The Myth of the Latin Woman

In "The Myth of the Latin Woman" Judith Ortiz Cofer talk about the many stereotypes people has against Hispanic women. Cofer start off telling about an experience in London, with a drunk man who re-enacted “Maria” from West Side Story and even though she was aggravated, she kept her cool although everyone around her was laughing and applauding. She go on to tell about her experiences growing up here in American. Cofer was raised in New Jersey, as a child she was tough her traditional culture while living in a culture where her friends got to act and dress the way they wanted. One of Cofer main point was that In Puerto Rica, there are any different colors all over, the women were colorful clothes and show a lot of skin because it's hot. But here in America Latino women are stereotype as whores, maturing early, or only look at as a sexual being, due to the was they dress and because of a lack of understanding the Latino culture and history. She relives some stereotypical encounters with another man serenading her and she rejecting a kiss from a boy after her first dance. She also stated that the media has place a negative image on Latino women. Always showing them in a kitchen cooking cleaning, and saying funny things while pronouncing words wrong. She gave an example from her encounters, while at a restaurant she was assume to be a waitress. Cofer concluded that she was lucky to have parents that made sure she was educated and that there are many other that was not as lucky, she hopes to change the media betrayal of Latina women to a more educated, wise, and positive image.
In “ Just Walk On by Black Man” Brent Staples open up his essay disturbingly, giving the characteristics of the first person to discriminate against him due to his presence and stereotype, and describing the actions the effect of his presence on another person. As he walked behind a white woman she started to walked faster until she got out of his sight, thinking he might be a mugger,