Why Is Latina Stereotypes False?

Throughout Cofer’s essay there are several anecdotes that explain where Latina stereotypes evolved from, which ultimately convey Cofer’s purpose that the stereotypes are false. For instances, Cofer explains how she did not see how it is fair for Latin girls to be expected to “ripen” as fruits; whereas, other girls could mature into adulthood. She displays that the stereotype is false by providing the an anecdote: Cofer is at a school dance, with an American boy, he leans in for a kiss, but Cofer does not accept it, this causes the boy to say, “I thought you Latin girls were supposed to mature early”(106). This allows Cofer to terminate the stereotype that Latin girls mature earlier, since she explained it was part of her culture to act mature, nevertheless Latin girls did not have
She does this by first introducing where the stereotype evolved from, which would be from various forms of media. Once she has established where the stereotype evolved from, she provides anecdotes that refute the stereotype. For example, the anecdote with Cofer’s Mexican friend that is pursuing her PhD and the friend’s doctor “shakes his head in puzzled amazement at all the big words she [Cofer’s friend] uses” (108). The woman is of Latin decent, consequently causing the doctor to underestimate her intelligence, since Latin Women are not meant to be in higher levels of education or so they say. Nonetheless, the anecdote aids to refute the stereotype that Latin women do not uphold higher level jobs, since she provides an example of a Latin friend who is off to be called a doctor. Moreover, Cofer adds another anecdote to further refute the stereotype that Latin women do not uphold higher level jobs. In this instance Cofer claims, “She ordered a cup of coffee from me, assuming that I was the waitress. Easy enough to mistake my poems for menus, I supposed”