. She is a woman of many accomplishments and has no intention of stopping. Latino Lubbock is one of Christy’s first biggest...
Words: 1511 - Pages: 7
...The Freedom Writers Freedom Writers was released in 2007 on January 7. It was based on the book the Freedom Writer's Diary by Erin Gruwell, who wrote the story based on a school name Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Eastside Long Beach, California. This film tells a story about Erin Gruwell, who is a young teacher who just started her job as a freshman and sophomore English teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School. She is soon challenged by a group of Black, Latino and Asian gang members who had excessive hate for the new teacher, Erin Gruwell. The most significant themes in The Freedom Writers is tolerance, journal writing/empowerment, determination and last but not least is freedom. Erin Gruwell, the teacher starts on her first day at Woodrow Wilson High School. She is unprepared for the nature of her classroom because the students live by their generations history of strict rules and rivalries amongst other “groups.” Most of the students in her classroom are in gangs and almost everybody knows somebody that has been killed by gang violence. Once she steps in the class, Gruwell quickly learned that her students had more to worry about than homework; her students went home to gunfire, gangs, drugs, and a host of other difficult situations. Gruwell did not know what she was getting into. The students was convinced that they didn’t have nothing in common, or that they could learn from a white teacher because she never experience what they previously and currently...
Words: 1679 - Pages: 7
...ne, that I’m familiar with 3 Barrientos was born in Guatethe conversational setup, and yes, I’ve studied a bit mala and raised of Spanish in the past. He asks for my name and I in El Paso, Texas. Her first novel, Frontera Street, was supply it, rolling the double r in Barrientos like a pro. published in 2002, and her second, That’s when I hear the silent snag, the momentary Family Resemblance, was pubhesitation I’ve come to expect at this part of the exlished in 2003. Her column “Unchange. Should I go into it again? Should I explain, conventional Wisdom” runs every the way I have to half a dozen others, that I am Guaweek in the Inquirer. This essay originally appeared in the collectemalan by birth but pura gringa by circumstance? tion Border-Line Personalities: A Do I add the humble little laugh I usually attach New Generation of Latinas Dish to the end of my sentence to let him know that of on Sex, Sass & Cultural Shifting. course I see the irony in the situation? We selected this reading because This will be the sixth...
Words: 9852 - Pages: 40
...Equality in the Workplace Amber Leick DeVry University Online Equality in the Workplace When looking at a company’s promotion policy, Maria who is Latina filed a complaint for being unfairly eliminated for consideration for a promotion position distinctly because she has an accent. She has a graduate degree and has more work experience being at her company for ten years, more time than most of the other workers. She is the only worker of color in her department, and her dedication to her family had her in trouble for coming in late and receiving tardiness complaints. Her accent was stated as an issue when dealing with costumers. The person who received the promotion was a male Alex, with less experience at the job, but better upper management evaluations. Maria argued her poor evaluations were biased from her white, male supervisors. Maria was noted for being a good employee, but is loud and aggressive in her approach to work with others in the company. I feel Maria was treated unfairly for being promoted. Both women and people in the minority struggle when looking at how both are treated in the workplace. Women are facing problems of equality in job advancements and having equal pay. Minorities are underrepresented, and are struggling to find work. This paper will look at the issue of males versus females in the workplace, and the majority versus the minority in the workplace. Many people believe there...
Words: 1931 - Pages: 8
...solidarity that I am assigned, the voice that always whispers to me when one of “us” appears intelligent: “Yes, these authors made us look like we had some sense! Look how analytical they sounded!” But why on earth do I have to feel like that in this marvelous, post racial society? After reading, I noticed that despite the year tacked on to the assigned readings, the content barely changed. From Dubois (1903) to Wingfield and Feagin (2012), we are still acknowledging the same woes that a society assigns particular groups of people. We are still attempting to come up with dire solutions in hopes that everyone will begin to “get along” with one another. But most of all, because of this…People of color are still waiting to exhale. In this essay, there will be two parts: Firstly, a general analysis of the assigned literature for this week. In this compartment of my paper, I will analyze extracted points from the readings thematically as it directly relates to certain points in the “Critical Race: An Introduction” excerpt. Here, I will also be giving a respectful critique of Dubois’ postulations in the “Souls of Black Folk.” Secondly I will critique Allport’s (1954) contact hypothesis that was discussed in Hewstone and Swart (2011). Introduction of Critical Race Theory (CRT) Before I analyze the literature, I think it would be wise to give a brief definition and explanation of Critical Race Theory in general. Delgado and Stefancic (2006) offered a pretty understandable definition...
Words: 3445 - Pages: 14
...Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN-10: 1444338544; 365-82. ISBN-13: 978-1444338546 Sex/Gender and the Media From Sex Roles to Social Construction and Beyond Cynthia Carter Introduction In the early years of second-wave western feminism, many gender researchers and feminist scholars distinguished between the notion of sex, defined as biological differences between male and female, and ‘sex roles,’ referring to certain behaviors and characteristics attributed to each sex that was a social construction. The resulting media research centered on images of women in the media (much less emphasis was placed on men) in order to draw attention to inequities in their portrayal in relation to men (in quantitative terms as well as in terms of the use of stereotypes). Since the 1970s, however, the scope of social constructionism has greatly expanded in feminist theory. Some suggest that the distinction between the biological and the social has, as a result, eroded to such an extent that it is no longer possible to understand the difference, while others question the need for this distinction. For instance, in queer and transgender theory and feminist cultural studies, theorists have sought to make strange the ‘sex/gender’ distinction. The key argument made is that biology is no less a cultural construct than gender socialization into masculinity and femininity. While the point is that biology, like gender, is thought to be socially constructed, that does not mean that there is no such thing as biology...
Words: 8766 - Pages: 36
...Unlearning Deficit Ideology and the Scornful Gaze: Thoughts on Authenticating the Class Discourse in Education Paul C. Gorski Founder, EdChange Assistant Professor, Integrative Studies George Mason University http://www.EdChange.org gorski@EdChange.org December 2010 Unlearning Deficit Ideology and the Scornful Gaze 2 It is popular in the education milieu today to talk about the dangers of assuming a deficit perspective, approaching students based upon our perceptions of their weaknesses rather than their strengths. Such a perspective deteriorates expectations for students and weakens educators’ abilities to recognize giftedness in its various forms (Ford & Grantham, 2003). The most devastating brand of this sort of deficit thinking emerges when we mistake difference—particularly difference from ourselves— for deficit. If one concentrates best while sitting still it may be difficult to imagine that somebody else—a student or colleague, perhaps—concentrates more effectively while pacing or tapping a pencil. Similarly, if one always has lived among people who speak a certain language variation, such as what people commonly refer to as “standard English,” she or he might mistake somebody’s use of a different variation, such as the Appalachian variety spoken by my grandmother, as an indication of intellectual inferiority or, worse, deviance (Collins, 1988). Over the past ten or so years a critical discourse challenging the deficit perspective has emerged among educators....
Words: 9486 - Pages: 38
...Arnold Jimenez History 110 2014/11/21 Professor Radzikowski Gender Inequalities Our society is plagued with many inequalities, these inequalities range from education to wealth, yet I believe one of the most prominent forms of inequality today is aimed towards gender. Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or negative perceptions of individuals based on their gender. As of 2012, the World Economic Forum ranks the United States 22nd in terms of gender equality out of 135 countries. America often employs Gender stratification causing the ranking of the sexes in such a way that women are unequal in power, resources, prestige, or presumed worth. For my essay I shall explain the three most prominent forms of gender inequality: Childhood, society and professionalism. Gender inequalities have large-scale consequences for society, as long as we continue to perpetuate gender inequalities men and women will never be considered equal. In the 1800’s during America’s farm economy, women enjoyed and lived equally with men on a family. Farm men and women typically did different jobs men did heavy field labor, woodwork, repairs and worked with large edge tools. In contrast women preformed food preservation and clothing preparation, a farm family could not survive without the skilled labor of both men and women, and in this sense men and women's contribution to the economy of the family farm was equal. Furthermore children were raised and nurtured by both men and women, there were...
Words: 3051 - Pages: 13
