I recently stumbled upon this page from Cosmopolitan, and I have to say that I have heard all of these things before. Whether they were said to me, or to someone else, these things can be really racist and sexist. And of course, these are all seemingly innocent remarks, but the truth is that they happen a lot.
I think these remarks are most encountered in a social, flirting scenario which very easily takes it from an innocent remark to a bit of cat calling, only it doesn't just happen on the street, it happens in an up close and personal conversation.
Then there is this page I found, that focuses more on Afro-Latinas. This is not as innocent as the last page Cosmopolitan has.
All of these unwanted remarks toward Afro-Latinas are racist and even more damaging and disrespectful to one's culture. And the worst part about it is that some of us in the Latino community actually think some of these things are true.
Darker skin and tighter curls does not make these women, and men, less Latino. They just have more African roots to them, as other Latinos have more Spanish roots to them. It also astonishes people in our community when a darker-skinned person starts speaking in Spanish. We really have to let go of this notion that darker-skinned Latinos don't speak Spanish.
Here's some proof!
This is Zoe Saldana, Dominican and Puerto Rican, speaking Spanish on Despierta America:
Some of these remarks on the first page are funny, and some are true —like having a big family— but it's still not entirely appropriate to assume these things about a Latina.The page about Afro-Latinas — no! We need to get away from these stereotypical and racists thoughts. Everyone has a different story, so please don't group us together and think we are all the same, or that darker features exclude you from the community. We all have different experiences with our culture, and assumptions are not the way to get to know about it.
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