Stereotypes of Latinos

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This article primarily discusses Latino stereotypes present in United States culture, but the same or similar stereotypes are present in many other Western societies as well^{[citation needed]}. Stereotypical representations of people of Latino heritage are often manifested in a society's mass media, literature, theatre and other creative expressions, but often have very real repercussions for Latinos in daily interactions and in current events.

In 2003, Serafin Mendez-Mendez and Diane Alverio of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists reported the following findings:

Latino-related stories make up less than 1% of all the stories that appear on network newscasts, even though Latinos make up more than 13% of the population.
Crime, terrorism, and illegal immigration accounted for 66% of all network stories about Latinos in 2001.
The arrest of suspected terrorist Jose Padilla, for allegedly plotting to detonate a "dirty bomb", occupied a central role in the coverage of Latinos in 2001, with 21 network stories or 18% of all stories that aired on Latinos.
The number of Latino-related crime stories in 2002 was grossly excessive when compared to statistics on crimes involving Latinos.
Illegal immigration continues to be an important focus of network news coverage of Latinos.
Latinos continue to remain virtually absent from network news coverage. ^[1]

EthnicMajority.com, a minority empowerment organization, states: "Who we see, hear, and read on television, radio, newspapers, and in movies has a great deal of influence on shaping the attitudes of all Americans. How African, Hispanic (Latino), and Asian Americans are portrayed in these mediums often stereotypes and reinforces negative images of each ethnic group." ^[2]

University of Michigan students Brian Schulz and Jessica Farris made the following statements in their report, "Latino Representation in the Media":

Latinos as a whole remain the most underrepresented group on television. Although they encompass about 12.5% of the national population, Latinos only account for 2% of characters on television. Furthermore, when they are represented on television, they are portrayed in unfavorable roles such as janitors, drug-dealers, and perpetrators of crime.
Latinos are more likely to be seen in mug shots than non-Hispanic whites. Latinos were 10% more likely to be featured in stories about judicial and crime news, news of riots and demonstrations, and accident and disaster news than whites.
Stories in which Latinos are the victims of violent crimes are less likely to appear on primetime news.
In "reality" shows such as Cops and America's Most Wanted, Latinos were more likely to be portrayed as criminal perpetrators than non-Hispanic whites. Very few Latino officers were featured in segments of Cops.
Latinos have historically been portrayed as having difficulty speaking English.
Kingpin, a Hispanic version of The Sopranos, has been described as "one of the most violent and sexually explicit television shows ever to be shown on a broadcast network" (USA Today, 2003). Throughout the show, Latinos are brutally violent and often pictured as glorified drug dealers. Latino males are stereotypically portrayed as the "Latin Lover," the "greaser," and the "bandito". Latina women are portrayed as deviant, "frilly señoritas" or "volcanic temptresses," while Latino families are often portrayed as unintelligent, passive, deviant and dependent. ^[3]

National media watch group Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) points out that the flip side of media's overrepresentation of minorities as criminals and druggies is their underrepresentation as experts and analysts. FAIR's studies in the late 1980s and early '90s documented that 92% of Nightline 's U.S. guests were white, 90% of the NewsHour 's guests were white, and 26 out of 27 repeat commentators on National Public Radio over a four-month period were white. ^[4]

Examples of Latino stereotypes include: the movie Scarface, which perpetuates the stereotype^{[citation needed]} that Latinos are incestuous megalomaniacs. Latinos are often portrayed as knife-wielding, as in the movies Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Training Day, Robin Williams: Live. Con Air hit several points with the stereotypical homosexual latino felon. Another stereotype includes that they don't know English very well in contrast to the general population.