I came across an instagram post recently on Miss Houston Latina, Kathleen Navarro’s, Instagram, where she answered a pageant question. The question asked:
“What stereotypes of Latina women still exist, and what are you going to do to break that stereotype?”
“There is a stereotype that hispanic women have to be submissive and be at home taking care of their men; however, right now, we are a generation of entrepreneurs, doctors and creators…”
She shined a light on something we’ve all turned a blind eye to or simply just didn’t think it was important enough to discuss.
It has always not only been a stereotype from outsiders, but within our culture as well, that we as women need to be submissive to our husbands. We are told that we are supposed to be “serving” our spouses. From cleaning the house all day, to cooking their food, to serving them a hot plate as soon as they step through the door. That in a household, the man is the only one who works and the woman becomes a housewife.
As part of today’s millennial Latina culture, we don’t emulate our mothers or our grandmothers. Instead, we embrace a generational, political and cultural shift. We see the word differently and want to differentiate ourselves from our past generations. We have taken and embraced our Latino heritage and used it to embrace our lives as an asset to both our home and work. Therefore not conforming to cultural customs and not sticking to our gender roles as strictly as we once did.
Millennial Latinas today are striving for higher success. We search for higher learning opportunities such as a higher education. Many of us being first generation college students, have the pressure of making our families proud and not wanting to let them down, but also having the perseverance and fortitude to want to succeed for ourselves.
When you think of a Latina woman, what first comes to mind is fierce and fiery, but one quality I think all Latinas possess is strength. They have shown strength, perseverance, determination and skill in all fields — medicine, science, the arts, entrepreneurship, law and politics. A Latina today still embraces what it means to be Latina, but in a whole new light.
We strive to use and embrace our heritage and let it be part of who we are. We recognize and take pride in the duality of our identities. You could think of us as bicultural. We still value family heritage and our beliefs, but all while trying to create and follow our own paths.
In this age we are in a era of women inclining to dominate business, medicine and creativity. We need to show the next generation that the stereotype painted of Latina women no longer stands. That it is okay to be a double income household. That we aren’t just at the disposal of a man. But that the only person we—as women—need in order to succeed, is ourselves.