The Myth of Latin American Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria

Nowadays the stereotypes have deeply ingrained in human mentality. They have shaped people’s perception of the reality. Basically, the stereotypes are transmitted from one generation to another. The problem is that during the history the world changes and the perception of the world changes respectively. New ideas appear and they become the part of the reality. Nevertheless, the stereotypes gradually are integrating into reality as well. Consequently, different types of stereotypes exist, namely sexual, cultural, racial, and ethnical. Among them, the biggest impact has the racial and ethical stereotypes as long as they make the life of some individuals hard and miserable. In spite of the fact that they play a significant role in American culture, however, they suffer from various types of discriminations. The bright example of such stereotypes is the attitude of Amaricans of Latin American Women. This paper focuses on identifying the stereotypes in The Myth of a Latin Woman and comparing them with reality from the perception of an immigrant as from what if essay

As an immigrant myself, I have noticed many causes of the stereotypes, especially when it came to Latin American women. In accordance with Judith Ortiz Cofer, all Americans perceive Latin women as a sexual object. The writer admitted that there is a stereotype “that of the Hispanic woman as the “Hot Tamale” or sexual firebrand”. It is clear from their behavior that they pay attention to Latin women only with the intention to have a sexual relation with them. One may admit that living in the American society is not an easy thing when you are an immigrant. Actually, America is a multiple country that comprises many nationalities. Consequently, it seems that all Americans should have conditional relationship between each other. However, when it comes to Latin Americans, the situation changes dramatically.

Frankly speaking, Latin American women face lots of discrimination in America. Apart from considering them as sexual objects, Americans usually believe that Latin women are illiterate. There is a stereotype that Latin American women can work only as maids and waitress, ect. Actually, mass media usually perpetuate this myth by showing “a funny Hispanic maid, mispronouncing words and cooking up a spicy storm in a shiny California kitchen”. The bright example is illustrated in the reading when one woman perceives the Latin American as a waitress. The problem is that very small percentage of Latin American women knows English perfectly. Consequently, Americans state that they cannot get a relevant position if they do not know the language at all. Nowadays times changed and Latin American women can get education in the higher educational establishments, so they are skillful for creating a great career. That is why many Latin American women strive to persuade Americans that they deserve relevant treatment. Judith Ortiz Cofer is the one who manages to complete this task. Actually, when reading her story The Myth of a Latin Woman every immigrant may find himself/herself in it. It is a strange case but at least once in life the immigrants were discriminated. I am not at exception of it. Basically, the discrimination is connected with the differences in skin color, religious and political believes. However, the biggest impacts on the discrimination have stereotypes. They have been inherited into human mentality and people can eradicate from them only within time. That is why immigrants suffer from the results of stereotypes.

One more important issue that faces all immigrants, especially Latin American women, is the difference in culture. According to the Latin American culture, the women used to wear quite open clothes. The reason for this is hidden in the history. Once they lived in hot places, so open clothes was the only save from the heat. That is why they tried to wear fewer clothes to feel comfortable. However, they had strict restrictions concerning the relation between men and women. Actually, men had a right just to observe the women’s look but they did not have a right to touch them at all. Judith Myth Cofer provided the example of this situation, when he illustrated the statement of the Latin man, “You may look at my sister, but if you touch her I will kill you” . It is the example how men treat women, however, it happens only among Latin Americans. The situation is quite different in America. In most cases, Americans do not understand the cultural peculiarities of the Latin American women. They believe that they dress in order to attract their attention. Nevertheless, it is their culture that is inherited with time. Every time when Americans see the Latin American women, they try to pay attention to her, but only with the intension of sexual connection. That is why very often Americans think that Latin women mature earlier. The writer provides the example when the boy kisses her and she does not react in return. This boy was surprised because he had thought that Latin women are passionate. However, times changed that Latin women get used to the way of life of the society in which they live. They try to be a part of it and get relevant treatment respectively. Moreover, Judith Myth Cofer is right when she states that Latin American women are treated by their appearance. In order to persuade that you are intelligent and knowledgeable person, every Latin American woman has to speak up and prove her position. Actually, it should not be like that. Latin American women have equal rights in the society as every single American.

To sum up, nowadays American society consists of different nationalities; they are constituent parts of the country. However, the treatment of immigrants is not good enough to state that all people here have equal rights. The biggest disappointments face Latin American women; they are always treated as sexual objects and never considered as intelligent and independent people. The reason is connected with the stereotypes that are transmitted from one generation to another. Nevertheless, it should be changed since Latin American women deserve appropriate treatment.