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.”

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?

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?

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.

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?

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.

no puedo creer que usaste una foto de una papaya.

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.

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