Sex Symbol or Wifey Material, really?!
I went on Instagram for a dare: search #Latinas. This was a surprise. The majority of the pictures were pornography. The other majority of the pictures were a collection of women that symbolized finding, landing and getting a man. If there are only two categories of pictures that portray women in a way that represents either a sex symbol or crazy esposa, what does that say about the social media mindset for our race?
Latina women now are not just classified as the sex symbol or needing a man for their own personal gain. But now, Latinas are being typecast on primetime TV (as stated in my previous article) for being strong and intelligent (which equals beautiful.) The roles on TV are now paving the way for a new and finally REFRESHING point of view: Latinas are beautiful without showing off their sexual side.
They can hashtag Latinas for having kickass roles, like police officers, judges, lawyers, chefs, entrepreneurs, artists, etc. Although, they can be perceived in the majority of the entertainment industry such as movies, music, television, certain Latin channels and Novelas, as sexual- because of their roles. Now is the time for us to change our hashtags, and portray Latinas in a new light.
Latinas or non Latinas can tag themselves in a way that will represent us differently. If a Latina has a cute, not inappropriate outfit and the filter is on point, tag it! If a group of Latina friends are at a cooking class, painting class, watched a great movie, started a new book club, went to a art show, a concert, anything that isn’t just selfies, tag it!
Latinas are a huge range of diverse women. It’s now time for us to be better at appreciating our beauties. Entiendes?
Photo credit: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4