Hottt Wired: The Currency Of The Word “Latina” Online
6 December 2007, 4:50 PM. By Alex Alvarez
Associate Editor Alex Alvarez, whilst innocently perusing the internet for used furniture and an ego boost, stumbled upon a world in which Latinas were lusted after by strange white men with $60 dollars in their pockets and devious intentions on their minds. Below, her findings on what, exactly, it means to be a Latina on the internet…
I’ve often noticed, as I spend many a lonely night scouring Craigslist’s “Missed Encounters” in hopes that the guy with the bitching ironic ’stache noticed me noticing him, that, on the internet, the word “Latina” seems to be equivalent to “sex object.” And, I begin to wonder — as I invariably comb through various posts in search of people who are tops or bottoms or bearded or smooth or skinny or tall or black or white or covered in latex — where is the line between preference and fetish drawn? And, specifically, what kind of guys are searching for and hellbent on fetishizing me, a Latina? Well, I figured, as I put away the now empty carton of “Chubby Hubby” along with the remnants of my dignity, the internet is a good a place as any to try and figure all this out.
I began with Craigslist, of course, conducting a search for “Latinas” in the Men for Women category. The first post that popped up contained several photos of a man servicing various “curvy” brunettes. “Are you a Latina who enjoys having her pussy licked?” asked my prospective Romeo. “Do you want to make some quick cash? I am seeking a latin female to lick. I will pay you $60. This can be a regular arrangement.” [sic] Well that’s certainly romantic. Cheapskate. I wasn’t really surprised by the explicit nature of the pictures or by Romeo’s willingness to dole out money in order to dive head first between a strange woman’s loins. What surprised me were the women in the pictures. They were, all three of them, full-figured, olive skinned and rocking some pretty serious drawn-on eyebrows. Clearly, Romeo not only has a type, he has a very specific idealized image of this type, down to how her makeup is done and how her body is shaped.
The next post I looked at asked for a “cute latina or black girl.” The poster described himself as a European who was “still not totally americanized.” [sic] He was also “down to earth, liberal and open minded but also appreciating family values.” Oh, and he’s also “not a sadist.” The woman he seeks should have a “sweet personality and submissive tendencies.” And, as mentioned, she should be Latina or Black. He illustrated the post with two drawings of women shown from the back. I was wondering what family values had to do with fat asses when I turned and looked at things from my own point of view. I figured that, sure, if I was asked to describe my person, I would go into both who he was in terms of looks and in terms of personality (as in, it is optional). I wasn’t going to hate on my new, non-sadist friend for liking women with substantial backsides. I was, however, going to hate on him for equating large backsides with Latina women. But then again, if a guy is into big asses and Latinas and/or Black women are represented, more often than not, as having larger asses than their white, non-Latina, and Asian counterparts, wouldn’t it make sense for this person, who is totally not sadistic, to search for a woman within those specific groups? People are always frothing at the mouth to tell you “there are other fish in the sea,” but they never add that fishing in certain waters can lead to a catch more to your liking. As well as to terrible, terrible clichéd metaphors.
A third ad I looked over was written by a white male who titled his post “be black, be latina, be indian… just don’t be white!” Intrigued to the depths of my white, Latina core, I read on. “I have nothing against white women,” he began. “But most of us have preferences of one sort or another, and I’m a SWM who has always preferred dating women of other races.” Ain’t no shame in that. Or is there? “Nowadays, that’s not so unusual especially in New York City — but try doing it in Connecticut during the 1980s. I got some strange looks at the time, as you can imagine.” Yeah, I’d rather not try imagine doing anything in Connecticut ever, thanks. Anyway, it seems this person’s preference for non-white (looking) women is such that he was willing to risk ostracization in order to pursue women who fit that preference. What was most interesting to me was that his preference was anything other than a woman of his own race. Were non-white women somehow more exotic? More sexual? More exciting? And why oh why is it so impossible to accept the fact that some of us are both Latina and white. Or Latina and black? Or Latina and indigenous? Or Latina and Asian? Or a mix of so many different ethnicities and races that one is beyond categorization? I think, based on nothing but gross speculation on my part, that there is definitely an allure in dating someone “different.” So I decided to ask someone close to me, with a little experience on the subject, how he felt about all this. When asked why a certain someone’s bicultural tendencies (only until I marry and settle down; I swear) is considered a turn-on, my dear friend responded thusly:
A little too much conversation and not enough intermingling of our hot, spicy, sweaty… cultural backgrounds. Hehe. Ok. So we’ve heard from the oppressive, white patriarchy. But what would a Latina have to say about all this? Luckily, I knew just the temptress to ask:
Don’t you think? Yeah, I really do think. I agreed with Ana’s point: Guys looking for Latinas, specifically, don’t usually go for Latinas who look like Ana or yours truly. The idea of a “ghetto” Latina, in the parlance of today’s youth, is pretty prevalent. Ana and I can’t be fetishized in that way because we don’t wear the right costume. If we were to describe ourselves as “Latinas” in an online ad, we would likely end up with some pretty disappointed suitors and not only because Ana has hella gag relfex. Ana’s looks bring her a whole different sort of guy - one who usually reads manga and expects her to be a whole lot of things that she isn’t. Like, you know, Asian. She does happen to get hit on by more white guys than I ever did, though. So maybe women in general, and not just Latinas in particular, are fetishized as sex objects, as far as the internet is concerned?
As far as Google Image is concerned, apparently “Latina” means “penis in a distended asshole” and “cavernous vagina, spread eagle on couch.” Feel that bile rising at the back of your throat? Tastes like knowledge, doesn’t it! Of course, the same kind of pictures come up when one searches for “Asian girl,” “Black girl” and “White girl.” Curiously, most white girls pictured are coupled with black partners, whereas all other “Girls” tend to be coupled with white men.
So, because I was pretty anxious to drown the remainder of my evening in a plate plate of Wonderbread slathered in mayo, I’m going to go ahead and say, yeah, the currency of the term “Latina” definitely carries a lot of, uh, porny connotations. I’d even go so far as to say we’re fetishized, as in, we are often viewed as less “individual people with thoughts and feelings” and more” a series of holes and curves.” We’d go even further (After all, this is what? Our second date?) and say that all women are fetish objects, as far as the internet is concerned. Women of all races, of all ethnic groups, all sizes and ages are idealized and re-contextualized as sexual, interchangeable objects by whoever is their cultural or social “Other.” Online dating and pornography allow an individual to express and seek their specific desires and the qualities they find most desirable in a partner while holding onto some semblance of privacy and relative anonymity. This allows people to be more honest about their preferences, no matter how “weird” or xenophobic or racist society may deem them, and to get nearly instant gratification because of the sheer amount of people who are online, searching for the same things. Latinas are fetishized, sure. But we’re not placing a value judgment on that because, when it comes to sex and desire, a lot is based on stereotypes and imagery and on fleshing out some narrative or scene you personally find arousing. For this, you need a character. Not a soul mate, not a friend. Of course, a lot of what is described as “fetish” can just be plain old preference. People like and are attracted to different traits and qualities. And a good thing too, because you can rest assured knowing that you — no matter what color or shape or ethnicity or gender — are desired. Even if only by that dude who lives in his mom’s basement and collects beanie babies and horseplay porn.
Image: [15 minute dating]
Image: [Papaya]
Image: [Bizz City]
Image: [Flickr]
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My sister is Latina, oh sheet!
All I know is when I type Latina into “Google”:http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=latina&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi I get like NSFW shots for days.
thank you alex!!! I was in a women’s talking circle where we touched on this issue, but what was never talked about is how we consciously or sub-consciously take on the role of what is expected of us. I am mixed. My father is mexican ands my mother is irish-american, I get typed casted either way by people who try to figure me out. I then had felt like I had to choose a persona so people could understand me. The thing closest that represents my upbringing or my life- style is to call myself Chicana. Even that title now has a assumption attached to it (thanks to those pesky klan-like
brown berets,).
But thank you for this article because in other blogs we are bombarted with images of what a “latina” is supposed to look or be like, and we need a voice to kill that stereotype.
Lovely exposé (exposè?) and very well written, as usual. Couldn’t you have blocked out the “I constantly need food” part though? It was my away message, not something I constantly remind people at the start of conversations. Sheesh!
Interesting.
I had never thought about some of the things you mentioned. I guess that’s true. I have cousins that are from Venezuela, and I call them Venezuelan, by instinct I guess. If I am speaking about a type of girl I prefer, I use the term latina… Does that make me complicit? The term “Latina” never itself meant what you are discussing, but just was a general term for people from the various Hispanic ethnicities in different countries.I don’t know if the Google search is all that insightful as a medium of wisdom, however. I think it’s results have more to do with porn advertising, than being the general consensus of how men see “Latinas”…
For me Latina has a connotation of STRENGTH that I think you have left out of the definition. To say that Salma Hayek is Latina is an obvious statement, but does that necessarily make Latina = Salma Hayek? I think not.
I think you are a lil biased on the subject.
The fact that women are exploited as “fetish objects” stems from women being equated with the universal idea of Beauty. Porn is just adulation taken to the various depths of the abyss.
(I am Black/Spanish myself)
And for that matter what is the definition of Chicana?
Alf
Great post! Your point is well taken.
I agree that Latinas are often treated as sexual objects, but, as you mentioned, so are most women. The idea that men (both White and Non-White) don’t have a fetish for White women isn’t accurate. For example, blondes are often seen as hot fuck bags with impaired intelligence. Some of these women love to play the part, while many (like some Latinas) complain about being treated as simple objects of desire. To be sure, men are very visual–they know what they want. They can tell all sorts of bs to justify their desires and feelings, but every woman they’re interested in is a sexual object (at least initially). That’s not to say that men can’t be loving, respectful, and all that good stuff. Some men are great partners. But men seem to think about sex more, and they’re motivated to have sex more often than women–that’s what most studies have shown. My point: men will always view women as being sexual objects. It’s natural and normal.
The whole issue of the White Latina is quite interesting. First, I think it’s safe to say that when people use the word “White” in this country, they’re referring to more than just a person’s skin color. White also describes a set of cultural values and attitudes. Also, the sexualization of the Latina (and the Latino) occurred long before Hispanic Americans (of all races) became a sizeable population in the states. The first “Latin Lover” was in fact a White man (not a brown person). And his name was Rudolph Valentino, an Italian actor who was famous in the 1920s. So . . . the fetishism of the Latin person is a European phenomenon. And honestly, some Northern Europeans and White Americans often treat Mediterraneans as different. Some people still think that Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas aren’t White, which is strange because Antonio has light skin.
As most would probably agree, the term “Latino” or “Latino” refers to a very diverse ethnic group. The men you described who only like Brown Latinas have a preference for dark women. Period. If they think that all Latinas look the same, then they’re either ignorant. But these men hardly represent the average male in this country.
man o man that chic that is half naked is freaking HOT!!! she burns my mouth and i drool over her. I wish i could tap that any time. hit me up i have a my space….. email me back
What is your instant messaging client?
This is fantastic, Alex. I would add that the same objectification is very prevalent in gay culture (i.e., Latino man = huge brown uncut cock). Sigh.
oh wow.
no puedo creer que usaste una foto de una papaya.
On one level, I’m aware of the diversity that the term “Latina” can represent — Mexicana, Puerto Riqueno, Spanish from Spain, etc. But on another level, when I think “Latina,” I think of the Mexican and Mexican-American women I know — typically long dark hair, big brown expressive eyes. And come on, who wouldn’t be turned on by that?
One other thing. I don’t know if it’s something I’m looking for, so I notice it more, or if it’s a general tendency among Mexican and Mexican-American women, but it seems like they pay more attention to their appearance than other women. For some reason or another, they seem to put more effort into their clothes, their makeup, their hair … I don’t know if that’s a cultural trait (particularly in the Puebla and Mexico City area, with which I’m most familiar) or, like I said, I’m just looking for it so I see it more.
This is great, thank you for posting it. I am mixed, my dad is Colombian and my mom is Irish/Russian - which is what I say when I am asked to identify. Do you think if more women started to include Latina in the way they talk about themselves it would start to reduce the impact of the stereotype?
I’ve had all sorts of people meet me and actually tell me out loud that I’m “not what they expected” from my last name. Perhaps if they meet enough Latinas to realize we are a very diverse group they will start to get it?
@ Everyone: Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad some of you were able to relate to a few of the issues I touched upon. It warms my cold, dark heart, it really does.
This is why I call myself Chicana first and Latina second. The first implies that I’m educated the latter implies that I’m also trying to be part of the larger cultural context of latina people.
Latina on the internet in my opinion, however, is
Loteria Chicana.com
Askachola.com
SueñitosdeUnaRebelde on Blogspot.
Michelle Curiel (Latina Barbie) old school blogger
Nao Bustamante & Coco Fusco’s performance piece on the very subject, etc.
The latinas in the photos where the “ass” is all people remember is definitely the exoticized other.
What I think of when I think of Latina are the women in Yolanda Lopez and Ester Hernadez’ paintings.
The Amelia Mesa Bains altar and of course, the Gloria Anzaldua books.
Feminist latinas, basically. J-LO is just a popular cultural icon where uneducated people get stuck on because they’d rather learn nothing more about latinidad, of no fault of her own, she’s just trying to make a living and she’s doing it at the cost of a lot of diversity that could exist in this hegemonic media that is the internet but is only a reflection of our society.
it’s so interesting you wrote about this. i have been thinking about this phenomenon for a few years. as a mixed brazilian/white american man, i have been waging a slow war against the seemingly universal use of the word “hispanic.” i can’t shake the feeling that hispanic is a clever way of reinforcing the european colonialist ideals from the past. therefore, i have been using the word latin@ (latino/a) to replace hispanic at every opportunity.
a few months ago, frustrated with the continued use of “hispanic” and the possibly increasing use of “mexican” or “spanish” to describe a person of this cultural background without specific knowledge of their nationality, culture, history, or identity preference, i began thinking about where the phrase latin@ has started to be used more often, and it seems as though the pornography industry, especially on the web, is the most consistent and prevailant user of the term.
should i be discouraged or encouraged by these trends?
Yah, I think you can really see the effect of pornography on the way we conceptualize fantasies. Observations like this are more descriptive of it, I think, than former analysis too because the objectification is so blatant. Someone fantasizes about a certain person and then suddenly this becomes representative of all people with something in common with that person (like ethnicity), you know? And originally, or in real life relationships, it’s a lot more complicated than that, but it’s easier, and better production value, to boil things down to very easily recognizable (and thus marketable) “types” in porn. And then this leaks into a “type” that people search for.
The things I wonder about; how well are people REALLY able to differentiate between the fantasy and real life, and how does this way of thinking spill over into non-sexual real life. How conscious and aware are people of their fantasies, and their fantasies interactions with other areas of their thinking? And, is porn reflecting us, or are we reflecting it, in these fantasy conceptions?
I’m half Cuban and half Spanish, and I’ve always been offended by the term Latina, for some reason. I prefer Hispanic. This totally isn’t the point of the article, I know, but it’s funny that you mentioned the whole thing about being white and Hispanic or black and Hispanic and not necessarily fitting into the indigenous appearance of the Mexican and central American stereotypes the pervade the media.
I started college this past August and I remember, at the beginning, talking to my parents on the phone in Spanish while around my new friends and having them stare at me in awe: “You never told me you were Mexican… I mean, you’re WHITE.”
WE ARE WHITE JUST NOT SOCIALIZED IN MOST CASES. I BECAME WHITE IN GRADUATE SCHOOL. I PREFER WHITE FOR ONE SIMPLE REASON: ENGLISH IS A FAR MORE EXPRESSIVE AND INCISIVE LANGUAGE. HASTA