Summary Of The Myth Of Latin Woman

The article “The Myth of The Latin Woman” is about everything that Latin woman have to go through due to stereotypes mainly portrayed by the media. In The Myth of the Latin Woman, Cofer goes on about how there is a stereotype about Latin women in America and writes about her personal experiences. She talks about how she is a Puerto Rican woman in America and how she hates her stereotype and just wants to belong or fit in. The Major difference between the Latin and American cultures is the clothing choices. Americans dress dull as Latin’s dress more vibrant and flashy. Cofer also talks about how some Movies tend to cause the stereotypes and that is where Americans get it from.
Cofer goes around in America and these men and American people stop
her and make it a point to serenade her and refer to her as Maria or Evita. This one man stops her and while he has his kid he serenades her with “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina.” When he stopped his kid even asked, “How about a round of applause for my daddy?”(Cofer 809). The dad noticed a crowd had come around and continued on with “La Bamba” – except the lyrics were now about a girl named Maria whose exploits all rhymed with her name and gonorrhea. This is just one of her incidents she talks about while being in America.
Another time, she talks about going to her first public poetry reading. It was in Miami in a boat-restaurant where there was a lunch before the event. An older woman called her over to her table and thinking she wanted an autograph she went. Turns out, the old lady wanted a cup of coffee and thought she was the waitress so she asked her to get her the cup of coffee. She held anger but it only came out in her reading and that was okay because it made her reading better, inspirational. She was stereotyped and went through a lot but she still took the time to get an education and become someone successful.
If I were in Cofer’s position I probably would have laughed in their face and went off on them for being ignorant. I believe this does happen but not with just Americans. People all over watch movies and listen to word of mouth while they are painting this image of this stereotype of whoever the source targets. With that image they then judge anyone who is different and begin to maybe talk about them just because they are different. I think that is the typical American way these days and it needs to change. The main people that don’t want to be judged or stereotyped are the ones who are judging and stereotyping others’.