CJ 499 Literature Review

PORTRAYAL OF AUTHENTICITY IN LATINA 1

Portrayal of Race Authenticity in Latina Magazine

Julianna Wiggins

Undergraduate Student

University of New Mexico

Department of Mass Communications and Journalism

CJ 499.001 Undergraduate Problems


LITERATURE REVIEW

Overview of Race and Ethnic Labels

Women’s magazines are especially rich in material to satiate the desire for celebrity

entertainment, sex advice, and fashion. Latina magazine is full of content which expresses these

categories with an ethnic twist, including culturally universal words in Español (Spanish) and

rhetoric that is constructed to unify women of all Spanish-speaking backgrounds, which in turn

creates a panethnic Latino communityi (Martínez, 2004, p. 155) among its pages. Panethnicity is

a term used to group together ethnic groups. The idea of Latino panethnicity is that all Spanish-

speakers can be unified in the pages of the magazine, therefore reasserting that racial and ethnic

identity is contextual. Although a first-generation female Spanish-speaker from Mexico in the

United States identifies as Mexican, she may read Latina magazine because she recognizes a

Mexican celebrity on the posing on the cover. However, panethnicity manifests identity

negotiation since, for example, a Mexican immigrant may not have the same goals or values as a

South American immigrant. Panethnicity has created cultural discourse by standardizing cultural

differences found in Spanish-speaking cultures instead of identifying them. Panethnic

publications use such broad contrasts between cultures that they devalue certain aspects of

identity (Johnson, 2010).

A Spanish-speaker is someone who is either monolingual in Spanish or bilingual. Also,

an individual can be considered a Spanish-speaker if he or she grew up hearing the language but

was never taught how to speak it. Since every generation of Spanish-speakers fail to learn the

language from their parents and grandparents, there is some language degradation—but this does

not affect the label of being a “Spanish-speaker” (Beaudrie & Ducar, 2005, p. 1) Such groups of

people typically consider their order of entering the country (Oboler, 1996). For example, recent


immigrants from Mexico identify as Mexican, while those of Mexican ancestry prefer “Mexican

American.” Other terms for Mexican ancestry include Chicano and Latino as well. Those who

emigrate from any other Spanish country have seemingly less options of self-identification,

defaulting to Latino or referring to their home country (Cuba- Cuban/Cubano, Dominican

Republic- Dominican/Dominicano). However, the term Hispanic (or Latino) is typically

defaulted to when describing Spanish-speakers because of the political charge that follows it—

and the implications of the association with Latin America with the term “Latino.” Self-

identification for Spanish-speakers in the United States has been stripped down by the federal

government guidelines by using the terms Hispanic (or Latino). In fact, “Hispanics are

considered an ethnic group, and can be any race” (Office of Management and Budget, 1997).

(Sensual and Full-Bodied) Latino/a Race Stereotypes

The entertainment industry depicts women of Latina (or Hispanic) origins as

promiscuous, religious, and hot-tempered—amongst other hyper-sexualized ideas. The

appearance of a Latina woman includes “long straight hair and olive skin, with a curvy butt”

(Dávila, 2001). Categorizing an entire race into a single look is at the fault of popular culture,

coordinating the attitude and appearance of Latina women, since Latina is an overarching term

that describes women of Spanish-speaking origin and hail from different countries. The framing

of Latina stereotypes comes as a double standard, as Correa (2010) states that “their identity is

partially formed by both sexual and racial stereotypes” (p. 425). The media’s tendency to portray

Latina women as promiscuous with a slightly endearing Spanish accent contributes to the

racialization of Latinas (Correa, 2010).


The homogenization of Latinas as a look, sound, and attitude strips their actual cultural

value. According to Dickerson (2001), the entertainment industry fails to express cultural

differences of minorities because they are unable to identify with their culture and values,

meaning that the perspectives and ideals of culture are internalized and shared. The

entertainment industry is largely owned by White males, and within that system there is little

desire to identify with the wide variety of Latina women who exist, and instead the defaulted

spicy and outspoken Latina woman is characterized over and over again. The irony is the racial

oversimplification of a richly diverse population of a population which is the largest minority in

the United States.

Body Racialization

Negative stereotypesii affect the image of Latinas, including the over-used characters like

maids, or women who work “without benefits and with inconsistent periods of unemployment”

(Lopez, 2014, p. 529). However, these Latina characters remain faithful to their (Catholic)

religious values, put their family first, and over-work their petite, curvy builds (Correa, 2010).

Skin Color

Heteronormative Practices in Latino Popular Culture

Analysis of Bilingual Publications

Most current publications for Spanish-speakers are produced as bilingual. These

publications are evidence of assimilation by being published in both English and Spanish, but

they still strive to use the Spanish language and empower Latino pride, while concurrently

establishing the Latino news agenda (Johnson, 2000, p. 233). Social and political issues are

widespread in the mass production of Latino media and encourage the Latino community to stay


informed. The coverage of such events promotes a collectivistic culture among Latinos as they

read the same material as they share experiences of social injustices (Constantakis-Valés, 1992).

Therefore, ethnic media has an agenda for their readers and is responsible for informing Latinos

of Latino issues, in a way that Latinos can understand and internalize.

Media for Latinos also serves as a tool for empowerment and solidification for self-

identity. The sub-groups of Latinos are able to internalize most social and political issues that

unify them, therefore promoting group awareness of current events (Fox, 1996). The mass

production of Latino media can even influence how a Latino identifies within his or her

community. According to Fox (1996), Latino media may in fact encourage Latinos to identify as

Hispanic rather than their country of origin so they may identify as part of the American

community—whereas Anglo-Americans contrastingly identify by social class (Appiah, 2003).

A criticism of ethnic media is that bilingual publications reinforce the acculturation of

Latinos. These publications are obviously targeted toward an English-dominant community or

toward speakers who are comfortable using both languages. The implications of bilingual

publications that are marketed toward Latino/as audiences is that they are assimilated—as in they

have acquired the social characteristics of one culture to replace their own. Bilingualism shows

evidence of hegemonic privilege as English, the dominant language, is used alongside Spanish, a

language that is spoken by a minority group. The privilege of using English as a tool to

marginalize Spanish-speakers is nothing short of intolerance for another race. Mendoza-

McGregor (2000) states that “the language of individuals with political power and/or social

prestige is the one eventually adopted” by the majority of people in the community (p. 356),

therefore preventing the cultural participation of another race within that space.


Authenticity of Language to the “Hispanic Market”

Although social constructs of the Spanish language hinder its use in public spaces, there

has been a rise of Spanish media to accommodate the growing population of Spanish-speakers.

The concept of segmenting minorities as a marketable audience developed into the Hispanic

Marketiii (Barnes & Thomson, 1994). However, there has been debate about advertising solely in

Spanish or in English. Hernandez and Newman (1992) found that the bilingual population in the

United States preferred to read advertisementsiv in English so to avoid racial criticism from

onlookers. Therefore advertisers have to take into account how comfortable Spanish-speakers are

if they were to select a magazine that is published exclusively in Spanish.

Advertisers are given the option of using English as their standard language for

publishing, or using Spanish and English to accommodate their audience and grow their profit.

The majority of ethnic magazine publications have been adopting the customized method of

publishing toward the Hispanic Market (Callow & McDonald, 2005, p. 290). By customizing

advertisements to bilingual speakers, magazine publications have a wider range of tactics that

can be utilized to advertise toward the Hispanic community, whether they use Hispanic cultural

references, celebrities, or none at all. The overarching goal of bilingual publications is to appeal

to the targeted audience’s sense of identity (Callow & McDonald, 2005, p. 292). The

customization of magazine publications allows readers to not openly reveal their preference of

language, and therefore they avoid feelings of cultural inferiority.

Code-switching (otherwise known as Spanglish)v, or the use of both Spanish and English

in the same phrase, publication or advertisement can also be utilized by editors or advertisers of a

magazine. The brand name of the product remains the same, but the catchphrase is skewed or

remains the same as its English counterpart. For example, an advertisement used by America’s


Dairy Farmer and Milk Processors read: “Más leche, más logro. Got Milk?®”/”More milk,

achieve more. Got Milk?®” (Callow & McDonald, 2005, p. 291).. The words that hold the

content of the message are in Spanish, while the slogan “Got Milk?®” is in English. In a study

by Luna and Peracchio (2005), code-switched words become more noticeable and draw the

attention of the reader toward the idea of the product or publication.

Language embodies authenticity is many aspects, and the method of publishing in

Spanish, English, or both can call to question what the goal of the text is. English or code-

switched works can be perceived as overly performative and mocking (Coupland, 2001). Code-

switching challenges language ideologies, following along the spectrum of a “contaminated

language” to a linguistic phenomenon (Lantto, 2016, p. 137). Social status is marked in code-

switched publications, as they can be considered as the incorrect use of the language as opposed

to the pure use of Spanish. Therefore, authenticity may be perceived as pure, untainted Spanish

—without the accompaniment of English. The idea that pure Spanish is the most authentic

Spanish is an attitude that both bilingual and monolingual communities share (Lantto, 2016, p.

141).


References

Achugar, M. (2008). Counter-hegemonic language practices and ideologies: Creating a new

space and value for Spanish in southwest Texas. Spanish in Context, 1(19), 1-20.

Appiah, O. (2003). Americans online: Differences in surfing and evaluating race-targeted

Websites by Black and White users. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic

Media, 47(4), 537–555.

Barnes, B. E., & Thoomson, L. M. (1994). Power to the people (meter): Audience measurement

technology and media specialization. In J. S. Ettema & D. C. Whitney (Eds.),

Audiencemaking: How the media create the audience (pp. 75-94). Thousand Oaks, CA:

Sage.

Beaudre, S., Ducar, C. (2005). Beginning level university heritage programs: Creating a space

for all heritage language learners. Heritage Language Journal, 3(1), 1-26.

Callow, M., McDonald, G. (2005). The Spanglishfication of advertising campaigns in Hispanic

media: A comparison of approaches in Spanish-only and dual language

magazines. Journal of Marketing Communications, 11(4). pp. 283-295.


Constantakis-Valdés, P. (1992, May). Toward a theory of “immigrant” and “ethnic” media: The

case of Spanish-language television. Paper presented at the annual convention of the

International Communication Association, Miami, FL.

Correa, T. (2010). Framing Latinas: Hispanic women through the lenses of Spanish-language

and English-language news media. Journalism 11(4), 425-443.

Coupland, N. (2001). Dialect stylization in radio talk. Language in Society 30(3). 345-375.

Dávila, A. (2001). Latinos, Inc.: The marketing and making of a people. Berkeley, CA:

University of California Press.

DeJaeghere, J., McCleary, K. (2010). The making of Mexican migrant youth civic identities:

Transnational spaces and imaginaries. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 41(2),

228-224.

Dickerson, D. (2001). Framing ‘political correctness’: The New York Times’ tale of two

professors. In: Gandy, OH. (eds) Framing public life: Perspectives on media and our

understanding of the social world. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 163-174.

Fox, G. (1996). Hispanic nation: Culture, politics, and the constructing of identity. NJ: Birch

Lane.

Lantto, H. (2016). Conversations about code-switching: Contrasting ideologies of purity and

authenticity in Basque bilinguals’ reactions to bilingual speech. Multilingua, 35(2), 137-

161.

Lopez, V. (2013). Speaking with them or speaking for them: A conversation about the effects of

stereotypes in the Latina/Hispanic women’s experiences in the United States. New

Horizons, 25(2), 99-106.


Office of Management and Budget. (2016, October 19). Revision for the standards for the

classification of federal data on race and ethnicity. Retrieved from

http://www.whitehouse.gov/OMG/fedreg/ombdir15

Hernandez, S. A. & Newman, L. M. (1992). Choice of English vs. Spanish language in

advertising to Hispanics, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, 14(2),

35–45.

Hill, J. (2009). Everyday language of White racism. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell Press.

Johnson, M. (2010) Incorporating self-categorization concepts into ethnic media research.

Communication Theory, 20(1), 106-125.

Luna, D., Peracchio, L.A. (2005). Advertising to bilingual consumers: The impact of code-

switching on persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(4), 760-765.

Maisel, R. (1973) The decline of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 37, 159-170.

McGregor-Mendoza, P. (2000). Aquí no se habla Español: Stories of linguistic repression in

southwest schools. Bilingual Research Journal, 24(4), 344-367.

Turow, J. (1997). Breaking up America: Advertisers and the new media world. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press.

Can Latina magazine survive without Spanish?

Does Latina magazine present an “authentic” Latina? (referencing the differences between Latina women using language and personal appearance)

i The idea of a “panethnic group” is the categorization of a collective people from several national backgrounds, in this case whether they are Inter-Latino, Mexican, or Chicana.ii Stereotypes of Latinas also include: overly religious, family-oriented, shirt in stature, and conservative (Correa, 2010).iii The “Hispanic Market” became a recognized market in the late twentieth century due to the immigration status of Spanish-speakers. The “sheer size and purchasing power” of the Hispanic population was used as the major argument for the production of Latina magazine (Barnes &Tomson, 1994; Maisel, 1973)iv “Advertisements,” “magazine publications,” and “publications” are all used interchangeably to reference to magazines. Advertisers are the creators of advertisements, they are not to be confused with as the editors or publishers of magazines.v The cultural implications of “Spanglish” are not discussed in this article. However, Spanglish is often referred to as a lesser language by Spanish speakers because it demonstrates a lack and often incorrect use of Spanish. In other research, Spanglish has even been referred to as “Mock Spanish” (Hill, 2009)

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CJ 499 Literature Review