©2005 by Lindsey Blank

A woman is walking toward you on the street. Before she says a word to you, she already occupies a specific place in your mind. She is slender. Her small hips move side-to-side in her knee-length black pencil skirt with each step. She has a small, defined waist, and the outline of her breasts can be discerned from the way her blouse angles. As you get closer, you can make out more features. Her auburn hair is tied in a twist style at the back of her slightly long neck, where a few loose strands hang down. Her summer-colored skin is clear, and she has long dark eyebrows that frame her hazel eyes. She has a thin nose that turns slightly upward and pink lips that remind you a little of Steven Tyler’s.

Is she beautiful?

Is she white?

Is she intelligent, loose, easygoing, sexy, reserved, undesirable, low-class, stupid, wealthy, aloof, average, or friendly? Is she the maid of a businesswoman, or is she the businesswoman herself? Would your perceptions change if you were a different person viewing her?

The world, and specifically American society, is constantly becoming more mobile and diverse. Views and expectations held by groups of people differ with location and background. Thus each ethnic group has its own ideas of what is beautiful. Of course, it must be said that individual tastes do play a part in what a person might consider attractive; however, it has been proven that individual tastes develop and form in relationship to the norms of the society in which someone is raised. The United States is extremely racially and culturally diverse, and it is arguably the most obsessed with beauty.

Beauty is an abstract, though very important, concept in contemporary U.S. culture. It is all around us, everywhere, every day. The study of beauty is not, for the most part, a traditional subject of scholarship. Because of its relationship to popular culture, beauty is often considered trivial. However, the impact of beauty resonates far beyond music videos and popular culture, as it directly influences how people classify themselves and how others classify them. It can determine how well people do in school, what kind of jobs they apply for, whether or not they are hired, who they befriend, who they trust, how high up they can move on the corporate ladder, their marriage prospects, and much more.

Conscious and subconscious levels of thought play a role in determining which physical features people believe are beautiful. In this essay, I explain the results of a survey in which I polled Latino/as and white Americans to find similarities and differences about what the different groups feel is beautiful. I explore these results and the reasons surrounding each group’s choices. In the final section, I discuss the implications of this reasoning.

I designed a survey to aid in my research (Graphed Survey Results available from author). With its results, conclusions can be drawn about the roles that the media, gender-specific experiences, and ethnic background have in shaping conceptions of physical beauty. The survey is designed for two groups: children between 7 and 8 years of age, and adults 18 and older.

I polled second graders from Cherokee Elementary School in Lake Forest, Illinois, and Ortiz de Dominguez in Cicero, Illinois, on April 5, 2004 (Student/School Profiles available from author). I also polled adults in the Madison area, including students at the University of Wisconsin. Altogether, I used 276 surveys.

Using 14 photographs of young women, I asked participants to rate the women from most beautiful to least beautiful according to their individual opinions. The photographs are all of women that popular culture defines as attractive, photographed at least to the shoulder, so that body type can be ascertained. None of the photographs are of famous or generally recognized women, in order to avoid biases. The women in the pictures can be categorized into four different appearance-based groups that remain unknown to the participants.

Photographs are labeled A-N and arranged in random order on a threefold cardboard presentation board. Group A-D includes Anglo women whom popular culture would consider beautiful. They are thin and have straight, if not blonde, hair and small features. Group E-G includes Latinas who are also thin with straight hair and small features. They are almost indistinguishable from group A-D. The next grouping is that of women who are more noticeably Latina. Women in group H-K have darker hair and eyes and are slightly more voluptuous than those in the previous two groups. Women in group L-N have even darker features, wavy-curly hair, dark eyes, and dark skin tones.

I have calculated results of the survey rankings to show how females, males, adults, children, Latino/as, Caucasians, and combinations of these categories (male Latino children, white adult women, for example) perceive physical beauty.

I made three calculations. For the first, I used choices 1-7 on the surveys and found which women were chosen most by each group. The second calculation used the first five ranked positions on the surveys and tallied which groups of people had discernable preferences for Latinas or White women. In the third calculation, discussed below in the “Women Critics” section, I used the number 14 spot (least attractive) and compared the ethnicity of the person surveyed with the ethnicity of the woman he or she chose.

Terminology and Classification

 

Labeling the diverse populations originating from Central and South America, as well as parts of the southern and southwestern United States, is a difficult task. The terms “Latino/a” and “Hispanic” are umbrella terms that do not account for class, national origin, or generation. Nevertheless, they are generally accepted. I use these terms and specify further when needed. The term “Latina” refers specifically to women of Latin American descent, while “Latino” refers to a man, and “Latinos” can mean a group of men or both men and women. In this paper, I refer to male Latinos as Latino(s) and female Latinas as Latina(s). When I want to include both men and women, I use the increasingly accepted term Latino/a.

I use the terms Anglo and Euroamerican interchangeably to refer to American people of European descent.

In the graphing of survey results, I use the term “White” to describe women with Anglo features, whether they fit the “White Latina” classification or are Euroamericans with no Hispanic ancestry. When I discuss “ Latina preferences,” I refer to “Selena Latinas” and “Ethnic Latinas.”

 

 

Representations of Latinas in film, television, and magazines provide a narrow vision of Latina body types and physical appearances. In her article, “Resisting Beauty and Real Women Have Curves,” Figueroa (2003) states that Latina physiques are classified and typically appear in the media in three main ways: the magazine Latina, the negotiated Latina, and the ethnic Latina.

The women mentioned first are Latinas who have physical features generally associated with Anglos. They are thin, and sometimes can have a slightly darker complexion or brown hair, but otherwise are indistinguishable from Euroamericans. They are often the tan version of their Anglo counterparts on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Glamour. Latina magazine is one contributor to this image.

In the April 2004 issue of Latina, Christina Aguilera appears in an article about losing weight. She is an example of what we will call a “White Latina.” Besides her surname, there is nothing about her or her physical appearance that would indicate her latinidad. She is of Irish and Ecuadorian descent (MTV Networks 2004). Soledad O’Brian and Paulina Rubio are other examples of White Latinas.

Throughout the pages of Latina magazine, there are articles about makeup, fashion, celebrities, and cooking, not unlike other magazines targeting women. What sets Latina apart is that it caters specifically to the Latina community. Latina claims to represent Latinas of all sizes, shapes and colors. However, Figueroa would argue that it really reinforces Anglo cultural norms, especially in reference to beauty:

 

Latina unfortunately entraps and contradicts itself in its

attempt to represent and be inclusive of all Latinas as it

perpetuates hegemonic thin bodies…While the magazine

attempts to retain those ethnic markers and signifiers for

authentic representation, it modifies them as exceptions

to the mainstream ideal of white beauty, only to reveal that

those exceptions can also pass as white (Figueroa 2003).

 

In essence, Latina’s presentation of bright clothing, celebrities of Latin American descent, articles about marrying white men, and exercising away the “pudge” that was celebrated as “cadera,” or hips, just pages earlier, hides assimilationist tendencies. While it caters to a Latina audience and tries to negotiate between cultures, Latina reinforces Anglo beauty standards and thus marginalizes other body types and appearances that are unique to Latinas. In this way, Latina’s mission is contradicted by its content.

With the murder of singer Selena Quintanilla Perez in 1995 came a massive outpouring of grief by her fans and unprecedented mass media coverage. The Tejano music star gained popularity, and her record sales skyrocketed. Prior to her death, Selena was virtually unknown to non-Latino/as. English-language media coverage of her

murder, however, quickly filled gaps with much-demanded information about this Latina star. She was introduced as an “American star,” “Texan through and through,” and thus her promotion was as both Latina and American (Beltrán 2004).

Selena’s look corresponded with her image. She is what Figueroa (2003) calls a “negotiated Latina,” meaning she has some features, like her bigger thighs and café con leche skin, that make her physical appearance different from that of Euroamerican women and Anglo beauty standards, including those often pictured in Latina.

Selena’s death and the promotion of her image gave other Latino/a stars opportunities in the U.S. media. The Selena phenomenon and the increased belief by media executives that there is a market for Latino/a actors, singers, and other performers opened doors for people like Ricky Martin, J-Lo, and Salma Hayek.

A third type of Latina portrayed in the U.S. media is that of women like America Ferrera’s character Ana in the film Real Women Have Curves. The Ethnic Latina is seen less often than the other two Latina “types.” Roles for women who have darker skin, larger features, and shorter frames are limited in the U.S. media. This occurs in Latin American countries as well and is a direct reflection of colonial standards of beauty (Mejia, personal interview).

What makes the Ethnic Latina look different from the other two aforementioned looks is that she is distinctly more ethnic and less “American.” Usually women who have ethnic features are limited to peripheral roles as service workers or villains. Sometimes they are able to be desexualized altogether and play ethnic comedy roles, though this happens more often for men, and rarely at that.

In my work, I have used these three basic mediated classifications that Figueroa outlined, though I call women categorized as the first physical type “White Latinas,” the second “Selena Latinas,” and the third group remains “Ethnic Latinas.”

Latinas who are physically distinct, whether as the Selena type or the Ethnic Latina, are not typically allowed enough space in Hollywood as writers, producers, directors, actors or technicians to promote a healthy, honest, and positive Latina image. Though there have been some recent changes, both in the image itself and with relation to the visibility of the image in the U.S. media, it is debatable whether or not the results are positive.  

 

Euroamerican Boys: A Discrepancy?  

In my survey, Euroamerican boys were the only Anglo group to prefer Latina women. Euroamerican boys had the strongest opinions of all the children, and 22 percent of them preferred white women, while a notably larger 29 percent preferred Latinas. At first, one would be quick to dismiss these unusual results as a coincidence; however, there are several possible explanations why the young Anglo boys chose as they did. Euroamerican boys potentially see Latinas the way other Anglo men, perhaps their fathers, do—as sex objects. So they are not offended or alienated like Latina girls are when a Latina is pictured in a less than complimentary way (Graphed Results). This is likely a product of the Hollywood Latina image. Latina bodies have been exoticized since colonial times, and the U.S. media continues to portray Latinas as objects of desire or passion even more than their Euroamerican counterparts.

Historically, women have been viewed in sexual rather than intellectual contexts, and ethnic women even more so because of the racialization that came out of the American colonial period (Beltrán 2002). In colonial times, a woman’s value was contingent on her marital status, virtue, and marital potential. Because the dominant male Anglo portion of society did not consider Mexicans, Native Americans, Africans, Puerto Ricans and other traditionally darker-skinned women fit for marriage, the men saw the women as sexually alluring and tempting—as forbidden fruit. Beltrán states that “non-marriageable mestizas in this context arguably were viewed as little more than potential sex objects” (2002). Within this sexualized framework, Latinas have been perceived as naturally having more sexual desire and little control over their primal sexual impulses.

The notion that Latinas and other women of color are sexier than Anglo women, who were viewed as respectable and chaste, resonates in modern culture as well. Beltrán discusses how Latina stars often have been marketed with an ethnic twist that focuses on their bodies and their sexuality. Even early U.S. films marketed Latinas with sexual stereotypes. They are often marketed with words like “firecracker,” “tamale,” “spitfire,” and “tropical,” as well as sensory descriptions like “caliente” (hot), “dark,” “spicy,” and “delicious.” Often their dress is exoticized, their roles are limited, and their marketing and biographies are manipulated.

Jennifer Lopez epitomizes this ethnic marketing (see Image 4). The focus on her posterior and the hypersexualization of her image depicts the American-born star as “different” from her Euroamerican female costars. She is marketed with typical stereotypes of independent, sassy, and sexually open Latinas. These images affect how people define proper role models.

Unlike young girls, boys are not normally encouraged by their families to have female role models, and perhaps regard women, especially mediated versions, as objects (Beltrán, personal interview). They have the media and the reactions its images inspire in adults on which to base their opinions of female physical beauty. The results of the survey show that adult men who might be fathers or other prominent figures in young boys’ lives also have strong inclinations toward Latina women. Of male Euroamerican adults, 31 percent preferred Latinas. Another 38 percent of these men chose a mixture of Latinas and Anglo women. Comments regarding beauty and physical appearance have an impact on how boys look at women, and objectified presentations of Latinas in the media do not usually inspire insightful positive feedback. This modeling of behavior, along with mediated images of Latinas’ inherent sex appeal, account for the large number of Euroamerican boys choosing Latinas.

 

 

The survey showed disturbing results for Latina children. The figures show that Latina children prefer the way White women look, and it was White women who usually occupied the top three places on Latina children’s surveys. The woman most chosen by Latina girls was letter A (Survey Photos available from author).

The lack of Latina picks by Latina children demonstrates the need for more positive Latina role models both in the media and in the lives of these young girls. Because children and adults alike tend to equate beauty with personality and success, these models must have, or be marketed with, positive character traits along with physical features that distinguish them as Latinas. Latina children were the only group of females to choose more women outside of their own ethnic group. Unlike Euroamerican boys, the Latina children did not see Latina women as possessing physical appeal. It is likely that because there are so few positive and complex Latinas shown in mainstream media, Latina girls look to emulate Anglo women (Beltrán, personal interview). In this way, they are not finding sufficient validation for their own physical appearance and thus their ethnicity in general.

Children Now findings show that Latinas account for only three percent of all female roles on primetime television. Most Latina women are in service roles and have accents and “attitudes.” Children Now states, “ Latina characters are…often secondary to the plot, and have non-recurring roles” (Children Now 2000). Latina characters are also limited in film. They often play the role of the seductress, the maid, or the gang member’s girlfriend (see Image 5). There are few Latina stars who children admire in comparison to the number of Euroamerican movie stars available in the media.

The fact that Latina children preferred White women is interesting but not surprising. Latino boys did not seem to have very positive attitudes toward women within their own ethnic group either. On the survey they favored Latinas, but only by a small percentage. This result is similar to that of research by Kenneth Clark in his revolutionary study of the psychology behind segregation in the early 1950s. Clark studied the responses of both white and black children who were given a choice between white and brown dolls. His tests showed a preference for the white dolls even among African Americans from as early as three years old (Encarta Africana 2000). Decisions made by Latino/a children that give preference to the mainstream group, rather than the group to which the children belong, show the impact of segregation and discrimination. Though enforced segregation is illegal, it still happens on different levels. Economic segregation keeps neighborhood and school populations virtually homogeneous, and media segregation promotes social inequality. While it is on a subconscious level, these children feel that the way they look is somehow less beautiful and less worthy than the way Anglos look.

 

Women Critics and the Self-Directed Critique  

The number fourteen spot on the survey represents the “least” attractive woman shown in the photographs. Every group of females, save Latina children, found women of their own ethnic group to be the most attractive. Following the preferences, it would only make sense that women of a different ethnic background than those surveyed would occupy the number fourteen spot. For instance, Latina women preferred Latinas by the largest percentage (49%), and thus it would naturally follow that the most chosen unattractive woman would be White. This was not the case. Latina adults and Latina children chose Latinas as the least attractive women considerably more often than they chose White women to occupy the number fourteen spot. In the same way, Euroamerican women and girls also chose White women as the least attractive. Since patterns like this could not be found among male participants, I argue that the women surveyed are self-critical and have distorted beauty goals and standards.

Whether adults or children, females are taught to be critical of their own physical appearance. Women also tend to be more critical of other women. The overwhelming numbers of women choosing the least attractive woman from their own ethnic group shows that women have been taught beauty standards and are more likely to reject someone who they feel fails to live up to this learned model. Women are the most critical of women who have what they view as undesirable features that they themselves, or other women they know, have.

For example, while I was conducting the survey, many people felt compelled to share with me the reasoning behind their choices. One adult Latina woman with red wavy hair pulled back into a ponytail told me that she had trouble choosing the woman to occupy her number fourteen spot. She told me that she finally chose letter N because she “didn’t like the kinks in her hair.” A Euroamerican girl told me that she chose letter B as number fourteen because “She looks like this girl I know. She has a really skinny face” (Survey Photos). These kinds of comments were presumably made on subconscious levels, perfectly natural and not subject to analysis by those making them. Nonetheless, these and other interjections about physical appearance show that while women find features from their own respective ethnic group beautiful, they also have distaste for women in their own ethnic group whose looks do not fit into the idealized physical mold.

Women have been made to believe that parts of their own physical appearance are ugly and undesirable, or that they are lucky not to have these unattractive features. They then project these images of perfection and their failure to live up to them onto other women. Girls as young as 7 and 8 years old already adhere to these concepts of beauty and imperfection. Judgment is natural, but it is telling that women have the tendency to find fault with the physical appearances of those who look most like them.

Childhood to Adulthood: The Development of Latino/a Ethnic Awareness

When I went to second grade classrooms with the survey, at times I had to explain ethnicity. Many children did not know the meaning of ethnicity or which box to check for their own. One conversation between a few children went like this:

Child 1: What’s ethnicity?

Child 2: I don’t know. What are you putting?

Child 1: I don’t know.

Child 3: You guys, put Hispanic.

Child 1: What’s that?

Child 3: It’s if your parents speak Spanish.

These types of conversations were common in the second grade classrooms that participated in the survey. It is noteworthy, however, that Latino/a children had more difficulty deciding how to classify themselves than Euroamerican children.

While unsure about the meaning of ethnicity, children were aware of Anglo standards of beauty. The preferences of Euroamerican boys, though exceptions to patterns of ethnic choices, were purely subconscious; Euroamerican boys were no more likely to understand the concept of ethnicity than any other group of children. Both Euroamerican and Latina girls were inclined to choose White women. Children chose women with little consciousness of ethnicity, and most did not have clear ethnic preferences. The adult surveys, however, show that a strong shift from childhood took place. Latino/a adult ethnic preferences skyrocketed, where Euroamerican adult preferences did not. Because of the growth in preference for one’s own ethnic group, it can be ascertained that ethnic awareness develops significantly before Latino/as reach adulthood.

Latino/a adults were most consistent in choosing women they recognized as being from their own ethnic group as the most beautiful. I heard one Latina woman looking at the survey say, “Which one is the darkest? I am going to choose her [for the number one spot].” This is a clear illustration of how ethnicity and “ethnic looks” are conscious concepts for Latino/a adults.

 

A) Concepts of and Reactions to Ethnic Identity

Ethnicity itself is a difficult concept. A generally accepted definition of an ethnic group is a “ sizable group of people sharing a common and distinctive racial, national, religious, linguistic, or cultural heritage” (Dictionary.com). The idea of ethnicity is closely related to the concept of a minority group, best described by Louis Wirth. He gives a three-part definition with an implied element of constant change. He says that a minority group is a “group distinguished by physical and cultural characteristics subject to different and unequal treatment by the society in which they live and who regard themselves as victims of collective discrimination” (Marquez 2004). Ethnic identity becomes important when people are treated differently because of it. People can be given an ethnic identity or choose one. Often times it is a combination, but choice becomes less of a factor when distinguishing physical traits are present (Waters 1990). Latinos have both ethnic and minority group status and become more aware of it as they get older and have life experiences that highlight their classification as Latino/a or Hispanic.

When a person feels out of place, the reason he or she feels so is identified and magnified in his or her mind. Once this classification occurs, becoming part of a group in one way or another is a method of coping with feeling different or marginalized. In studies done in India and the U.S., members of minority religious groups were three times more likely to mention religion when describing themselves than those of majority religious groups. In a similar study, Latina/o students who went to primarily Anglo schools were more likely to mention their background than Euroamericans in the same schools (Patchen 1999, 27). Choosing and adhering to an ethnic identity is one way of achieving a sense of membership and inclusion in a group. Different factors play a part in forming and strengthening ethnic identity and boundaries.

“People’s concepts of themselves are formed to a large extent by how others see and label them” (Patchen 1999, 27). One reason for increased solidarity among Latino/as is that Euroamericans treat them as a different, non-white, “other” group. Patchen argues that attitudes about race and ethnicity are based on negative information people have gotten either from the media or from others (1999, 44). Mediated images of Latino/as are often negative (see image 6). Usually they are at the very least inaccurate or exoticized. These images serve as a double-edged sword because they spread stereotypes of Latino/as among Euroamericans, and they further alienate Latino/as from Euroamerican people and culture. Because of this estrangement, Latino/as are likely to subscribe to a defined ethnic identity to achieve a sense of self-worth and belonging and potentially less likely to appreciate or take part in the broader culture.

B) Ethnic Pride and Ethnic Antagonism

Feelings of not being accepted in mainstream culture often perpetuate negative feelings toward the portion of society that is doing the ostracizing. Antagonism toward other groups is another way of increasing solidarity among group members. An extreme example of this is the dehumanizing propaganda shown when countries go to war (see image 7). This strategy of making individuals, ethnicities, and entire countries sources of contempt is meant to bring heterogeneous groups together by satirizing

their victimization or perceived victimization. Antagonism and retaliation come both from the Latino/a perspective and, as discussed earlier, from the Euroamerican one. While these forms of antagonistic strengthening of ethnic boundaries are extreme, distaste for other ethnic groups does not have to be so overt. It can be as simple as denouncing an ethnically-owned bank, or, in the case of this study, consciously placing members of different ethnic groups in the less desirable spaces. Whether with cartoon depictions or verbal slurs, focusing negative attention on another group is detrimental to inter-group relations (see images 7 and 8).

Experiences that Latino/as have with ethnic discrimination make them more likely to look for and notice ethnic similarities and differences. Adults have had more of these experiences and feelings of marginalization than children, and are thus more ethnically aware. When making choices about things like physical beauty, ethnicity has a direct influence on the choices of Latino/a adults. By considering Latinas more beautiful than Euroamerican women, Latino/as are further participating in the concept of ethnic identity by demonstrating either ethnic pride or antagonism. Even simply choosing Latinas over Euroamericans would accomplish this and promote individual feelings of solidarity with a group. At the second grade level, though, ethnicity is not a salient concept. While we can see that second graders are subconsciously aware of mediated images of beauty because of their tendency to choose White women, they do not use ethnicity as a conscious selection factor to counter these images and promote group solidarity and individual self-esteem.

 

The Absence of Ethnic Obligation for Euroamericans  

Completely unlike Latino/a adults, Euroamericans do not feel strong inclinations toward other Euroamericans based on shared ethnicity. The total increase in strong ethnic preference of Euroamericans from childhood to adulthood was 21 percent, whereas the number of Latinos/as with strong ethnic preferences experienced a more dramatic 30.5 percent increase from childhood to adulthood. These results demonstrate how Euroamericans are less aware of ethnicity because they do not feel its impact on the same scale or with the same regularity as Latino/as.

Euroamerican adults without ethnic preference remain at 46 percent of women and 38 percent of men; only 28 percent of Latinas and 27 percent of Latinos lack preference. This shows that Euroamericans are not making choices based principally on ethnicity. The dramatic increase in ethnic preference for Latino/as and the comparatively small one for Euroamericans is telling.

“Casual moviegoers or TV watchers do not concern themselves with the fine categorical issues of content analysis. They usually want to be entertained, distracted, absorbed, stimulated, or diverted” (Cortes 1998). Where it is impossible for someone of a minority group to ignore racial allusions and subject matter, Euroamericans can easily overlook ethnic content in the media because it seems trivial or they fail to notice it as such at all. Casual or not, Latino/as cannot miss ethnic content and stereotypes as they grow up. Euroamericans are not so likely to see ethnic content as stereotypical or negative, or even see it at all.

Euroamericans do not need to distinguish themselves ethnically because they are much less likely to be discriminated against based on racial or ethnic factors. In American society, Anglo looks, fashion, entertainment, and values are dominant. Waters saw Euroamericans as having limited views of ethnicity because their own ethnicity plays such a small role in their lives:

[A Euroamerican] ethnic identity is something that does not affect much in everyday life. It does not, for the most part, limit choice of marriage partner (except in almost all cases to exclude non-whites). It does not determine where you will live, who your friends will be, what job you will have, or whether you will be subject to discrimination. It matters only in voluntary ways. (Waters 1990, 147).

For Latino/as, subscription to ethnic identity is an act of self-preservation. It is a way of validating a self-image that mainstream culture and media constantly misinterpret, ridicule, restrict, distort and deny. As a whole, Euroamericans are the mainstream group and are not subject to discrimination based on ethnicity. This lack of experience makes concepts of ethnicity less tangible and less important for them than for minorities.

Euroamericans are not choosing white women as more beautiful or Latinas as less attractive because they are thinking about group identity. Mediated images of Anglo beauty as well as exoticized images of Latina beauty do play a part in the choices of Euroamerican adults, but they remain at the same subconscious level as they do for second-graders. Ethnicity and, more specifically, obligation to one’s own ethnic group do not play a role in Euroamerican perceptions of physical beauty.

Latinas: On the Fringe

 

As discussed earlier, when people feel marginalized, they tend to support their own group with greater enthusiasm. Latina adults feel a greater pull toward other Latinas than any other group I surveyed. As a minority, Latinas feel close to Latinas because of their ethnic background, and as women, they experience another bond due to gender-specific experiences. Survey data shows that Latino adults prefer Latina women to White women by 7 percent. This percentage nearly quadruples as 49 percent of Latina women prefer Latina beauty to White beauty (23%).

Latino men are not strangers to the concept of ethnicity, but many were still likely to prefer White beauty to Latina beauty. It is not clear if this reflects a desire to find an Anglo mate or a distaste in some for their own background, or if it is a simple and direct effect of the media’s obsession with Anglo beauty. Regardless, Latino men’s views about ethnicity and beauty are less likely to play a part in choosing looks that are reflective of ethnicity. Meanwhile, women have created ideas of beauty that are clearly reflective of their own appearances as Latinas.

Across ethnic lines, women have been subject to significantly more objectification than men. Latinas are even more likely to be equated with sex. Stereotypes of Latinas are usually prevalent whenever Latinas, or people posing as them, are in the spotlight. And as ethnic women, Latinas are likely to be aware of them. This causes Latinas to feel a bond with other Latinas.

As the results of the children’s portion of the survey would suggest, Latinas have few positive images of themselves. As these women become more attuned to this unequal imagery, moreover, they are more likely to identify closely with Latinas. In the April edition of Cosmopolitan, a women’s magazine with a large Anglo target audience, there are two multiple-page advertisements. Each has a different motif and a different model. The first pages are photos of an Anglo woman on a fishing boat. She and a man smile and kiss, wearing relatively common clothing in various patterns of stripes and solids and different shades of blue, white, black, and red. The next add has a tanned woman with dark hair. It is not clear what her ethnicity is, but she is pictured with various tropical flowers and other images leading readers to believe that she could be in Latin America. She is alone and does not smile, but rather displays a series of seductive pouts. Her skin is wet, and more of it is exposed. She wears patterns with flowers and swirls in colors like orange, bright pink, yellow, red, and green.

This imagery, while not specifically negative, can nonetheless reflect stereotypes and derogatory reflections of Latinas. The fact that the Anglo woman was displayed first may seem trivial, but it suggests that she, and thus her “whiteness,” are more important than the second woman and her status as “other” or “non-white.” That the Latina woman did not have a man in the pictures while the Anglo woman did, that she was wearing less and had a more primal appearance, suggests that Latinas are more promiscuous and sexually adventurous than Anglo women, who are monogamous and chaste. Colors and patterns exoticize Latina beauty; Latina women are unlikely to be lying seductively around the jungle, and they have the same access to bright or lackluster, intricate or simple patterns that any Anglo woman has at J. Crew, Target, or Versace.

Imagery in Latina and other media by and for Latino/as, is not devoid of stereotypes either (see image 9). An article that implies Latinas are predisposed to fits of rage and hot tempers appears in the April 2004 issue. Even in Spanish language or Hispanic-target media, Latinas are misrepresented and underrepresented. Within Chicano/a cinema, Latinas are few and far between. “Sad to say,” neither Mexican nor Chicana/o film “has shown a penchant for creating strong, intelligent, multidimensional Chicana characters” (Cortes).

Because of their ethnic awareness largely through marginalization, Latinas are not only inclined to notice ethnicity, but they are also likely to choose members of their own ethnic group as the most attractive.

 

Conclusions  

Ethnic identity plays a huge part in shaping how Latino/a adults make selections, and thus see and interact with the world. Changes in perceptions of physical beauty come with age and experience unique to Latino/as and specifically Latinas. Euroamericans remain oblivious to ethnicity, and while they do not tend to give such extreme preference to their own appearance, they are unable to relate to the concept of ethnicity or to understand its importance to ethnic minorities and specifically Latino/as. Females, whether adults or children, and especially Latinas, who carry the double stigma of being negatively racialized and limited by gender, are uniquely self-critical. Furthermore, in adulthood, they find ways to feel good about their ethnic standards of beauty and those who look most like them. As Latino/a men and women grow older, they become more conscious of the choices they make and how ethnicity plays a part in them.

Mediated images are very powerful, and not just in theory. They act as major influences for perceptions of beauty and the choices people make about and because of it. Just as Clark’s studies concluded that segregation is damaging, this project shows that on a subconscious level, Anglo standards of beauty dominate and are detrimental to the development and self-worth of Latino/a children. These ideals are presented both by Euroamerican culture and media designed to cater to Latino/as. Because of beauty’s influence on social relations, it is important for people of all ethnicities to see positive images of Latinas, both as children and adults, to dispel fallacies and exoticized notions about ethnicity and beauty, and to promote positive self-images for Latinas.

 

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