Subversion of Gender Roles and Stereotypes in Latinx Film
- hakobyanl
- Dec 2, 2021
- 4 min read
Written by Dominique Black
INTRODUCTION
Since the beginning of the film industry, the perspective has always been skewed to that of the white male, but in past few decades that is changing. Stereotypes and gender roles that have been depicted in mainstream media can have detrimental affects on society. And the stereotypes that are being portrayed in these films is being applied to real life, and many people take what they see on the big screen as reality. But on the positive, film can be used to introduce new role models or tell the stories of real ones, it can also show audiences how to overcome stereotypes or the misogynistic gender roles they might face, whether those come from society or their families.
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
Author of the book Latino Images in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion, and Resistance, Charles Ramirez Berg explains how the typical stereotypes of the bandido, Latin lover, and drug dealer are continuously perpetuated in the media are demeaning to the Latinx experience and culture. The Latinx stories that are created for the mainstream film industry are typically whitewashed or unrealistic, so the Latinx community is not able to tell their stories authentically because the industry wants to sculpt them to be “acceptable” to majority-white audiences.
There are many films that try to break these stereotypes, such as film Selena starring Jennifer Lopez. In the film Selena was not depicted in the manner that most Latinas were being shown in, in the late 90s. She was born and raised in the US, spoke with no Hispanic accent, and did not speak Spanish. The film shows how Selena was able to use her Mexican heritage to rise to fame. Selena sang in Spanish and practiced dance moves that came from Mexican culture.
- In this video, it shows a young Selena learning the "cumbia" dance from her mother.
Selena was more than just a singer, Selena had a revolutionary effect on Latinx, Tejano and Mexican cultures. Selena was able to bridge the cultural gap between Mexicans and Tejanos. Her death affected a great amount of people and many young Latinas lost one of their role models. But Selena's death also made many Latinx-Americans realize that their culture was not accepted or respected by many Americans, because there was some very heavy criticism of Selena's music after her death hit mainstream media. Most notably was Howard Stern's commentary of Selena's music after her death, his comments were not only rude but derogatory and ignorant.
- This is a recording of Stern's radio show and the commentary on her music begins around minute four.
Gender roles are also something that tends to be depicted in sometimes stereotypical or misogynistic points of view. Though our society's perceptions of gender have changed within the past decade, in many Latinx communities, gender roles are still very traditional. There was a journal article entitled Gender Socialization in Latino/a Families, within this article a study was performed which analyzed how Latinx parents socialize their children, in particular their daughters, in terms of treatment and expectations. The results of the study concluded that there was differential treatment between boys and girls, where "feminine" behaviors tended to be forced onto the girls and activities outside of the home were limited for girls.
- This data shows the results of the experiment that took place in the article Gender Socialization in Latino/a Families. The items listed on the chart were rated on a five point system.
1 = relatives/siblings had more limits
3 = about the same
5 = I had more limits
There are films that depict both the traditional ideals of young Latinas which is that they should learn to be ladies and domestic and there are films that represent the idea that education should be valued above all else. The film Real Women Have Curves, shows the main character Ana attempting to defy the stereotypes that were typical of young Latinas during the early 2000s. But Ana's mother tried to force "feminine" stereotypes onto her daughters, she wanted her children to get married, have children and be housewives. Her mother was more concerned with her children's demeanor and physical appearance rather than their education.
- This a picture of Ana and her mother at her graduation party, where her mother made some rude comments about Ana's body.
There's another film called Mosquita y Mari, one of the main characters Yolanda's parents are very dedicated to their daughter's success. Yolanda's parents wanted her to get a higher education and to not be concerned with boys, which is the opposite of Ana's mother. But some might be opposed to the parenting style of Yolanda's parents. They are determined to make sure their daughter is successful no matter the amount of pressure they put on her. This could resonate to many members of the Latina community, because the Latinx community is so family oriented, it is typically up to the younger generations to support the ones ahead of them in the future, and the older generations can be pushy and put too much of a burden on the younger generations.
Dominque, your introduction hooked me in straight away and provided enough context into your writing without giving too much away the videos you provided are so insightful and the analysis to every piece of media you put really helped me understand even more, the infographic you provided shows a very relatable results because as a Hispanic girl with a brother if im ever told no to things my brother has done the answer is usually because he is a boy. this was a very interesting and insightful read!