Stereotypes: 3

Hi Friends!
Welcome to Issue 29 of this newsletter! It’s the third week of our Stereotypes series, and this week we focus on the Latinx community. Do you know the difference between “Hispanic” and “Latino”? What about “Latino” and “Latinx”? Today we start out by unpacking these terms, then dive into some common stereotypes, archetypes and media depictions. While American pop culture confuses Puerto Ricans for Mexicans and Colombians for Brazilians, the Latinx community spans over 33 countries and 2 continents with various cultures, dialects, histories, religions and motivations for immigrating to America. Let’s get into it!

Key Terms

Hispanic: Hispanic refers to people who speak Spanish or who are descendants of those from Spanish-speaking countries. In other words, Hispanic refers to the language that a person speaks or that their ancestors spoke. For this reason, people who are Hispanic may vary in their race and also where they live or originate.

Latino/ Latina: Latino refers to geography: specifically, people from Latin America including Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Like being Hispanic, being Latino says nothing about your race; Latinos may be White, Black, Indigenous, Asian, etc. A person who is Hispanic may also be Latino, but this is not always necessarily the case. For example, a person from Spain would be Hispanic but not Latino because Spain is a Spanish-speaking country but not a Latin American country.

Latinx: A gender-neutral or non-binary alternative to Latino or Latina. Only about 3% of the population it is meant to describe use this term.

Let’s Get Into It

The Latinx Community

• When we say “Latinos” or refer to the “Hispanic community”, who are we talking about? It’s multifaceted and a little complex, so let’s break it down:

  • While the terms Hispanic and Latino have existed for centuries, it wasn't until they were introduced into the United States Census that they became more popularized.

  • During the 1960s, Mexicans on the west coast and Puerto Ricans on the east coast experienced a lot of discrimination. The joining of these communities across the nation to address these issues led to a new perspective and a new method of categorization. The 1980 census was the first to include a question asking respondents if they identified as Spanish/Hispanic as part of their ethnicity. Respondents could also identify their race (e.g., White, Black, Asian, American Indian or Pacific Islander).

  • Remember, your race is largely based on how you phenotypically appear based on skin-color, features and hair (Black, White, Asian, American Indian, Pacific Islander) . Ethnicity divides people into smaller social groups based on characteristics like culture, ancestry, language, history or country of origin (Hispanic is the only one listed on the US census due to the lobbying mentioned above, but Italian, Irish, Swiss, Nigerian, Somalian, Dominican are all ethnicities too). Nationality refers to the country in which you are a legal resident.

  • I’ll use myself as an example: I am Black, Latina/Hispanic (specifically Puerto Rican and Dominican), American. I am both Hispanic—because my ancestors were colonized by Spain and speak Spanish—and Latina—because geographically my ancestry lies in the Caribbean.

  • Folks from Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean may identify as Latinx, Hispanic, or both.

  • Unlike last week’s newsletter on the Black community, the Latinx community is comprised of a massive population from over 33 countries and 2 continents with different reasons for immigrating to the United States. This was a big pain point during the 2020 elections because the media continued to lump all communities from Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean together. These countries have different languages, histories, cultures, religions and traditions.

Common Archetypes

• Cholo: Historically the term was used by European colonizers to refer to full or mixed indigenous populations in South and Central America, but in the 1960s was reclaimed in the US by working-class Mexican Americans and the Chicano Power movement as a way to flip and empower a term that had historically been used to denigrate them. Eventually, this term became synonymous in American culture with drugs, gangs, poverty and illegal activity and gained a negative connotation.

• Illegal Alien: Latinos are frequently seen as the "others" in the US despite their large percentage of the population. The otherness becomes a lens in which to view them as foreign or not being American. That mentality creates the illegal stereotype and the concept of job stealing. Donald Trump’s constant racist rhetoric further fueled this idea.

• Fiery/Spicy/Fiesta Latina: Most Latina’s portrayed in the media are sexy, sensual and emotional. In 1922, Mexico called for an embargo on American films because Mexicans were portrayed so badly. By 1933, this started to shift when President Roosevelt created The Good Neighbor Policy and Mexicans started being portrayed differently, though not necessarily more accurately. One of the most popular icons that emerged from this policy was the Brazilian dancer, Carmen Miranda. She was so much the symbol of Latin culture that the United Fruit Company created Chiquita Banana in her likeness to sell their “extotic” and “tropical” fruit. Today we see this image continue of Latina women being portrayed as light-skinned with long wavy hair, hourglass figures, accented voices and explosive personalities.

Racial Bias in the Media

• Latino Americans represent approximately 18% of the US population but only 0.6 to 6.5% of all primetime program characters and 1% of television families.

• Research shows that on English-language news media networks, during the 1990s, negative attitudes started to arise against Hispanics-and-Latinos. This began after voters approved California Proposition 187 in 1994. Proposition 187 was a 1994 ballot initiative to establish a California-run citizenship screening system and prohibit illegal aliens from using non-emergency health care, public education, and other services in the state. The proposition began a spur of negative images and claims associated with Hispanics and Latinos in the US.

• In a study that the National Hispanic Media Coalition did a study with 900 non-Latinos across the United States and found:

  • 71% see Latinos in criminal or gang member roles very often or sometimes

  • 64% frequently see Latinos as gardeners

  • 47% hardly ever see Latino attorneys or judges on tv or film

  • 38-40% agree Latinos have too many kids

  • 36-44% agree Latinos take jobs from Americans

  • 42-48% agree Latinos refuse to learn English

  • Nearly half (49%) think Latinos are welfare recipients

The Latinx community is multifaceted and it’s relationship with America is complex and varied. This community has been reduced to one homogenous wash of housekeepers, gardeners, sexy women, gangsters and illegal aliens. While some Latinos are gardeners and maids—like any other ethnic group has gardeners and maids—they are also human beings, parents, friends, citizens of their communities. Next week we will dive into Asian stereotypes. See ya there.

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for, we are the change we seek” — With love and light, Taylor Rae

Mental Health in the Latinx Community

Hi Friends!
Welcome to Issue 20 of this newsletter. This is our final consecutive week talking about Mental Health. Today we turn our attention to the Latinx communities of the United States. As a Puerto Rican and Dominican person, I grew up with Latinx food, music, traditions and culture. While some Latinx people are light-skin, even white passing, I am not, I am an Afro-Latina, descended from slaves, Tainos and Spaniards. For me, the fact that some of my cousins were two shades lighter and some were two shades darker, some had straight brown hair, and others had coiled dark hair, some spoke Spanish and some spoke English, just seemed fun, until I got older, and felt confused. Even within the microcosm that is my life, it’s clear to see that the Latinx experience is so varied. “The Hispanic/Latinx community in the U.S. is very diverse, including people from many different nations and regions of the world. Individuals of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American and South American descent have been part of the American cultural tapestry for centuries.” (NAMI) It was very clear during the election that a lot of folks in America thing of Latinidad as a monolith, when that simply isn’t the case. While some areas in my research on mental health overlap, there are so many nuances within specific ethnic groups and regions, just like all people. With that being said, let’s get into it!

Key Words

Hispanic: This English word evolved from the Latin word Hispanicus, which is reported to have been used to refer to people living in Hispania — the Iberian Peninsula in today’s Spain — during the Roman Empire. It came into use by the United States government during Richard Nixon’s presidency, which spanned 1968‒1974. It first appeared on the U.S. Census in 1980, as a question prompting the Census taker to determine whether or not the person was of Spanish/Hispanic origin. It specifically refers to people who speak Spanish and/or are descended from Spanish-speaking populations.

Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine: In an effort to be more inclusive to groups like Brazilians, who speak Portuguese, not Spanish, the word Latino came into the lexicon. This term takes the focus off the the Spanish colonizers and onto thee indigenous people of these regions. In 2004, Latinx became a gender neutral term. Recently, Latine became a gender neutral option that also follows along with the grammatical rules of the Spanish language.

Machismo: An exaggerated sense of masculinity wherein men must provide and protect their family.

Marianismo: A form of toxic femininity in response to machismo where women strive to be pure and moral like the Virgin Mary.

Limpias: A Mexican spiritual cleansing practice used to heal from emotional and spiritual imbalances, or after acute shock and trauma to support the spirit and emotional body. 

Familismo: A cultural foundation that emphasizes connectedness and a strong attachment and duty to one’s family.

Acculturation: The level of a person’s acculturation, how thoroughly they have embraced or adopted the predominant culture of the place they live, can play a role in mental health and access to care. Acculturation has been found to predict use of health care services, with a higher level of acculturation resulting in higher utilization. Hispanic/Latinx communities have an added risk of experiencing mental health issues because of the stress of facing discrimination while also trying to navigate between different cultures.

Let’s Get Into It

Background

• Unlike the newsletters about the Black and American Indigenous communities, the Latinx community is so massive, from so many various regions, that it’s impossible to create a succinct history that encompasses all perspectives. Instead, here is a brief and inclusive background based in shared culture.

• The Latinx community has always struggled with stigma—both in and outside of the United States. The reasons are as varied as our our cultures’ pressure due to machismo, a heavy reliance on faith versus therapy, and a general lack of education when it comes to what psychology and psychiatry can do for us. And that doesn’t even take into consideration the financial and language barriers that cause many to view therapy as a “waste of money” or “something for white people.” (Oprah Magazine)

• A 2019 NPR story revealed that Latinx youth are struggling more than ever with their mental health—in part due to the rise of the current anti-migrant rhetoric by Donald Trump and the previous administration. Additionally, a study in JAMA found that there’s been an uptick in the number of premature births among pregnant Latinx persons since the 2016 election.

• There is the very real damage currently being inflicted upon immigrant families who are being separated at the border and across the country due to a rise in deportations. Even the American Psychological Association has spoken out about the traumatic effects these separations will have on the mental well-being of parents and children alike.

• Language barriers, lack of health insurance, lack of financial ability, lack of cultural competence—meaning a doctor unfamiliar with Hispanic culture is more likely to misdiagnose, immigration status, acculturation and stigma are the main barriers to mental health services for the Latinx community. (NAMI)

Facts & Figures

• Approximately 34% of Hispanic/Latinx adults with mental illness receive treatment each year compared to the U.S. average of 45%. (NAMI)

• Among Hispanic American immigrants experiencing mental health issues, fewer than 1 in 20 use services from mental health specialists. (NCBI)

• Only 5.5% of psychologists here in the States are able to give care in Spanish. (APA)

• According to Pew Research, 84% of Latin Americans were raised Catholic, and 77% of Latinxs overall identify as Christian. This affects the stigma around seeking mental health care when most families rely on the church for this support. There is some similarity and overlap here with the Black community.

• 15.7% of Hispanic/Latinx people in the U.S. live in poverty (compared to 7.3% of non-Hispanic whites). This impacts access to healthcare. (NAMI)

• In 2018, 19% of Hispanic people had no form of health insurance. (NAMI)

Over the last few weeks, I think we have learned that overall in POC communities, mental health is often stigmatized, or when folks seek help, they can be misdiagnosed or discriminated against due to culture and language barriers. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find many resources that support mental health in the Latinx community, but I did find one organization that’s definitely worth mentioning. #MenOfColorSmile pushes back against toxic masculinity and explores “the intersection of Masculinity, Vulnerability, and Mental Wellness—together.”

Continue learning about the nuances between various Latinx ethnicities. Just because someone is European, we don’t assume Italians and Swedes have the same culture. In the same way, remember that Puerto Ricans and Mexicans, Cubans and Ecuadorians, Colombians and Dominicans, are different ethnic groups with rich and multifaceted histories.

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for, we are the change we seek” — With love and light, Taylor Rae