Barrientos is thinking about the other people who were put into her position and believes that the others might be “secretly struggling to fit in, the same way I am” (Barrientos 563). But even if they are struggling just like her it doesn’t help anything except for the feeling of loneliness she refers to while trying to be like the other kids. She finally feels accepted in the American culture and starts to believe that she shouldn’t be ashamed of being Latino, she should be proud and then later says, “I wish we all had the courage to come out of our hiding places and claim our rightful spot in the broad Latino spectrum” (Barrientos 563). If Barrientos had to relive her life growing up as a Latino in America she would do it proudly and not try to hide her natural heritage, she would be assertive with who she is and where she came from instead of trying to hide her Latino
Story of the partiular lesiban/gay struggle in the latino community, which didn't get drection attention during the early 1990's movement enlightening and releasing stereotypes in the gay community in new york Luna and Medea explore what it means to be a woman, medea through her relationship with her children, luna through her "castration" Explores the ways in which Latina women have explored particular difficulty in the fight for equality between straight and lesiban, and women and men. The interactions of Luna and Medea play upon the story of Medea, a woman who drowns her own children after her husband decides to marry a younger princess. Her actions are in a sense, simply to get back at Jason, who has robbed her of her sense of feminity, youth, and sexuality. Moranga's Medea plays a much different story. Medea's story if one much different, when her marriage is interrupted by a lesiban love affair that lasts some seven years.
Barrientos depicts the hardships and discriminations of the growth of a child coming to America from another country and being forced to speak English and not her native tongue. She knew she was not white like the other children and although she was living the American dream with her family, her parents put her into a position to be English speaking where as they spoke in Spanish to one another but English to the children. As she got older she realized she wanted to be a proud Latina and felt like an outcast from her people because she didn’t speak the language. As her efforts continued she felt discriminated upon by the very people she sought out to teach her. Page 58 she says the registrar called her and her brother, “you people”.
“And then if they were dirty, mean, and imprudent, why did Momma have to call them Miz?” she asked herself after seeing her Momma treat the young girls respectfully. All of this helps to exhibit her young ignorance when it comes to the separation between blacks and whites; she knows that it is there and that it affects her negatively but at this time in her life she is unsure as to why. A more obvious separation to Maya is a physical one, the one between herself and her brother Bailey and their parents. Even though she has been with Momma in
Don’t call me hot tamale” In the story “Don’t call me a Hot Tamale” by Judith Ortiz Cofer – a Hispanic woman writes about being stereotyped as a latina, living in a non- hispanic culture. She describes her encounter in reaction to both her heritage and her gender. Growing up in New Jersey Judith and her parents “practiced strict Catholicism complete with Sunday mass in Spanish.” They also kept a tight surveillance on their daughter. As a teenager she was constantly lectured on “how to behave as a proper senorita.” Controversy grew when schoolmates and their parents thought Judith’s mother would dress them up to “mature and flashy.” Puerto Rican customs were being misinterpreted by customs of the everyday Americans in her surroundings. Judith’s mother was raised on a “Tropical Island where the natural environment was a riot of primary colors, were showing your skin was one way to keep cool as well as to look sexy.” One of puerto rican “traditions and laws of a Spanish/catholic system of morality and machismo, the rule of which was: you may look at my sister, but if you touch her i will kill you.” signal often get mixed up “when a puerto Rican girl who is dressed in her idea of what is attractive who has been trained to react to certain types of clothing as a sexual signal, a clash is likely to take place.” Judith being the mature woman that she is chooses not to “fight these pervasive stereotypes.” she replaces them “with more interesting set of realities.” She now travels the around the United States telling stories from her personal novel and poems.
Using common language people do not call someone of similar race by their color. Knowing this, readers instinctively color Staples black. This single, subtle word gives the essay’s example judgments more impact; like the readers, the people judging Staples most likely unconsciously act racist. Staples describes each past incident with an ironic tone, emphasizing such occurrences’ frequency and his displeasure toward them. He uses each example of his “ability to alter space in ugly ways” nonchalantly as though it happens every day (Staples 405).
Her parents raised a Puerto Rican doing their types of rituals. Then one day they had a career day at school where she was suppose to dress to impress. Her and her friends got in trouble for wearing too much jewelry and accessories, when in Puerto Rico it was a good thing to wear lots of jewelry. In the essay “You can leave the island of Puerto Rico, master the English language, and travel as far as you can, but if your Latina …the island travels with you” meaning that she grew up with differences from others and just wanted to be treated equally. Although she faced many differences she was a lucky one, she had the privileged to get educated and she traveled around the U.S. trying to get people to get past the fact the she was different color, accent, or what she would wear.
The Myth of the Latin Woman. “Just Met a Girl Named Maria.“ Why are Latin women easily stereotyped? Judith Ortiz Cofer tells stories about her family traditions and customs to help the reader better relate to her experience as a Latin American woman facing cultural stereotyping. She also used experiences to show the reader how myths distort her traditional and cultural values, causing the Latina woman to be misrepresented as being provocative or improper. A person’s view is clouded when beliefs in myths outweighs the recognition of different cultural traditions and customs.
One can see that she is hurt immensely by the fact that “she would’ve sold us to the devil if she could.” (82) As she talks about her mother and the actions she is willing to take and her mother uses the excuse that she is “too busy worrying about her own life.” (82) One can almost feel the pain distorted in between the lines of the text. So as I go into “Never Marry a Mexican” by Sandra Cisneros, she shall be the character I will be talking about it and doing my literary analysis upon. I will describe her personality as she is growing up and then during her time with the father and then how her emotions remain steady as she is becomes involved with Drew, his
Sociological Autobiography Being a Salvadorian American woman has led me to face many obstacles resulting from my personal journey as well as racial stereotypes. For example, “Is she going to graduate high school?” or “Is she going to get pregnant at the age of 16 because that’s just what Hispanic girls do”. Or the usual “Oh she’s Hispanic, she must be ghetto or of lower social class”. These are some of the expectations that society had bestowed upon me as a young Hispanic woman and that I was determine to challenge. It’s funny how we (the people) don’t really notice how society affects us therefore we make choices based off what society expects from us.