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Stereotypes are a reality that we all must face in today's society. Regardless of what your ethnic background or culture may be. You have been probably been discriminated against, or treated differently, at some point in your life because of a stereotype that was long ago applied to your culture. For some, I perceive it may be worse than others. For example, all Hispanics are in this country illegally or all African Americans are criminals that cannot keep a job. We know these things are not true, but it doesn't keep some people from calling a Mexican a wetback or stop them from calling the police when they see a black man out walking at nigh,t now does it? So why do people think like this? The answer, in short, is stereotypes. In "The Myth of the Latin Woman," Judith Ortiz Cofer states that her personal goal in her public life is to "try to replace the old pervasive stereotypes and myths about Latinas with a much more interesting set of realities" (Cofer 812). By using the rhetoric appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos she causes us all to stop and think before we make assumptions based on stereotypes.
Judith Ortiz Cofer is a Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Georgia. Cofer is a prolific writer, being known as, among other things, a novelist, essayist and even a poet (Cofer 806). Perhaps most importantly though, she is a Latina Woman raised in a Puerto Rican household. She grew up having to deal with these assumptions on a daily basis, and I believe that is what inspired her to try to challenge people's assumptions and expose these rumors for what they are, myths.
Cofer uses the rhetoric appeal of ethos to establish her authority to make the argument that Latina stereotypes are just myths. Growing ...
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...eals to get her audience to feel how she wants them to feel or think how she wants them to think. She presents her stance on the issue and then provides a good solid basis by giving examples from her past as well as explaining how the Puerto Rican culture is different in certain ways from the American way of life. Judith Ortiz Cofer is a strong advocate for spreading the truth about these Latina myths, as well as others, to the uninformed people that are all around us. If there is one thing to learn from this story it is tolerance and understanding of the unique cultures that make up this great county that we live in.
Works Cited
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. "The Myth of the Latina Woman." Bullock, Richard, Maureen Daly Goggin and Francine Weinburg. The Norton Field Guide to Writing. Ed. Marilyn Moller. 3rd. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013. 806-812. Print.
Blackwell puts together the first book-length study that talks about the roots of the Chicana movement. She talked about all the struggles that they faced for being activist; and the real life stories of what other women went through. Being an activist does not seem easy but the way they fight for what they believe in, can influence many other women who are scared to stand up for what they believe. As Blackwell stated in the acknowledgement vii, stories do have the power to inspire, transform and
In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldúa explains the implications of living under the influence of two cultures. She begins with a story of how she was punished by a teacher for correcting the pronunciation of her name. Anzaldúa gives the reader anecdotes about her life in a dual culture society, explaining the trials of accepting her heritage, fighting to find her place in Mexican or American society, and establishing herself as a proud Chicana.
Initially, understanding an individual's point of view is essential to a discussion or argument. In the essay, ''The Myth of The Latin Women: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria" Cofer attempts to illustrate the effect stereotypes have in a Latina's life. Throughout the piece, she writes of her personal experience and how the positive side of being Latina is being downgraded by stereotypes, she writes, "We cannot change this by legislating the way people look at us. The Transformation, as I see it, has to occur at a much
...mparisons to effectively convey their messages to readers, Ortiz Cofer is more successful in persuading readers of her arguments and drawing readers’ attention by narrating her wide variety of experiences vividly. On the other hand, Tocqueville’s antiquated ideas and his use of observation to support his arguments fail to convince readers of his points and attract attention.
Delgadillo, Theresa. "Forms of Chicana Feminist Resistance: Hybrid Spirituality in Ana Castillo's So Far From God."Modern Fiction Studies. 44.4 (1998): 888-914. Delgadillo, Theresa. "Forms of Chicana Feminist Resistance: Hybrid Spirituality in Ana Castillo's So Far From God."Modern Fiction Studies. 44.4 (1998): 888-914. .
Cofer backs up her point by explaining that when she was about to read one of her poems at a restaurant, she was mistaken for a waitress by a non-hispanic women (207). Cofer proves that Latina women are mistakenly categorized into areas that do not apply to them. She further proves that one gets a great education and is able to work towards their dreams, they are still judged by what they appear to be not what they really are. Cofer argument highlights the fact with all the sterotypes that are alive in society today, it is difficult for a Latina women to be seen as more than just a pretty face with no achievements to their
Her work has become inspirational to me and it is great to find an author who I can relate too. Her depiction of the Mexican American community could not have been more spot on. From how women are wrongfully treated to the racism that Mexican Americans have endured. She also gave me another perspective on how I view women in my culture. Mexican women, sadly to this day are still treated this way but, I have hope that eventually all women can make it out of those situations. Cisneros through her work was able to reach a broad audience and in this enlist change in our society. Cisneros works also gave me a history lesson of everything my community has gone through even though we still experience similar problem in today’s society. Overall there has been major improvements in the way life of many immigrants. Cisneros works are very inspirational and just confirms many of my doubts and shows me, if a Chicana back in 1980s could rise against all odds anything is
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria.” The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2014. Print. Judith Ortiz Cofer is a poet, a novelist, and a professor at the University of Georgia. In her essay, Cofer discusses some of the stereotypes Latin women are commonly associated with. For example, Latinas are sexual objects, are uneducated, and are housemaids or waitresses. According to Cofer, these typical stereotypes are perpetuated by “mixed cultural signals” because the media portrays the women of Latin America with these stereotypes. However, this “myth” is not true for all Latin women. Cofer mentions she was once mistaken for a waitress at her first public poetry reading. Cofer also explains that Latinas are seen as sexual icons because of their choice of clothing, but their choice of clothing “is custom, not chromosomes” (310); their mothers, who grew up wearing skin-showing clothes to keep cool and look sexy, influenced their decisions about clothes. I plan ...
Torres, Hector Avalos. 2007. Conversations with Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Writers. U.S.: University of New Mexico press, 315-324.
The Latin American History has had numerous amount of heroic people who have changed the Latino community for better or worse however, due to the sexist and patriarchal views of the past there were many Latina women who have been oppressed and restricted for being intellectual and creative. Despite this, they overcame this issue and made many contributions within the Latino community. One of the many women is Luisa Capetillo. Here we explore her life and the contributions she has made with her writings, activism, and so forth and what impact she has made in her society.
In the story "Woman Hollering Creek" Sandra Cisneros discusses the issues of living life as a married woman through a character named Cleofilas; a character who is married to a man who abuses her physically and mentally .Cisneros reveals the way the culture puts a difference between a male and a female, men above women. Cisneros has been famous about writing stories about the latino culture and how women are treated; she explain what they go through as a child, teen and when they are married; always dominated by men because of how the culture has been adapted. "Woman Hollering Creek" is one of the best examples. A character who grows up without a mother and who has no one to guid and give her advise about life.
There are many influences that end up making stereotype what it is today. In reading Charles Ramirez-Berg article on “Categorizing the Other: Stereotypes and Stereotyping” gave wonderful insight to every element that is connected to stereotyping. Ramirez-Berg sums up stereotyping into three terms category making, ethnocentrism and prejudice. “A stereotype is the result of this process and can be defined as a negative generalization used by an in-group (Us) about an out-group (Them). Lippmann called these mental constructs “picture in our heads” (Ramirez-Berg pg. 15). In developing a bad stereotype there are two elements that take place. One is in having your own group be in the center of everything. Second is judging others in differences from your own. “Stereotyping regarding the Latina/o population in the United States seem to prevail in our public discourse, are promulgated by media, and go mainly unchallenged throughout our educational systems” (Rodriguez pg. 10). The Hollywood films caused the construction of whites stereotyping racial minorities. Films degraded Latinos and presented the
Judith Ortiz Cofer, a professor of english and creative writing, tackles gender roles as well as cultural stereotypes in “ The Myth of the Latin Woman” and challenges them by attempting to replace the stereotypes with the realities. In “The Myth of the Latin Woman” Cofer discusses her life in America as a Puerto Rican woman. She also shares her stories of when she was stereotyped and how gender roles play a role in how Latinos are viewed. Stereotypes will follow you around because of your appearance and how the media portrays Latinas.
At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into misconceptions. Usually, stereotypes are utilized to humiliate and degrade the person or group; they also do not provide any beneficial outcomes. Stereotypes focus on how a particular group acts because of the radical ideas and actions of the few, how a particular group looks, or how that group is physically lacking in some way. These stereotypes often lead to conflicts because the group does not appreciate the way it is perceived. Seldom are the stereotypes placed on a group of people truthful and accurate.
This is what affects our future as a whole and challenges us to “bridge the gap between marginal Latino/a culture and the American mainstream.” If society does not at least try to blend together, then it will lead to a huge war that could possibly never end. Just being that woman to show her passion and influence, can cause a great impact and force this world to acknowledge we all are the same. Works Cited Cisneros, Sandra. Woman Hollering Creek.